Velvet Revolution and remnants of Communism

I don't know if many of you know, but this week (Tuesday, Nov. 17th) marks the twentieth anniversary of the fall of Communism in the Czech Republic. Last week, I was able to watch the lights and glitter in Berlin, as the city commemorated the fall of the Berlin Wall. U2 was there and thousands of people, from all nations, flocked to the Brandenburg Gate to witness the spectacle and reminisce about the time when freedom was attained and borders were literally torn asunder. Fireworks blasted throughout the night, as Germans toasted to their unity. Expecting to see the same kind of reaction in Prague, I was shocked to discover that there will be no such celebration. There will be no parades. No fireworks. No public parties. No commemorative keys to be shook, or Czech flags to be waved. To the contrary, the celebration will be one of a personal nature; taking place within the homes, quietly out of sight. I guess it would be hard to call it a celebration at all.

It makes sense for a nation of just over 10 million to commemorate their 'Democratic Revolution' in such a quite way. After all, they suffered quietly. Germany has always been intriguing for the western world, and during the reign of totalitarian communism, it was split, straddling the Iron Curtain. The Czechs on the other hand, they are Slavic, so I guess it was only fitting that a Slavic nation would follow the 'Slavic mother', Russia. Yeah, to western eyes, it was unfortunate that the Czechoslovak nation, a former Democracy, was under the rule of Stalin, but they were always 'in the East'. The interest just wasn't there.

Still, my mind wonders, why don't Czechs take more pride in the fact that their 'Velvet Revolution' was a motivation to the whole world? It was completely non-violent. It was started by young students. It motivated the masses. And, it toppled an entrenched, oppressive governing body that lied and deceived its people. From the outside perspective, it was a revolution of "The Powerless" and should be commemorated as one of the greatest, human-rights triumphs of the 20th century. Yet, in the paper today, almost half of Czechs polled claimed to have 'no interest in commemorating, or celebrating the Revolution.' This, for me, is quite unfortunate.

This past weekend, a documentary was shown in Policka, entitled, "The Power of the Powerless." The film was American and it was not made for Czech viewing audiences. The film discussed the developments of the revolution and gave a historical overview of the nature of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. At the end, the documentarian began to criticize the Czech people (mainly the younger generations) for being infatuated with 'superficiality' and lacking any kind of 'rooted ideology'. He himself, a man who was witness to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, expressed shock and disbelief when he found that many young Czechs didn't even know that the Velvet revolution existed (almost unbelievable). He openly asked, "What is happening in Czech schools? What memories are they portraying in the society at large?"

In thinking a little more deeply about the fact that the Velvet Revolution here is met with an alarming level of apathy, I guess I must take quick glance and look at Western culture today. It seems to me that many Czechs are pretty fed up with their petty, often-bickering political leaders. In fact, just two weeks ago, there was an article in a newspaper, where the writer professed the necessity of a revolution every 20 years, to 'clean the system of the nation.' Also, I find that many in the older demographic are constantly fighting in a modern world that moves too quickly and is full of deception, tumult and violence. I think, that the reality and difficulty of building up a new western-style, capitalistic Democracy, from the rusted hulk of Socialism, has hit Czechs. Maybe they thought the transition would be easy and that life would automatically be 'better' from the get-go? In addition to the constant fluctuation of the market and the uncertainty of jobs, many Czechs feel bombarded with American pop culture, which is exported at an astounding rate. I've heard it described as "American Imperialism", which often gets me chuckling, if not annoyed. But, I guess there is something to be said here. If the people legitimately do feel threatened, be it from a cultural, monetary or emotional standpoint, then what is there to like about free-flowing, all-consuming capitalism of the Western world?-- which to many here is still viewed as an 'import'. In this light, maybe the Velvet Revolution looks a little negative: a group of naive students who managed to overthrow normalcy.

The last aspect I think of when pondering the memory of Czechs, is that some of them might not remember Communism as being that bad. After all, it was very clear from the start that the Communist Party had a clear message for the people of Czechoslovakia: "If you leave the business of government to us, we will leave you alone. You will prosper: you will have a car, a house, a job and enough money for your family." And, really, I think for most people, the fact that their intellectual, religious and civic freedoms were given up in a trade-off for security, was just a fact of life. If there was suffering, it was done behind closed doors, not on the street. And, just like that, Communism in Czechoslovakia became boring for many who lived it; slowly, but surely, the Communist machine manipulated information and re-focused the worldview of an entire nation. The waterfall was reached by incremental paddle strokes, not through fast-running, white-water. Maybe for some, the Communist promise of security still holds their mind captive? Just today, President Vaclav Klaus claimed that reason for continuous fear during the period of Communist Normalization in the 1980's was not there; instead, it is a recreation of those trying to re-tell history. But, how can Klaus know this for certain? A nation that was told to suffer indoors, is a nation severed from neighbors and community. It turns into a culture of distrust. And, this is how the Communists ruled.

