Novosibirsk reflections continued

[Natasha Serventy]

Wow, what a powerful e-mail. I'll think about what you have said, and its
ramifications. Thankyou.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Birgitt Williams [SMTP:birgitt at MINDSPRING.COM]
> Sent: Monday, 11 June 2001 16:14
> To:   OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject:      Novosibirsk reflections continued
>
> Dear friends and colleagues in Open Space,
>
> My last e-mail to the list regarding the Working With Open Space
> Technology training in Novosibirsk was an e-mail regarding my experiences
> during the training and my admiration for the people who attended, their
> leadership and their vision. Thank you for your notes regarding this.
>
> Today I choose to write more about the conditions within which these
> people are planning to do this work. From my perspective. Please keep in
> mind that I only spent five days in Russia.
>
> Today, I am in Holland, leading another Working With Open Space Technology
> session, this time with Koos de Heer. Koos met me at the airport June 7th,
> a welcome face. I was in deep gratitude to him for taking over the care of
> my cases (suitcase, computer case, and book bag) and whisking me away in
> his car along well ordered streets to a quiet apartment, green salad for
> lunch, a chance to use his computer. I was exhausted and needed some
> tender care. The trip from my place of stay in Novosibirsk was 11 hours.
> Elena with her husband, had picked me up at 4:45am. Some of my exhaustion
> came from the trip itself, which included carrying my bags onto and off of
> buses, up stairs and down stairs, and always trying to hurry so I wouldn't
> miss my connections. There are no ramps etc. to wheel suitcases. I thought
> a lot about handicapped people. There are no visible signs of assistance
> for them.
>
> I look down at the bruises on my legs, arms, hips. From being bumped by
> people and suitcases. I would have had many more bruises, if it were not
> for Elena. I had a great deal of difficulty coping with the mob scenes of
> people, particularly during the trip there and the one back. Elena
> accompanied me back as far as Moscow so that she could get me transferred
> from one airport to the other one. She became aware that I did not know
> how to navigate the mobs of people and that I kept getting pushed back, by
> elbows and by suitcases. Hence the bruises. Elena explained to me that
> people did not line up, did not queue but knew that the art of getting
> what they needed/wanted was to push others aside, to use their elbows to
> get to the front of the line. She explained that for a long time, people
> were used to not having enough, so to be sure to get their share the
> pushing became required behavior. She said the same applied to getting
> onto a bus or a plane. Even with a boarding pass in hand, she said that
> people had too much experience of being turned away, not being able to get
> on their flight because someone had used money to get a spot on the plane
> without a ticket. Losing a spot on the plane might require days to get
> another. So, how our trip went was that Elena would negotiate our next
> steps for us, and she would wedge herself into a spot and then make space
> for me to get right in front of her. Like a body guard. I was so thankful
> to her. She knew the art of navigating and knew it well. I was not so
> lucky on my journey to Novosibirsk and had a number of very difficult
> moments.
>
> As Elena's friend, Natalia, said, the transformation that is needed in
> Russia is for people to do a total shift in perspective to believing in
> abundance rather than in scarcity. She said that until this shift took
> place with a critical mass of the people, that the entrenched scarcity
> behaviors would not likely shift.
>
> The scarcity mentality affects organizations, communities. People compete
> rather than cooperate. I used the word "collaboration". Elena explained
> that the word was not understood. "Collaboration" did not mean something
> positive but rather something negative like collaborating with the enemy.
>
> There are also very strong attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to do with
> "customers". I think someone like Elena knows how to get through all of
> this too, to get something to happen. However, here is my experience. In
> the hotel, as I walked in, the lobby is dark, unappealing and two men sit
> at a desk in front of me. I struggle with my cases. They are not there to
> help, or even to take registrations. They are there to ensure security,
> whatever that means. To the left is the reception area where two women sit
> behind glass, with windows. They clearly control the situation. And deal
> with the registration at a slow pace, also needing to keep my passport to
> get me registered. Upstairs, on my floor, was another desk with an
> attendant. She was there to be in control of keys. And who knows what
> else. I do know that everytime I opened my door , if the attendant was not
> at her desk, she poked her head around the corner, not to see if I wanted
> anything but to see what I was doing. Elena explained that maybe I
> misunderstood some things. And she explained that many of the people I was
> witnessing were barely making a living, and they did not see a way out of
> their situation. She said it was all part of the Russian way of life.
>
> Most people in Novosibirsk live in large housing complexes, built in the
> 50's by the government when they were establishing the town for both
> military and sciences. The housing was provided. Private residences are
> not allowed. It is obvious that there has been little money for upkeep. I
> can only imagine what it is like to live in these congested conditions
> now, despite abundant forest and land around, with a rule against
> ownership of personal land. Sometimes a decision is made about no water,
> or no hot water, or heat in that cold winter. The summer is hot and there
> is very little evidence of air conditioning. No screens for the windows
> and many mosquitos get in. The mosquitos are carriers of encephalitis. At
> least, that is what some of the people told me. Elena was telling me that
> last winter, some people had to create fires outside and huddle around
> them, just to get warm during a period when there was no heat. There is
> not money to pay the fuel.
>
> There is a lot of disillusionment amongst people. The government had been
> supporting their work. They are no longer supported except for subsistence
> wage of $70 per month. They continue to work, not knowing the value of
> their work, what it will do. I picked up that this is some of what is
> causing an attitude that I felt, of needing to exert a sense of control in
> other ways.
>
> Disillusionment, combined with generations of living with scarcity is not
> a good mix.
>
> There is a lot more to Novosibirsk that is positive. I know that Elena
> loves her city and is proud of it.
>
> I may be wrong in aspects of what is so and not so in Novosibirsk. The
> above are my perceptions. Raffi, who has joined this list, can give
> incredible insights. Welcome Raffi! Raffi is an amazing man who is working
> to be of influence for positive development of people. And as he says in
> his e-mail, two days by train to get from Moscow to Novosobirsk for the
> training, and that isn't an easy trip.
>
> I write this background, to share with you as best as I can, what Elena
> with her colleagues and friends are working with. They provide leadership,
> they are networked with others. They are collaborating and cooperating
> with each other. They have a common vision of improved development of
> people for a better community. A solution focused community.
>
> But as Natasha says, the critical required transformation that will lead
> to all of the other transformations is the one in attitude from a scarcity
> mentality to an fear to one of love.
>
> This is the backdrop that Elena and her friends so courageously work in,
> to bring about hopeabundance mentality. And a shift from pervasive d for
> change. I hope I have been able to convey it fairly.
>
> Respectfully submitted,
>
> Birgitt Williams
>
> June 10, 2001
>

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