Report from Mongolia – November 1, 2009

It has been quite a whirlwind trip-I spent last week in Guatemala where the temperature was in the high 70s, and then arrived in Mongolia three days ago where the temperature was minus 10 degrees. I’ve just facilitated a weekend retreat in a Ger village (Gers are portable felt homes, like yurts) outside of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar trying not to freeze. This is the first time in my life that I’ve hiked to the mountains to stay warm and out of the wind and cold. Oh well, everything is an adventure in life and it is the journey and not always the results that count.

The retreat was filled with amazing people who come from herder families that raise goats, sheep, horses, camels. They have lived their whole lives in Mongolia and it was fascinating talking with them about the issues and the extent of the poverty and social indicators. It was really educational and I began to read some material on this and found:

• 40% of the people live on less than $2.00 per day
• Over 37% are “officially” classified as living in poverty but a much larger percentage of people are simply not counted
• Over 50% of the population has severe addiction to alcohol (Vodka and beer)
• Literacy rates are among the highest in the world at over 95% but unemployment is extremely high.
• The gap between the small pockets of vast wealth and extreme poverty
• is thinning out the middle class

WSJ: Global Economic Downturn Affects Mongolia

After Rich spent two weeks in Mongolia, his understanding of the country’s culture and economy became clearer. To help you understand how the world’s economy is affecting even the most remote of countries, he wanted to share a couple of links from Wall Street Journal.

The Global Downturn Lands With a Zud on Mongolia’s Nomads

WSJ also has a lovely slideshow to accompany the article.

Thoughts From Mongolia V

On Sunday I spent the afternoon with my translator’s brother seeing some of the
cultural activities of the city. We started off visiting the Gandan Khid, the biggest Buddhist monastery in the country. This place is a series of temples, schools, and walkways. Then we walked to Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of Mongolian History. Both of these places were well displayed and I was very impressed with how this country has a value for its history and culture.

I got lulled into looking out the window of my apartment and seeing how people were dressed to determine how cold it was. I was really surprised to find how very cold (at least for me) it was outside on Sunday and we did a lot of walking around the downtown area, through many large squares where they have had rallies and demonstrations over the years. People seem to enjoy the cold weather and get upset when they talk about the hot summer days in the city.

Thoughts From Mongolia IV

Ulaanbaatar (UB) is the capital city in which approximately 40 percent of the country’s 2.6 million people reside. It is a very big city with severe traffic and air pollution problems. There are neither sufficient street signs nor signal lights and driving is an exercise in aggression. If you are not properly aggressive you wait, wait and wait some more in traffic. I thought that when I spent time working in Israel those drivers were aggressive but the Mongolians lead the pack. Crossing the street is an opportunity for prayer.

The air pollution in the city is terrible and getting worse. Driving from the airport into the city when I first arrived last week I saw a large coal burning power plant bellowing smoke. There are a total of three old coal powered plants within the city limits. Many of the cars are at least 7-10 years old and have no anti-pollution devices. The gas, imported from Russia, has high lead content. According to the United Nations Millennium Report for Mongolia the air pollution in Ulaanbaatar has reached levels potentially dangerous for the genetic pool of the population. Apparently the pollution is worse during the winter because the city sits in a bowl and the air inversions capture the toxic air. A lot of people have coughs and asthma is prevalent.

Thoughts From Mongolia III

The food in Mongolia is a real trip unless you love fatty MEAT, MEAT AND MEAT three times a day. You have your choices of camel (yes true), horse (of course), tons of sheep (mutton) and beef, and limited amounts of chicken. Unless you go to a fancy restaurant there are few salads and if you could find one, it usually doesn’t have lettuce, but is like a vinegar salad. My translator and the woman who attends all of my meetings comes from a traditional Mongolian family and doesn’t really like other ethnic foods so we wind up in more traditional Mongolian places to eat. It is interesting trying to be a vegetarian in this meat country, but I brought lots of power bars, dried fruit and some other nutritious delicacies. I totally realize that I am in this part of the country not because of the food but because of the people and culture.

I had a fabulous session this evening at one of the largest private foundations in the country that is working on environmental and other grassroots issues. I conducted a 2-½ hour training session for environmental leaders. Among the many issues they are working on are: minimizing the impact of gold and copper mining on the pasture land and the rivers; dealing with the regulation of tourists in national parks; and stopping hydroelectric power plants. The majority of the folks were from the countryside all over Mongolia and they were the “real deal.” They were wonderful people—all community leaders and heads of NGOs.