Maybe the reason no one is celebrating the Velvet Revolution is because the effects of being "separated and conquered" still linger. No one really knows what the Velvet Revolution means to the nation, because no one really knows what Communism meant to the nation. And, in this way, the Red Star is still victorious (at least for some).

Fall Festival

Fall is definatly my favorite season because of the changing of leaves. The reds, yellows and oranges give normal landscapes a warm feel that last until the leaves have fallen and turned brown. Once the leaves are on the ground it makes walking anywhere an almost musical journey, and the smell of the leaves bring to closer to the earth. Some of my fondest memories of fall are of walking through the woods with color all around and leaves softly falling to the ground around me as I walk.

For many people in Policka, and other places all over the world, fall is a time for harversting crops, drying fruit, making jam, wine, cider and brandi (plum, pear or aprocot), cutting and drying hay and cleaning up their gardens before the winter. Every weekend is spend doing these things in hopes to get all the work completed before the first frost.

On Sunday Jan based his family sunday sermon on giving thanks for what we have; plenty of food, a place to live, education, and family and friends. It is a fitting sermon for the end of fall, because all the harversting has been completed and people are getting ready for the winter months. It is also getting close to the anniversary of the fall of communism, which is extremely important for Czechs, but also something the younger generations are forgetting about. He also talked a little bit about the American tradition of Thanksgiving and explained that it is a long tradition and carries back to the time of the early settlers. After the service Jeremy and I had a fall festival planned for anyone who would like to take part, both from the church and community.

The event started off with the story of Johnny Appleseed (featuring Jeremy as Johnny Appleseed) and then went into crafts and snack. With the help of some friends we were able to make candles, homemade butter, yarn doll, god's eyes, and popcorn necklaces all at the same time! There were kids switching from station to station and even some adults made a candle or yarn doll. There was also a demonstation on combing and spinning wool and quilting. Our helpers all dressed up, which really brought the event to life, and everyone who attended had a good time. Afterward, the congragation had lunch together, which was the perfect ending to the morning.

Personally I was really excited about the event because it is close to home. Around this time there are fall festivals all over the east coast (mainly New England to Virgina)and I remember going to them as a kid. There were pumpkins, apple cider and hayrides. So for me, I wanted to show our friends here a little bit about where Jeremy and I grew up through the fall festival by having tradition crafts, making pumpkin cookies and apple bars, and dressing as if we were from the 18th centry. Of course this is not the only thing that represents where we grew up, but it was nice to share it with them. I would like to have a day were we talk about Pennsylvania and why Jeremy and I call it home.

Went to Krakow and found out that WWII was pretty crappy__dude.

Jamie and I took a much-anticipated trip to Poland this past weekend. It was a great time for us to unwind after the hectic planning that comes with the Halloween Party. I felt quite pleased as our train departed form Policka, because I knew that we had left on a good note: the Halloween Party was a complete sucess and our plans for the 'Fall Festival', which is this upcoming Sunday, were coming along nicely.

Krakow (Cracow, Cracov, Krakowa--I've seen it spelled so many ways) was surprisingly beautiful. If there is any country in Central Europe that I know the least about, Poland is it. Pretty much all I knew/know about Poland has been passed down to me either through the Polish-Catholic traditions of Ambridge (D-Woz REPRESENT with the pierogis), the movie 'The Pianist', the Holocaust, or the racially-charged 'Polak' jokes that never paint the Polish 'nation' in a good light. Needless to say, when I stepped off the train onto a boulevard that was quite wide, lined with relatively-new lamp posts, paved with beautiful cobblestones and surrounded by shops, my preconcieved notions instantly took a shot. I don't really know what I expected: maybe I thought many of the plaster facades would be crumbling and that there would be graffiti-covered bridges dotting the city? Well, whatever my mind had pre-imagined was quite far from the truth.

