Tips for Surviving Collapse: A First Hand Experience

May 19, 2023

SELCO: Survive Balkanization and Collapse with a Dual System

“Balkanization is the fragmentation of a larger region or state into smaller regions or states, which may be hostile or uncooperative with one another.” (Wikipedia)

Again the word “Balkanization” becoming popular. Actually, it has been often referenced for several years, ever since people understood that events that happened in the Balkans might happen in their neighborhood too in some form.

Usually people think about that word in the terms mentioned above, fragmentation into smaller parts that are not necessarily friendly to each other.

And that fragmentation might come in many forms that I described and discuss in a lot of articles. Back then, mostly people did not believe in it.

Rarely is it being discussed from one other angle, which is also very important from a survival point of view, and that is something that we might call the duality of the system.

Duality of the system (in the Balkans)

Yes, we still have laws, systems, government, infrastructure, courts, and everything else that you have there in a democratic and functional country. But nothing works the way that should work, and it never did since the war ended, for 30 years almost.

Let’s say you are living in the Balkans, and for example, your kid gets killed by a drunk driver. You may be sure he will stay out of jail if he has a relative in politics or enough money to bribe the judge. You are eating worse food in a lot of cases, toxic, or under the normal standards because normal standards are not existing here. The EU gets rid of cheap and low-quality food here.

If you are sick seriously, you are dead because the medical system works only on paper, and if you are not rich you are dead. Criminal organization members are infiltrated into the government and ruling parties (and vice versa), and there is no real difference between them.

If you are a journalist who writes about it you will disappear. If you are a common man who talks too loud about it you will lose your job.

If you “plug” yourself into the ruling party and obey, you might have a job with a salary just large enough to keep you fed enough not to die, and to keep you in constant horror, wondering are you gonna lose even that poor job and leave your kids hungry?

Now, that duality of the system means that the regular system is not working for you, so there is a “parallel” system to the existing one where you can “swim” and survive.

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That means you will have to become a master of networking.

Everywhere, you will have a connection.

You need to have a man in the hospital who will help you either because you will bribe him or you will owe him a favor so you can get things done there if your kid gets sick. Otherwise, if you go with regular channels in the hospital, chances are less good.

You have a man who will sell you food smuggled “without tax” from Germany, so it is better quality. You go and avoid paying taxes to the state. (FFS, for all your pretending, you actually hate the state and system.) You save money in foreign currencies, or gold, and you do private jobs on the verge or even on the other side of the law because this kind of law in this kind of country you do not take as a law.

You are living in a dual system, where on one side, you are plugged into a normal and crooked system, and on the other side, you are living and functioning in a parallel system, because that is the only way to live here.

Duality of the system-it is another type of Balkanization.

Now, if you recognize any of the above “symptoms” in your society, well…welcome to the start of Balkanization.

The SHTF

I mentioned often that SHTF does not necessarily have to mean one sudden and abrupt event after we can say, “OK, it is SHTF.”

We might already be in some form of SHTF, and some spark might only push us to a larger scale (or more serious) SHTF.

My time and my experience in the war gave me valuable knowledge and views on life, but equally to that, living in this “dual system” for years and decades also gave me precious knowledge and experience.

People will find ways to get things done IF they recognize what is happening around them.

Do not wait for times of chaos. I am sure some form of Balkanisation is there, or some form of need for a parallel system for you.

If you do not agree with all the government decisions and the latest societal rules and changes (and I am sure you would not be here if you agree with all that government push), then you should not raise your voice in all places since you might lose your job, or your business might be canceled.

That is not the way to resist now.

How to resist

Resist by networking and building this dual system. Things can be done if you have a network and people.

And yes, fuck the government!

This form of Balkanization is something that is slowly becoming visible in parts of the world and places where I would have sworn (a couple of years ago) it was impossible.

There is less and less sense for what people need and more and more push for what some political option or power structures want. Even if the majority of folks are against that, it is still being pushed by more and more violent or repressive methods.

The government will push more things in your face, things that you do not like. The agenda will be more and more against your core values, and you will feel more and more like a stranger in your own land, where “old values” are lost.

You will have the choice either to obey or to be “canceled,” everywhere from getting your account in social media networks shut down to the point of taking your kids from you because you are a “terrorist.”

Balkanization does not like free thinkers, so do not appear to be a free thinker who fights the fights that cannot be won. Choose your fights and use a dual system.

The dual system is coming if it’s not already there.

As a result, we are going to see Balkanization – yes, in the terms described in the first sentences of this article. But before that fragmentation and hostility, we are going to see a form of Balkanization consisting of people living in this “dual system.”

And remember – one of the most accurate prepper definitions is “the person who is always a couple of steps ahead of others,” so think about this before most of the other people and prepare. Set up your networks now.

What are your thoughts?

Do you foresee this kind of Balkanization happening where you are? Are you already seeing evidence of a dual system where you live? Do you have some examples you can share of such a system?

Let’s discuss it in the comments.

About Selco:

Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution.

In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today.

He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless of what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations as Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months.

Read more of Selco’s articles here.
Buy his PDF books here.
Buy his #1 New Release paperback, The Dark Secrets of Survival here.
Take advantage of a deep and profound insight into his knowledge by signing up for his online course SHTF Survival Boot Camp.
Learn the inside story of what it was really like when the SHTF with his online course One Year in Hell.
Find his website here: SHTFSchool.com

Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard, and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.

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Source: The International Man

Where Not to Be in a Crisis

by Jeff Thomas

For many years, there have been those who have been prognosticating an economic crisis – not just a recession lasting a year or two, but a full-blown Greater Depression that would eclipse any major event we’ve seen in our lifetimes.

