Yes there are quite a few people that have not wanted to make the transition and rather think things were much better before. The “beauty” with these communist countries was (or even is) that everybody have a job. Unemployment is not an issue. The former DDR has been in for a tough time these last 20 years and many people have experienced the most unusual thing: unemployment.
I experienced much of the same thing in 1997 in the Republic of Georgia (ex Soviet). Freedom has its price and quite a few, which of course is an understatement, were longing for former times under the Soviet rule because times were stable, jobs plentiful, social security in place. Rather harmonious actually, as strange as it may sound. There were even some people glorifying Stalin (after all he was Georgian even though he tried the best he could to deny that; he wanted to be Russian).
A lot of people want to be ruled, don’t want the freedom to make their own decisions; be the masters of their own destiny. It is typical conformity, we go with the masses because that gives some sort of protection. We do that, animals do that, even fish do that.
As with Moses and the Israelites, as with DDR and the Germans, so was it with the Georgians. To get Georgia out of the Soviet Union was the easy part. All the harder to get the Soviet Union out of the Georgians. Which I think to some extent they have not managed yet. This in spite of the rather hostile attitude any Georgian will have towards (today) Russia. Shows a Winnie the Pooh mentality. Or not being able to let go.
It is not easy to realize or the citizens there and then that in these situations the time between the ending and the new beginning will be rather lengthy. It will be a time of uncertainty, unrest, even chaos to some extent. Most people cannot take that, and are having a hard time stepping into this necessary uncertainty. Necessary if the country wants to move on.
So what about walls after the tearing down of the wall. Seems lie there are popping up walls all over the pace. Not necessarily physical ones like in the Middle East. Europe is e.g. fencing in to protect against migration from development countries. But these people are valuable for the development just because they are willing to get into transitions, something most of the developed world is by no means is all that willing to do. They leave behind their country, family, friends but also probably no sight of any prosperous future. The latter is the real reason why they are willing to leave it all behind, go through uncertainty, struggles, frustration and whatever to get a new start. They are seeking out transitions. We need this. This is also what has brought the US where it is today. The beauty of these examples is that they show what it takes to go through transitions. Not to scare you off because it will always be harder for a country than an organization than an individual. But this price pays off. Remember that; it pays off. No transitions,- no development.
