Punsaldulam
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990017
Name: Punsaldulam
Parent's name: Sandag
Ovog: Shar nohoit
Sex: m
Year of Birth: 1952
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: incomplete secondary
Notes on education: This most likely means 7 years of schooling.
Work: Gruppt
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Tsetserleg sum, Hövsgöl aimag
Lives in: Sühbaatar sum (or part of UB), Ulaanbaatar aimag
Mother's profession: Shoemaker - worked in an artel
Father's profession: Namyn horoony darga
Themes for this interview are:
(Please click on a theme to see more interviews on that topic)
childhood
education / cultural production
cultural campaigns
privatization
keepsakes / material culture
military
Alternative keywords suggested by readers for this interview are: (Please click on a keyword to see more interviews, if any, on that topic)
To read a full interview with Punsaldulam please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 080603A with Punsaldulam
Punsaldulam was born in Tsetserleg sum, Hövsgöl aimag in 1952 and left his hometown together with his parents during his childhood and went to the kindergarten in the aimag center.
There were many good toys in the kindergarten and they had been brought from abroad through Hatgal.
He started school in 1960 and at that time the school bag and uniform were rare, therefore parents make them themselves. They used ink which had to be mixed with water, and in the winter the ink would freeze.
The Pioneer summer camp was established in his aimag when he was in the 2nd grade. One session was for 21 days and cost 21 tögrögs. It was free for one child of families with 4-5 children. They wrote a lot in class and children liked to read a lot and books and textbooks were available and there was a library. At the Pioneer camp children learned a lot and they went on hikes, learned songs and dances, read books and plays.
Children in the 5-7th grades would prepare winter fuel for the school, going to the mountains on weekends and they would prepare 30-40 truckloads of wood.
At that time even if people were fired, they would appointed to another job and there were no unemployed people.
People felt that army service was mandatory and even students of vocational training institutions were mobilized. Punsaldulam stayed in the city after his 3 years of army service and became a police officer. At that time, the police officer’s position was considered to be a good one. Public safety police officers always carried a gun, but later only bank, and state special security officers had a gun and others returned theirs.
All families were inspected during the cultural campaigns and it aimed to make people to learn a clean and healthy lifestyle and be disgusted at those who weren't.
After democracy, people's characteristics (lit: human quality) worsened and individualism increased. Also, democracy made people of 45-60 to suffer unemployment and no pension. Punsaldulam said that privatization was an intentional swindle by a certain group of people.
