Habemus Governementam

Hi all

After almost 2 months of Negotiation, a new government was named in Mongolia.

Why was it so long? Several reasons. Actually no party managed to get the full majority at the parliament. Negotiations were necessary. The right party (DP) was ahead and could conclude an agreement with either the left party (MPP) which arrived second or the far left party (MPRP-MNDP) which arrived third.

A coalition between DP and MPP was in place until last January when it broke down, principally for electoral reasons.

So DP negotiated with the MPRP to form a government. Despite what you could think the main discussions were not about ideas or the program of the government, but rather on how to satisfy all egos in both parties.

One major element was also the trial of the ex-president, leader of the far left, for corruption charges, which was almost a deal breaker. If he had not been condemned to 4 years in jail, he would probably have been vice prime-minister.

Another one is all the factions in DP which have to be represented. Lots of particular interests and internal fights have forced the prime minister (head of DP but without lot of support) to appoint lots of big personalities in the government.

Eventually MPRP-MNDP got a reduced finance ministry, the ministry of energy and the ministry of health.

Let’s hope that the government will be able to give full efficiency soon as they will have major issues to tackle in the next few months.

Also to note the presence of many DP members favorable to a renegotiation of the agreement with Rio Tinto over the exploitation of the biggest mine of the country Oyu Tolgoï.

This affair is a little bit a drama in Mongolia, as the agreement took years to be negotiated, and is put again in the table every few months.

Many foreign investors have been discouraged to invest in Mongolia, considering the government as unreliable.

Next time, a more pastoral topic with pictures of the Mongolian countryside.

Normal racism

Hi all

If I have still followers (I know it is more easy when you publish every day than once every 2 weeks. I have 3 more weeks I will try to publish at least 6 posts), let me tell you about a bad side of Mongolia.

Before beginning, let me precise that I have not been victim of any of what I am going to tell (probably because I live between a police station, and parliament house watched like a military base), but this is all true stories lived by friend a little bit out of the city center.

Two-three points, to start. Mongolian is a very proud people. This mostly comes from Gengis Khan Conquests in the 14^th century, but not only. China had built the great wall to protect against Mongols, so they definitely are good warriors. 

This people has been humiliated during the Chinese then the Russian era, and is building its new identity around its glorious past. Gengin Khaan is quoted twice in every presidential speech, the brand used everywhere, they built a 80 meters high statue of him only 10 years ago. Opposite to, for example Napoleon in France, nobody ever came to damage his image.

The second point is more a misunderstanding. Yes Mongolia had the world highest growth in 2011, yes there is promising future, but as I mentioned earlier, everyone cannot yet feel it, principally because most of this growth is investment. However the government likes to recall these numbers as a proof of its competence. This push some people to do the following short-track “If there is more wealth, and I don’t have it, then foreigners must have taken it”.

It is true that usually foreigners have a higher life-trend that most locals (of course the local Louis-Vuitton is not for them, but this is behind the scene), but this is mostly a bias due to the fact that if they had to live like a poor Mongolian, most of them would leave the country.

The last one is about alcohol. I can’t remember if I already mentioned it, but some Mongolian drink a lot, and start early in the day. This of course helps to display violent behavior.

While a part of the society is foreign-educated, and understand that foreign help is necessary to develop Mongolia’s potential, there is a counter-trend close from neo-Nazism.

The principal targets are Chinese. Accused of all Mongolian’s problems, they are really hatred. This is partly historical reasons, but when China is your principal market, and your principal source of incomes, this is a problem. Chinese tourists are scared, and only third-tier Chinese companies invest in Mongolia, the better one tries to find more welcoming places to invest. There is a big fear that Chinese could conquer the economy that leads politicians to slow down the development (rather not growing than growing in Chinese hands).

The other target are foreigners in the street, and, more scary, Mongolians who speak English (as “traitor”). At night foreigners are regularly beaten up in the street. Mongolian girls walking with a foreign guy would be insulted (also all girls getting in or out of a hotel). Also speaking English in the street for a Mongolian means an acceptation of “foreign rule” and can give him a bad time.

