by Laura Macario

Created on: December 30, 2008

A benefit of the communist system was the guarantee of employment, healthcare, education and access to leisure opportunities.

Economically, communism was based on government ownership and control over all production and economic resources. In Latvia and Poland financial institutions, land, and large commercial and industrial enterprises came under centralized control. The ownership of land by the national government had significant implications for the inhabitants of Eastern countries. For example, the entire coastline bordering the Baltic Sea in Latvia was declared a military zone, therefore 400 kilometers of the coast was not accessible to anyone, except the military. If Latvians wanted to go to the sea, the only area available to them was in the Gulf of Rga. Jrmala, approximately 20 kilometers from Rga became a popular beach destination for Latvians and received visitors from the entire Soviet Union.

Socially, constitutions were written to guarantee basic rights and liberties, although these were seldom enforced by the state and local governments. Communism's goal was to achieve a "classless" society, where certain groups such as the nomenclature (local elite) had much more power, wealth, prestige and opportunities than all other citizens. If any inhabitant wanted travel anywhere, permission needed to be granted by the local government. Hall (2001, 193) describes that traveling and recreation was encouraged and the provision of inexpensive accommodation and transport was provided to urban, industrial families. Excluded from these policies was a large majority of the rural population. This left rural families "unsubsidized and relatively immobile" (Hall, 2001, 193). Local governments encouraged travelling, yet this was strictly controlled and only allowed between countries that shared similar political ideologies (Hall, 2001, 193).

Half a century later, the disintegration of communism in Poland and collapse of the Soviet Union led to drastic political, economic and demographic changes. Not only were the residents faced with an unknown future, the affects were felt in all areas of their lives, especially for women (Hall, 2001). Since women had access to employment, healthcare, education and leisure opportunities, although these collapsed in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and the communist government in Poland.

At present migration from Eastern Europe has gained attention since the collapse of the Soviet Union and other socialist governments in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but even more since the incorporation of ten new member countries into the European Union in May 2004. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the leading up to the incorporation of Latvia and Poland into the European Union, these former Eastern bloc countries have and continue to experience drastic demographic, political and economic changes. These changes cannot be ignored by Western European countries such as The Netherlands, as many Latvians and Poles migrate across the borders of European states in the hope of better opportunities for life. Not only do these changes have significant implications on the migrants' home country, but also for the future of the country they now call home.

LM

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