1. Lack of Motivation
Even though people claim that life is better outside from Serbia, where many benefits are awaiting, it so happens that existing opportunities in this country are unknown and that young people essentially do not understand them. Students are prone to move in the circles from their comfort zone, they hardly find inner motives to become scientists, to work on themselves and to acquire new skills. Also, they are discouraged by stories of other’s failures, employment based on political party membership and corruption, so they often cross out certain options that opened to them, or hardly decide to start working on the ideas that require entrepreneurship spirit or opening a private business. Opportunities to work and prosper in Serbia do exist, they are just not so apparent and numerous, which therefore requires a high level of social wisdom to provide enough patience for people to work on themselves to reach their goal.
2. Fight for Values
Market and competition within it lead to more quality products. The fact that economically more advanced countries have more jobs, among other things, follows from the competition between producers, which is more fierce than it is in Serbia. We still appreciate and desire the most those jobs that provide security. That creates people incapable of adjusting to new circumstances, and as the world is increasingly changing, it is clear why inadaptability leads to a poor quality of services and products, and ultimately to poor society as well. Competitiveness is a value, a positive drive in my view, for as harder things are, we are forced to find better solutions, thus becoming more qualified ourselves. Also, it teaches us about personal responsibility, which is desperately needed in Serbia today.
3. Constant Improvement
As a consequence of competition and uncertainty, improving oneself is harder and requires higher quality. But only such citizens, that invested a lot in themselves, understand that they need to be responsible to their own society. We live in democracy that requires active participation of every citizen in creating values and institutions, as well as in controlling those who are on the ruling positions. Only societies with functional institutions are rich and prosperous. However, they first become functional, and only afterwards became rich. We have enables of countries rich in natural resources, but almost with no responsibility of the citizens and their active participation, and are thus prone to dissolution once these resources are exhausted. In distinction, countries such as Japan, with insufficient reserves of natural resources, are still rich due to the fact that their citizens are responsible and ready to improve themselves.
4. Perception of Standards
USA citizens have income that enables them to afford more basic goods and needs, however, all that we take here for granted (affordable medical care, organic food, healthy environment, cultural events) is charged there extra as a luxury. An average student in Serbia requires far less means to access resources that belong outside of the basic living needs. The rent is also much more expensive in richer societies, more funds are required to buy a house or a flat, or to satisfy those needs that we consider as normal and easily available. In the countries that we choose to emigrate to, much more money is needed for a healthy diet, physical activity, general medical treatments and the like. It has as a consequence that people who have jobs that pay less, simply avoid spending money on these things and thus the quality of their lives deteriorates.
5. Social Exclusion
Psychological studies have shown that individual quality of live is not a simple mathematic, and that to feel fulfilled one needs more than good income! Friends, family, mentality, native language, literature and culture, sport events, and even some dear places and natural beauties are all things that can only be found in your home country. Common practice has shown that many people suffer for the place they came from after spending some time abroad. In addition, there is a possibility that due to your faith, nation, even for incomplete documents or personal characteristics, you never fully integrate, or realize that you actually do not wish to fully integrate, to a foreign society.
This article was originally written in Serbian for the Društvene vesti Srbija (Social News Serbia) on-line magazine. It has been published in English for the M/A/Y Magazine with permission.
Dušan Jovčić, Serbia