So let’s undermine that. No risk for tourists, this will more happen in popular areas that tourists will not visit. Also this is mostly the fact of drunk guys. So if you can spot and avoid them, you are safe.

However, this is certainly symptomatic of a people which is living a kind of identity crisis, and which has not live a drama to understand what these kind of behavior can lead to. This is not specific of Mongolia, this has happened before in other developing countries (Korea for example) but disappeared when a wealth threshold was passed.

Let's hope it will happen soon here!

Education

Hi all

Almost 2 weeks since the last message, but still no Government in Mongolia. This is particularly due to the trial of the ex-president Ekhbayar, who could have been vice-prime minister, and has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. But his party is necessary to the coalition, and there will be an appeal. So we will see what will happen to the godfather of corruption in Mongolia.

Today, let’s speak a little bit about the education system here.

So first you can realize that the situation is a little bit complicated for children of nomadic herders who can leave 1000 km away from the nearest city. But the system is relatively well organized. The country value education a lot, and there are boarding schools almost everywhere, which are free for herders. The attendance rate of non-compulsory kindergarten is around 75% (less in the countryside).

The literacy rate is impressive, as a result of the ex-soviet system, around 97%, and around a third of the last generation attended tertiary education.

But that is where statistics are a little bit misleading. Actually the school level is really bad, particularly because teachers and university professors are paid around 300$/month (like doctors), what is not enough to have an apartment in UlaanBaatar.

So are developing everywhere private shools (International school, American School, British school…) to target the expats, the rich, and even the upper middleclass which can make sacrifices to have their children educated with European or American standards. The best of the best is even to send your child in an high school in the US.

Similarly, a third of the students who go to university go abroad. South Korea, China, Russia, Germany and of course the US are the targeted countries. This gives the insurance to get a job when you come back (and most of them do) since the local universities cannot really compete.

64% of a generation of graduates stays unemployed. And that is because 90% of the students attending university graduate in humanities while the country needs mostly engineers to sustain its mining system. The rate of unemployment is around the rate of open jobs, what point out the un-match between supply and demand.

So there is a growing effort to push students towards scientific studies, and to open vocational training. The big foreign companies which are exploiting the mines are playing a role, by opening such vocational schools, to match their objective of having 95% Mongolian staff.

Today’s challenge seems to be possible to resolve, but tomorrow’s is the growing complexity of the ger-district situation. That is where the number of student/teacher is the biggest and where you see more and more young giving up. It is interesting to note that in India or Cambodia you see many international volunteers coming to help in education, what is not possible here because of the language barrier. There are very few NGO’s projects in this sense in the ger discrict except the Zorig foundation, leaded by the Stanford graduate Badruun, which is doing a wonderful job.

Road traffic

Hi all

Sorry for the decreasing rhythm these last weeks, but I begin to be relatively busy at work with a big project beginning soon.

I already announce, next time I will tell you about the coming government which is on the point to emerge after conclusion of the post-electoral negotiations.

But today, I just want to complain about roads in UlaanBaatar.

Just to start with this pictures of a typical road. 

So you understand that to preserve your dampers you have to slalom a little bit. What can be OK when it is a one way street, but problematic if it is a 2 or more ways street. 

Add to that a natural tendency to go and see afterwards if it was OK to go (if you want to cross a street you can’t wait for the street to be clear, otherwise you never move, you have to go and then see how you can survive and reach the other side of the street), cars with steering wheel either on the right or on the left (while driving on the right), and a crucial lack of traffic lights and you get UlaanBaatar traffic: a real mess.

Actually it is preferable not to have too many traffic lights since people have a tendency not to respect them, it does not create false expectations.

I am really surprised, I have not seen any accident yet. Actually, and I guess it is how local drivers save their life, they kind of abuse of their klaxon. Tuuuuuuuut “I am behind you” Tuuuut tuuuut “I am on your side” Tut tut tut tut tut “Are you going to move?”. 

Fortunately all cars are automatic so you don’t need to listen to your engine and can pay attention to all the indications other drivers around you give. It is almost like the “Google car”, which combines visual and “sonar” information to guide itself.

