LINA ŽIGELYTĖ wonders if Ireland is quite as advanced as it thinks it is...
‘Where Ireland leads – the world follows,’ roared the headline in one of the Irish dailies not long ago. The story was about the smoking ban coming into effect across France, and how Ireland became an inspiration behind this move for many European countries. Moreover, tax initiatives, green issues and peace talks were mentioned among other pioneering decisions for which Ireland is known.
As I was reading the passage about green initiatives in my flat, I spotted my landlord through the window. He was getting the bins out of the backyard – the black bin, the green bin and the bin we use for glass – and bundling them into his van. He does this once a week – he loads the van with our rubbish, drives off somewhere and then returns with empty bins.
Actually we never had a bin for glass until a Norwegian couple moved into the flat bellow me over a year ago and designated one of the bins for that purpose. The Norwegians have since moved out, but the other tenants and I continue to recycle bottles. Despite this, my landlord continues to load his van with them, disappear and come back with empty bins. I hope those bottles do get recycled.
A few days later, I was confronted with the sudden news about Luas, bus and rail fares going up. I asked an Irish friend if this meant a possible improvement of Dublin’s bus service. “By 10 cent worth. Drivers may occasionally smile, although this service is not available on all routes,” she replied by text while I waited for a bus, hoping that the extra 10 cent would mean they’ll start arriving on time. Or estimated time – I still can’t get used to the mathematics of the bus waiting routine. Actually, I would give another 10 cent if, instead of giving the time the bus leaves the first stop, they could calculate the time it arrives at the stop where one is waiting. It would be much more user friendly, and has been done in other countries. Where the world leads, Ireland could follow.
Whenever I hear the Irish boasting about their pioneering steps, and how they set an example to the world, I get mixed feelings. I’m often reminded of my homeland. Whenever Lithuania wins gold at the Olympics or for some other reason comes to the attention of the media, we feel as if the whole world is watching us, when in fact we are just a small dot on the map that strives to glitter like a diamond. Yet that shimmering can easily deceive people into the belief that they’re ‘grand’, as the Irish say – and that everything is grand, and you’ll live happily ever after.
Becoming a pioneer is a great achievement. But it is tough to stay one. Ireland has been a great inspiration for my home country so far, and I hope it remains one – just as much as I hope those glass bottles are being recycled.
