Gas Crisis Tests Peoples, Countries

For the past two days some scenes from the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo to certain extent reminded of those from the siege during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.

No, there is no snipping, no shelling and no spilled blood on the streets of Sarajevo, thank God for that.

But there were other scenes which have reminded me of the war times. Scenes of people pushing their way through blizzard, carrying stoves under their arms and pulling sleds piled up with firewood.
 
These snapshots reminded me of the ways and byways by which we managed to survive the siege of Sarajevo, without electricity, gas and running water for almost four years.
 
Today there is again no gas in Bosnia and rest of the region, thanks to political and economic dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
 
In the middle of the icy winter this means many people once again depend on their wits to provide their families with heating, warm food and hot water.
 
Yet, there was something different and something missing in the current crisis, compared to the one which Sarajevo was facing during the war.
 
A crucial part of survival in the war-besieged Sarajevo was collaboration and mutual help among its people. It was born out of necessity for bare survival but also from the fact that without TVs, radios and Playstations, people have had nothing else to do but to turn to each other for entertainment and companionship.
 
This “human aspect” seemed to be missing in the January gas crisis. Instead of helping each other, people fought each other in lines while trying to get one electric heater more than their first neighbor.
 
Instead that those who were lucky to have heating, have invited their freezing friends over to warm up, they have barricaded themselves up in their warm condos and watched the crisis develop from their cozy armchairs.
 
So, in a way, I see this gas shortage as a welcome test of people, their behavior and humanity which seem to have only deteriorated since the end of the war.
 
This crisis represented another sort of test for me. To all of the European countries, this situation has shown how their governments and institutions are prepared for and capable of weathering such an unexpected crisis.
 
Some governments seemed to have performed better and some worse. Yet for all of them this situation is a valuable lesson, for who knows what else awaits us in future festooned with global political, economic, environmental and other instabilities. 
 
This was also a valuable lesson for the people who cast their votes in future elections based on how their leaders have prepared for and performed in the current situation.
 
Looking from this perspective, I would argue that this and all other crisis in our lives have a positive side: They provide us with an important experience, learning, new skills and wisdom.
 
However if we fail to harvest that new knowledge and understanding from the crisis in our lives, then they tend to repeat themselves as long as we don’t get it. Get it?