Funny detail: It is not rare to came across cars with a kind of klaxon extinction, after having honked too much.

But of course for pedestrians or just random people who like to keep their windows open, it is a real nuisance. But it also save you sometimes so you cannot forget it.

 

Also another major problem of UlaanBaatar loopholes and more generally the condition of the streets, are the consequences of our weekly storm, which transform a simple ride in the city in a kind of rally-raid. 

It is the same for pedestrian and you are obliged to calculate more and more complex strategies to make your way dry feet among all the huge puddles

 Ok sorry for this post which was just about complaining. I start again to be positive next time :)

Inequalities

Hi everyone

Let’s speak today about something which will a little bit constitute a thread of this blog for the coming weeks.

I would like to tell you about inequalities and poverty here.

As you might know and recall Mongolia is very rich in raw material. Given its great size and low number of inhabitants, this constitute a tremendous wealth source, which could (just with mining) guaranty Mongolia to have a development level comparable to Southern Europe for the next 50 years.

But as it usually works in this kind of situation, a few are ending up with Ferraris and many fall into deep poverty.

In UlaanBaatar, an important luxury industry has developed. Louis Vuitton, Mont-Blanc, Hugo Boss or Ulysse Nardyn have opened shop in the last 2 years. On the other hand 70% of the population in the capital city are leaving in the Ger-district, without electricity or running water, in what can be call a slum.

So there are many reasons for that. First climate change. Most of the rural exodus is due to people who have lost their crops because of very harsh winters. Left with nothing they have to move to the city, where they can claim a piece of land, as Mongolian law guaranties it. Of course this land will be far from the city, and they will settle their yurt, without being connected to water, electricity, and having to walk sometimes kilometers to find a public transportation (if they can afford it).

So how can they survive? Well not a lot of opportunity. These people are herders, they have no particular training for a specific job, and the concurrency for low-level job is rude.

The government gives around 15$/people every month as an aid (it is not a redistribution it is a pre-"investment" of future mining revenues). This enable to survive (there is no rent to pay, and for a 5 people family 75$ can be enough for food). But of course Marx rules are there and this is part of the 2 digits inflation which has quadrupled prices in 6 years.

Besides burning coal for warming the place during the winter cost around 1.5$/day far more that what would cost central heating and this cause the city to be way over-polluted.

So what is happening to change the situation? Several initiatives are taking place and this will be the subject of a future post.

More important is that as in any developing country, rich people don’t care about poverty, and poor people hate rich people. That is not a good start for solving the problem!

Nadaam

Hi everyone

These last 3 days were Nadaam festival. Nadaam means “game” in Mongol. It is a very old tradition of a national competition for the 3 national sports which are wrestling, archery and horse racing. The different tribes of the empire would compete to show their strength. 

More recently, the festival was annualized and the dates were adapted to commemorate the victorious events of 1921 when Mongolia got out of China’s ruling.

So this is now national days. Competitions happen everywhere in the country but the most symbolic events are held in UlaanBaatar stadium, and I was lucky enough to attend.

There are maybe 5000 seats in the stadium, and Mongolian would put their traditionnal clothes to attend

The ceremony starts with the national pride related events. The 9 symbols of the 9 Mongolian tribes (which were unified by Gengis Khaan) are carried by horse into the stadium.

The president pronounces a speech and the national hymn is sung.

Then several animations in traditional costumes take place.

Of course Coca Cola is there

And it is afterwards time for naked man festival: wrestling competition. Usually the stadium emptied because wrestling schemes are difficult to catch for tourists, and so many fights are held at the same time, that watching it on TV is more pleasant for Mongolian.

Behind the stadium are held the archery competition. Opposite from wrestling, these one is open to women (a lengend explain that the reason why wrestlers are naked is to prevent women from participate)

And much further in the countryside happen horse races. Hundreds of horses ridden by kids as young as 5 years old race for around 30 km.

But Nadaam is before all a family holiday. People will spend time in the countryside with their family and rest, watching sport on TV.

Animations in town are more for tourists.