Ivana Grollova: I can now better understand the dilemma and difficulties of a society with nomad
traditions and psychology, once it decides to modernize
The following exclusive interview is with the Ambassador of Czech Republic in Mongolia, on the current
and future cooperation between the two countries and Mongolian culture.
-Although you have not been in Mongolia for long, you know a lot about the country. What more do
you know about Mongolia, what is your opinion of it?
-I have graduated from the Mongolian studies unit at the Czech Charles University in Prague. Therefore,
I had some understanding of Mongolia even before getting married. Of course, living here an ordinary
daily life for some time, especially during the years of the supply difficulties in the beginning of the ´90s
or during the years of great expectations before the Asian crisis some five years later, made me
understand some aspects in more detail. What I still struggle with, for example, is the different approach
to planning things. I tend to think things through in advance, you can get to the same point just ad-hoc,
in the very last minute. Maybe with age I have learned how to relax and be more patient, so now I can
coordinate with you slightly better. On the other hand, as business obligations learned many of my
Mongolian friends to drink less and care about time more, their approach also slowly grows closer to
mine.
-Have becoming a family with a Mongolian descendant change your mind about Mongolia in any way?
-I think I can now better understand the dilemma and difficulties of a society with nomad traditions and
psychology, once it decides to modernize. As a student I kept looking at you as source for folklore and
linguistic research. Those who did not live in ger with their livestock were not “proper Mongols” for me.
But I did not think of how much of the technology progress as well as food security requires habits of
settled civilization or at least close interconnection with settled cultures. If you, however, do not want to
follow the fate of Kidans of the 10th century, you face enormous task to keep track of technological
development, make cities, vegetable farms or industrial parks as effective as possible, and at the same
time implement that technological development also in the areas that you succeed to protect as
nomadic in nature. It needs vision, leading personalities, great deal of internal cooperation and
planning... well, and here we are “back in square one”...
-We heard that you are specialized in the study of Mongolian and Russian languages. What can you
say about the culture of Mongolians?
-There are many things I appreciate in Mongolian culture a lot. Much of the tradition has nevertheless
also been strangely twisted during the Soviet era. For instance, equality and protection of women here
was natural and even a part of the law codex of Great Yasa of the 13th century. It can hardly be
otherwise in society where members of isolated ail depend each on another in all the difficult situations
of life in steppes or deserts. In times of socialism, however, working women became even more
discriminated. I think it was because of frustration of men who could not economically sustain their
families enough and could not risk conflict with the regime either. This was similar in the Czech society,
too. But the danger continues now - in the lack of professional skills and knowledge by young and midaged Mongolian men. It results into lack self-confidence, frustration and xenophobic behavior. Like in
nature, female seeks protectors for her children, a real head of her family – and only an active male, not
just aggressive loser, can attract her. The culture may be in danger if Mongolian men give up – and I
appreciate the current security strategy of Mongolia mentions the gene-fund protection, too. Besides
the health and physical cultivation, the way out of the danger leads in education (including middleschool technical professions and vocational training), entrepreneurship and discipline. Not everybody
has to be super rich – but it is important to be smart and worth of self -respect, so the respect and
tolerance to women come along.
Very much the same can be said about your traditional relationship to nature and environment. As a
foreign student I was taught about 13th century natural reservations or warned that no Mongolian
should wash his knife in river water – to avoid the anger of the river spirits. In other words, to avoid
water pollution and potential transmission of diseases. Culture has poetic explanations for very practical
principals of survival! Previous times have not, however, prepared you for pollution from chemicals, for
non-recyclable plastic waste which flows down your rivers, fills all abandoned corners of the streets or
covers the whole valleys that used to be the sacred ones. The times of eco-waste are – at least for the
time being - over. To say “by tradition the nomads would not interfere with the nature around” is not a
solution. Now you produce and consume more – and therefore should care more about your impact on
your own environment. You are now becoming the modern nomads – who have to find their harmony
with nature again, now with the help of modern approaches and know-how. Otherwise – similarly as in
centuries ago – the “offended or hurt sacred spirits of your nature”, the burkhans, would not let you
survive!
-As an Ambassador of a country, what would be your plan on expanding social and economic
cooperation between the two countries?
- As an ambassador I am happy to introduce companies who bring modern technologies and know-how
on ecologically high level of standards. In our development cooperation projects we also help you to
learn the use of this know-how. There are lots of Czech goods that can be sold on your market, and it is
more and more really just first-quality or even luxury stuff – food products, glass and lights, construction
materials or furniture, even pianos. Exchange of students, professional advisory, projects on vocational
training or support to schools and working units of people with disabilities – those are the activities that
help to take the social development further. And culture makes the life nicer and more interesting – so I
plan, to the extent our budget allows – to support also different entertaining cultural events. Actually –
the earliest of them would be a film version of the theatre performance “Leaving” by our ex-president
Václav Havel in the Black Box theatre on 23rd November, within the frame of the EU Film Festival.
-Mongolia and Czech Republic have a long relationship in the geology sector. Is it possible to have
Czech geologists come and work in Mongolia, just like it was in the pre-democratic Mongolia? Is Czech
Republic interested in this?
