博物館的同事告訴我：一般波士尼亞的大學畢業生，一個月賺600–700馬克，是300–350歐元，至於波士尼亞的人均月收入，好像只有200多歐。掐指一算，學校給我的實習補助是當地人平均收入的兩倍有餘。
當初的戰爭和現在的難民危機，讓塞拉耶佛聚集大量的外國人，當然也有很多是歐洲的自由工作者賴在這裡。領外幣在波士尼亞生活，絕對是天堂，這裡觀光區的標價完全和西歐一樣，而一塊歐元換兩元馬克，在非觀光區，菜價便宜到讓人想哭。房租也是，在塞拉耶佛老城區的黃金地段找了一個兩房一廳的公寓，約莫500加幣一個月，對來自多倫多我來說這價格算什麼。我大大方方地付了錢，慶幸自己的房租比其他去歐盟國家實習的同學都還低，忘了有很多其他城市來的波士尼亞人，他們想來塞拉耶佛打拼，但他們要住哪？這樣的房租是他們一個月可以賺的錢，那還是如果他們找得到工作的前提下。外國人帶來的觀光財讓當地人賺的有限，然被推高的房價卻默默把自己的國民拒於城市之外。
旅居人均不夠高的城市，寫部落格文章時可以吹噓這是冒險犯難，可說穿了，自己終究也只是全球化資本主義下傷害當地人生活的共犯罷了。
The average income of college-educated Bosnian young people is approximately 600 to 700 Bosnian Marks (BAM); that is, if they can find jobs after the school. For those who are unfamiliar with BAM, that’s equivalent to about 300 to 350 euro. However, “most young people won’t even get a job,” according to one of my colleagues at the War Childhood Museum.
For those young people who try to stay in/come to Sarajevo, the biggest challenge might be the rental market. There are many international NGOs operating in Sarajevo, and they bring in a large number of the foreigners. Of course, there are also many people coming to experience life in an exotic – and affordable – European city. Foreigners earn euros or US dollars, and enjoy the low cost of living. Landlords increase the rental prices, double or triple; and those foreigners pay anyway because it’s far cheaper than where they came from. Most of them won’t feel guilty, as they believe that they are contributing to Sarajevo’s development.
However, neither rising prices nor economic development necessarily improve the lives of young Bosnians. It is hard to live in a city where rent can be as high as their entire salary.
My funding for the summer internship was 950 CAD per month, two times more than the average local income. That amount, in addition to getting to enjoy a three-room apartment in the heart of Sarajevo, was more than reasonable. I was also one of those people who had the luxury of not caring about rental prices.
And that just makes me feel sad.
