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The chaos theory of Mongolia

I returned to Mongolia 15 years ago after an absence of 13 years, save for the occasional 2-week leave from work, and that time I spent a semester and a half at a local university drinking endless cups of brown, watery 150 Tugrik instant MaCcoffee at the cafĂ© strangely, or perhaps egotistically, named "In my memory", writing the first and so far the only book that got us into trouble with the local intelligence who apparently had little else to do than to pore through the ramblings of teenagers to catch the tell-tale signs of drug dealery. But I digress. When you visit a country for a short period, be it home or not, you hardly have time to immerse yourself in the spirit of the country and the city and feel the nitty gritty and dirty shiny of it all. So after 13 years, it took me a while to readjust and finally understand what the hometown of my childhood had become.  The most striking, ubiquitous, and inescapable feature was and still, unfortunately, is the traffic. In 2008,...

Mongolians in the Czech Republic

So I read an article on news.mn today about unemployed Mongolians struggling for survival in the Czech Republic, paraphrased from an article in Czech. During the past few years, the Czech republic has become the destination of choice for Mongolians hoping to earn in Euros. South Korea, as well, still remains a popular destination for labourers (mind you, many of these "labourers" hold a college / uni degree from Mongolia). Since the beginning of the year 2009, Mongolians in the Czech republic are finding themselves jobless and on the streets, due to the global economic crisis.

Thanks to the wonders of Google, I was able to read the source article, though I do get some dodgy bits here and there like "Most of them expire on the street. Authorities are not a crime to grow.", which I'm guessing means most of them end up on the streets and crime is on the rise. According to the article, the estimated number of Mongolians in the Czech republic is around 13,000. Some have already turned to organized crime, trafficking their desperate compatriots. Crisis-struck and stuck with thousands of laid-off and desperate foreign workers, the Czech government is offering to pay for a one-way ticket home plus a EUR500 bonus payment to 2,000 foreign workers. I am not entirely sure on the exact number, as Mongolia Web puts the number at 7,500 Mongolians.Whether they take up the offer is a matter of debate, knowing the reduced chances of finding employment in Mongolia as the private sector downsizes.

As the economic crisis spreads, laid-off Mongolians are returning home. According to montsame, since June 2008 around 2,500 workers (of the estimated 27,000 Mongolians working in SK) returned from South Korea due to the economic downturn.

A point of concern is whether the Mongolian government is able to create jobs fast enough for those returning home.

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