-Besides Czech geologists who cooperate with their Mongolian partners in search for mineral resources
on smaller scale business basis, there are specialized companies, especially in hydro-geology, who can
do highly professional research of water resources and their mapping. With the aim to develop new
mining sites, industrial zones or modern cities and urban areas, to know water potential of these sites
and have detailed plan of where to bring the water from or how to distribute it, is crucial. Czech
geologists are already experienced in working with private developers, a new development project
financed by the Czech Government is being prepared to teach your water drilling companies how to
make proper research before the drilling, not to waste energy and resources on very expensive drilling
procedures. But asking about the pre-democratic Mongolia time, we should keep in mind those where
different. Those were the times of COMECom where much of the economic relations were centralized,
non-purely market-oriented and often based just on barter-exchange. I can imagine that the Soviet
Union needed minerals from Mongolia, so they ordered the Czechs to provide geology research and
paid them either with money or by allowing them to transport part of the excavated minerals (for that
time extremely low transport fees) to Czechoslovakia. That is why the presence of our specialists could
be so massive. We are not in that situation anymore. The Czech Government has still financed some
development projects that included geological research or water drilling – but with the aim to help
Mongolian social or professional development (bringing water to pastures or schools, teaching your
geologists how to protect drilling instruments in the permanent-frost layers etc.). For other type of
business, the market economy rules apply in the Czech Republic as well as in Mongolia. Individual
professional companies can bid against other competitors for particular government procurement
contracts or bank financing, while other middle-scale projects are based on normal business contract.
The services provided should be paid for as anywhere else in the world where our experts are involved.
Mongolia is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world and it does not need to go
begging from the others. You are already the ones who, with transparent and supportive business
environment, can provide business opportunities and jobs to the others yourselves. You can proudly pay
for good quality your country, your nature, your homes and your children deserve.
-Currently, there are over 3,000 Mongolian citizens living in Czech Republic. Out of this 3,000, there
are many who are there illegally. Is there a chance that the ones who have been there for many years
can become Czech citizens in the future?
Every citizen interested in obtaining Czech citizenship should follow the standard legal procedure. As far
as I am aware, the Czech Republic is not considering any “amnesty” for illegals or their children – but on
the other hand, we welcome everybody who is interested in legally becoming our citizenship and
working with us towards further development of the Czech Republic and the EU. But, please, think
about Mongolia first, because your own country needs educated, experienced and enthusiastic
Mongolian citizens with the “European” potential more than anything else!
-Lately, the Czech Government has been returning Mongolians with expired visas (illegal immigrants)
to their home countries after issuing 500 euros to them before deportation. How effective is this
method and what is its current progress? How many Mongolians have returned to their countries so
far?
Speaking about the Czech Government’s support of 500 euros for return, I think you are referring to the
situation several years ago, when the economic crisis in Europe resulted in closure of several factories
around the region. In many of them foreign workers remained trapped without jobs and with no means
to return. In its project of voluntary returns, our Government offered one-time opportunity for those
who wanted to leave for home, granting them money to cover their transport expenses and to help
them re-integrate to the country of origin. Hundreds of Mongolian workers used that opportunity at the
time.
-There are many who are denied visas to Czech Republic in Mongolia; how can this be avoided and
what are the main concerns on issuing visas?
The Czech Republic is now a member of the Schengen territory. Therefore, issuing the Czech visa, it
automatically issues visa for the whole Schengen region. We are therefore bound by the same rules as
any other Schengen country. We are, at the same time, an open country that welcomes tourists as well
as businessman who follow our legal rules and by their presence help to develop our touristic market
and economy. The central authorities therefore only refuse to issue visas to those who do not meet the
requested criteria or have some history of illegal activities or visa-regime breaks in any of the Schengen
states. The same safety rules are followed by your country, too. The consular section of the Embassy
can, on the other hand, only accept applications that have all necessary administrative aspects in order
and once the objective pursued by the applicant is supported by his document. Otherwise the computer
system would not process them. Therefore we are here to help you to collect all the papers properly,
while you yourselves can avoid refusal by preparing everything in advance according to our website
instructions. And you should also come early enough to allow several working days for the standard
procedure (depending on the type of the visa) before your planned journey.
-In your opinion, what sectors and industries today may greatly benefit from the Czech-Mongolia
relationship but have not yet seen its chance to do so?
There are many sectors of possible cooperation. How much their chances have been exhausted depends
very much on the business environment and readiness of the companies on both sides. After the water
management I would mention e.g. Czech small aircrafts or mobile air-ports, cooperation in recultivation, landscape architecture, soil nutrition, fishery, eco-tourism – to name just few areas that
have great future potential for cooperation in further stages of Mongolia’s development and may have
not been fully exploited so far.
-Are there other operations and projects the previous Ambassadors left you; and which ones are you
currently involved with?
I consider the very friendly diplomatic relations between our Governments and peoples the most
important “heritage” from my predecessors. Besides, there are different types of economic cooperation
we try to facilitate. We also have several on-going development projects – e.g. more Przewalski horses
(takhi) are to be brought from the Prague ZOO to wild nature in Gobi-Altai. And I wish to continue our
excellent cooperation with the Mongolian National University’s Bohemian studies unit or the Mongolian
Dance and Music College. That is really a solid basis on which my highly professional team and I can
humbly build on.