Shooting Star
Close-up of a person's hand holding an orange packaged sausage, labeled in Lithuanian, wearing a dark jacket with a red string.
A rural scene with three elderly women standing on the side of a dirt road near a house, observing a motorcyclist passing by. The background features green trees and a cloudy sky.
Elderly person in winter clothing holding plastic bags outside rural houses.
A person walking with a dog on a muddy and snowy path in a forested area, surrounded by bare trees and evergreens, under an overcast sky.
Two-story house with barren trees and a dog near the entrance, overcast sky
Person with gray hair facing away, wearing black sweater, near yellow wall
Yellow delivery van parked in front of a gray, multi-story concrete building with multiple windows.
Person holding a white plastic bag against a yellow surface.
Two people and a dog standing by an open yellow van on a dirt road, with grass and trees in the background.
A woman sitting on a sofa in a colorful, vintage-style living room with floral wallpaper and framed pictures. The room includes a crocheted rug, yarn balls, and decorative curtains.
Flock of birds flying over a barren field with a clear blue sky and distant trees.
Elderly man with a mustache wearing a quilted jacket standing outdoors in a wooded area.
Trees with thin branches and leaves, in front of an old building with a corrugated roof, surrounded by green grass.
Two adults and a child near a yellow vehicle on a rural road. The child is standing with arms crossed. Grass and trees in the background.
Elderly man sitting on a metal crate outdoors wearing a flat cap, jacket, and black pants, surrounded by trees and greenery.

Meat, dry food for Rex, ice cream, sausage, toilet paper.

Even in such a small country as Latvia, the inhabitants live parallel lives, often not understanding each other. The government does not understand the population; the city dwellers do not understand the people living in the countryside, which leads to an alarming reality.

 

There are reports of emptying villages and towns in Latvia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, etc. This is a common problem in Europe. An observable reality, in which places rapidly and seemingly irreversibly lose their constitutive elements: people, schools, services, social networks, jobs, and the future.

 

Large territories become empty or and its subjects leave in large numbers to live in territories of other states and cities. Young people do not see opportunities to live in the countryside.

 

For two years, in Latvia, I drove with a shop on wheels that deliver goods to residents who cannot get to the city. In remote villages, old people are most often found. There is a slum in the place of the house and there is still a senior citizen living there and it is so lonely that a shop on wheels saleswoman is the only person they have met in a week.