We Americans have been told, repeatedly, that the European Union is a paradise and nearly-perfect society where anybody who needs help (like Lilya) will get taxpayer-provided housing, education, and a job (or monthly check).
How can the events in this movie happen in the EU?
Hm.. Intresting political post. If you are realy from US then what you have heard about EU is overvalued. Yes we have a effecitive walfare system that covers EVERYONE but some still fall trough the cracks. She was a illegal alien and wasn't elegible for walefare benefits. Now EU is alot poorer an tons of people come here to look for a better life and a lot of them end up as beggars or in prostitution. What Obama is trying to do is only a fraction of what we have in europe and he is far from a socialist.
Lilja is 16 years old. Her only friend is the young boy Volodja. They live in Estonia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej. He is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.
At least that's the descrition. So, I guess it was taking place in Estonia.
Hm.. Intresting political post. If you are realy from US then what you have heard about EU is overvalued. Yes we have a effecitive walfare system that covers EVERYONE but some still fall trough the cracks. She was a illegal alien and wasn't elegible for walefare benefits. Now EU is alot poorer an tons of people come here to look for a better life and a lot of them end up as beggars or in prostitution. What Obama is trying to do is only a fraction of what we have in europe and he is far from a socialist.
Again, Western and Eastern Europe are VERY different places. Almost like other worlds.
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It happens everywhere, even here in the US, yes, here at the US, today, do a little investigation and you will see, you will be surprised, talk to the police, go to women shelters, you probably have a decent life but for many people it's a living hell. Peace
This happens everywhere. It is true that we do have universal healthcare and welfare and free education, as well as low crime rates, but we're far from perfect.
I live in America; nobody says this about the EU. I can only guess that you heard right-wing pundits sarcastically referring to Europe, and you didn't pick up on the sarcasm.
It's a mad house, this modern life. It's a mad house, my faithless bride.
Lilya didnt get help, because the criminal conditioned her to mistrust the police, so she never actually tried talking to them.
Otherwise she would have gotten help, especially since it was Sweden. Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark are the countries with the really strong welfare state.
Also yes, what we have in Europe is more of a democracy than the de-facto feudalism to be found in the USA. But its progressing fast toward the same development, even in Sweden.
Our ginis dont look too good either, albeit its still much better than the USA.
But dont let the Gini Coefficient fool you too much. Germany already has a larger low-wage sector than the USA, and we're copying other bad ideas from other countries as well. This society is going down, and its going down fast.
I'm amazed that a (presumably) European person would talk about Europe as if it was one country with one political system. Complete nonsense, please stop that.