That may appear to be an overstatement, but historically, it’s the norm for a time of major upheaval to occur every eighty years or so. And although some of us began analysing and commenting on the Greater Depression many years ago, it’s clear to all of us that we’ve now entered the leading edge of the crisis.

All of the traditional warning signs are present, and although technology has changed considerably over the millennia, human behaviour has not. We are witnessing the same symptoms that were present in major collapses of the past, going back at least as far as the Roman Empire.

We are therefore seeing not only the initial stages of an economic collapse but the concurrent events, such as an almost total corruption of the political structure, a move toward totalitarian rule, the destruction of currencies, and a loss of faith in leadership across the board. Along the way, we’re also experiencing a decline in logic and morality and an eroding sense of humanity.

That’s quite a lot to take in, yet, sorry to say; we’re only in the first stages of collapse. It will get quite a bit worse before it gets better.

As the economy begins its collapse in earnest, what we shall witness will be a population that will be unable to adapt quickly to the symptoms of the crisis as they increase in frequency and magnitude. The reaction to each will be, first, shock (an inability to comprehend that the impossible has occurred), then fear (a state of confusion and inability to adjust to rapidly-changing conditions), and finally, anger.

This last development should give pause to us all, as it’s the stage when those who have been most strongly impacted realise that there’s precious little that they can do to regain normalcy. When they find that they can’t get their hands around the necks of those who actually are to blame, they’ll take out their anger on whomever is in their proximity – each other.

So, the questions arise: Where will these problems be most prevalent? Where will the situations exist that should be avoided as much as possible, in order to minimize the likelihood that we’ll become collateral damage of the crisis?

Having studied previous similar historical periods, I can attest that this is a question that, unfortunately, requires an extensive and complex answer. However, as a rough guide, there are three considerations that will be overarching.

Regardless of any other concerns that may affect the reader individually, all persons would do well to stay clear (as much as possible) from the following:

First World Countries

Since 1945, the First World countries (the US, UK, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) have led the world in both prosperity and power. Under the driving force of the US, they’ve created not only the advances of the last eighty years but also the rot that has led to the current crisis. As such, these countries are not only the countries where we’re seeing the most dramatic oppression of people; they will also experience the most precipitous fall economically, politically, and sociologically.

Although these countries have, until recently, seemed to be the most attractive locations in which to live, that condition has now begun a reversal, and in the coming years, they’ll represent the very nexus of decline. As such, they’ll become the most unpredictable and even the most dangerous places to be.

Conversely, the choicest countries in which to live will be those countries where change will be minimal. Those countries where the populations and governments have been relatively unambitious over the last half century or more, will be the locations that are the least likely to change dramatically during the crisis. That one fact speaks loudly to the reader’s economic, political, and social well-being in this period.

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Cold Climates

The colder a location is, the less hospitable it will be in a crisis. When governments collapse economically and seemingly basic amenities can no longer be paid for, politicians will look after their own needs before those of the people they are meant to represent. Simple services such as snow ploughing may be dropped from city budgets that must experience cutbacks. More importantly, during an energy crunch, you’re likely to experience periods in which heat cannot be attained. This doesn’t mean that you will necessarily freeze to death, but it does mean that life will be much harder. In addition, produce cannot be grown in colder climates, which eliminates even the possibility of a kitchen garden in colder months.

Cities

By far, this is the riskiest of the three concerns. The more concentrated the population is the greater the risk. The larger your building, the less control you have over utilities. If the water, electricity, or heat is shut off due to energy shortages, you will have little or no recourse.

But, by far, the greatest risk in a city will be the inherent depersonalisation that exists even in the best of times. Even if you live in a very nice apartment building in a nice neighbourhood, you’re likely to be socially isolated from others. (You may not even know the people in the apartment across the hall.) People in cities tend not to help each other much at the best of times, but in a crisis, those around you can become a threat to your very existence.

Most importantly, food supplies are likely to be interrupted for indeterminate periods and, as Isaac Azimov stated, “After nine missed meals, a man will kill for food.” Even if you’re able to obtain a loaf of bread at a neighbourhood store, you may not be able to walk home with it without being waylaid. Even brief periods of interruption of food delivery to a population centre may result in a simple loaf of bread being worth killing for.

And even for those who live in prosperous neighbourhoods where the neighbours tend to be civil, poorer neighbourhoods are not so far away that their residents, if desperate, will not make the short trip to where they think others have the essentials.

Such breakdowns, as described above, tend to occur slowly, then suddenly. Those of us who have lived through city riots understand that tension builds as people attempt to maintain normal decorum, then some small event sparks off rioting. A citywide riot can go off like popcorn spontaneously. In good times, police can quell a riot in a few days or weeks, but when rioting is citywide, and the cause cannot be quickly remedied, riots can last for extended periods, potentially turning formerly-safe city streets into the equivalent of a war zone.

Of course, there’s the tendency to say, “Don’t be ridiculous – it can’t get that bad.” However, history tells us that whenever a major crisis period occurs, the above conditions almost always occur.

The reader may wish to assess his exposure to the three conditions above. Ideally, he’ll find a location to sit out the crisis – a country that’s likely to be less affected by the events that are now unfolding. He may choose a location that’s warm year-round, where food is plentiful even in harder times. And he may try to locate himself in a community of lower population density, where neighbours habitually help each other.

But regardless of what the reader chooses to do, he should be aware that the future of his well-being and that of his family may hinge on the choices he makes in the very near future.

Editor’s Note: It’s clear there are some ominous social, political, cultural, and economic trends playing out right now. Many of which seem to point to an unfortunate decline of the West.