I recently watched this week’s European News on Germany’s DW (Deutsche Welle) on my computer. It is an international video broadcast in English and German, a news program from Central Europe, and there was this news item.
In Romania, there are people who are selling their offal to foreigners on the Internet because of the recession. In some cases, they are selling the organs of their own children. One person was caught by the police trying to sell them to an Italian for 12,000 euros (1,680,000 yen). The program covered a poor farming village in Romania. One middle-aged man showed the scars from an operation he had undergone. He said that his brokerage dealer died in the middle of the transaction and he ended up getting only $200 (20,000 yen) for a $1500 contract, and that after that his body was too tired to work as much as he wanted.
In Hungary, a man was killed by a stranger. So there are many such cases now. It seems to be an attack on people of Gypsy and Jewish descent by people with neo-Nazi racist beliefs.
The news in France was about wine. The pink wine called rosé is supposed to be made from a special grape, but it is often sold as a mixture of red and white wine.
They also did a story about barbershops in Poland. A town near the border, 60 kilometers from the German capital Berlin, has a lot of customers from Germany. He said that the barbers are very good and inexpensive. In Germany, a haircut alone costs 10-12 euros, but in Poland, the whole process costs only 4 euros (560 yen). The relationship between the two countries has always been awkward, but here, the Germans are the best customers.
In the expanding EU, there are considerable economic disparities between countries. Furthermore, the economic recession since last year seems to have caused various problems. This is the reality of Europe.
When we think of Europe, we often think of a developed country with beautiful towns and churches designated as World Heritage sites, music, and idyllic people living there.
However, the reality in Europe is not like that.
The above was written in 2009.
Then there was the Kosovo conflict and the current war in Ukraine. Wars between people are hard to stop.