The city is located on the River 'Wiev' as it winds its way north to the Baltic Sea. In the southern part of Poland one will find beautiful vistas of sweeping mountains (much like the Appalachians) and rolling hills. Houses are dotted throughout, with the main concentration of towns lying within wide-open valleys. The Mountains rise on a gradual incline, so the feeling is not one of claustrophobia--think The Alleghenies, not West Virginia. As one travels about 50 kilometers north from the border with the Czech Republic, the country flattens out into plains; this is what most of Poland is comprised of. I guess to the 'untrained' eye, the landscape could look a little bit 'boring', yet its subtleness is what I loved about it. Gazing out the window of the train I looked directly into the woods; there were leaves of yellow and orange, and because the land itself was on such an even plane, it seemed as if the forest carried on forever. It was just a maze of earthy, fall colors with narrow roads leading to villages and churches tucked away, hidden. Every now and then, we would break out into the open and I would see farm fields radiating out from a central point--usually a town or a village. The remnants of the communist past are everywhere, as the flatness of the landscapes only exacerbates the height of the hideous, monolithic, communist 'block houses' reaching upwards towards the heavens; towering above even the church steeples.

Those of you with a very preliminary knowledge of the history of WWII would still be aware of place called Auschwitz (Oswiecem in Polish). Auschwitz was/is the most notorious of the Nazi concentration camps (along with its sister camp, Birkenau). The number of people murdered - in the most 'modern'/'efficient' of ways - is literally unknown. Growing up I heard about how meticulous the Nazis were in documenting their atrocities, which is true, when they were killing 'enemies' who were deemed 'worthwhile' to document; Jews did not fit this bill. Instead, the vast majority of those gassed, shot, starved, burned or hung were done so IMMEDIATELY upon exiting the train. They dropped their suitcases, stripped off their clothes and ran towards their death, naked. They had no papers, no registration and no numbers tattooed into their skin (Auschwitz was the only camp to tattoo prison numbers. They did so because people were dying so quickly that prison officials couldn't keep track of how many people had passed through; however, the practice lasted only the first 2 years of the camp. After that, it was a free-for-all of killing without conscience).

Located only 50 kilometers from the main city of Krakow, Auschwitz was the destination of many Polish political prisoners and Jews. Before the war, Krakow had a thriving Jewish population of around 60,000; today, that numbers stands at exactly 120, and they're all old. If you walk around the Jewish sector today, there is nothing living; the whole quarter is on gigantic museum: most of the former families were killed, or have since emigrated to Israel or the United States.

Krakow was also the location of the most notorious Jewish 'Ghetto' and the site of Oscar Schindler's factor, which itself has a dark secret to tell. In the movie that was directed by Steven Spielberg, we come to admire Oscar Schindler as a light within a dark forest, a man who worked within the system to subvert it. However, in real life, things were a little more complicated: to be 'written' onto one of Schindler's lists, Jewish families had to pay a sum of 500$, which at the time was about 5 years pay--a veritable fortune. Additionally, if that didn't ruin your rosy picture enough, it was found that many of the Jews on the list were ones who had family members working for the Nazis as Gestapo informants. I didn't take this 'tid bit' as a great shock, as I've come to expect that all historical 'facts' have an underbelly to them, which itself usually challenges the 'factual title'. But we often ignore it; choosing to let history conform to our notions and memory; therefore, dulling and diluting it.

I guess one really can't go to Poland without hearing SOMETHING sad. The country itself, even before WWII and the Communist era, has always dealt with war and human atrocities. From Kings and Queens, to Napoleon, to Hitler, to Stalin, it has forever been Europe's battle ground. I can't think of a more fitting illustration than this: Poland is the only European nation that lacks its original Crown Jewels and Throne. Catherine the Great of Russia melted them all down to make money and, fittingly enough, her toilet bowl.

Happy Halloween

Halloween came early in Policka (Oct. 27th) but no one seemed to mind. Both kids and volunteers were just as excited as ever, and they had good reason! This year we turned the sanctuary of the church into a haunted maze, which meant tons of bed sheets, rope and boxes, as well as candles, tombstones, jack-o-lanterns and ghosts (everything to make a confusing journey through the sanctury a bit more fightening). Upstairs we had games, candy and other prizes, a spooky snack and a costume contest.

Our party started at 6pm and volunteers came at 5:30 to help with some finishing touches (putting bike lights and glow sticks in the maze) and kids started arriving at about quarter to 6. I must admit I was shocked by the number of kids waiting when I went upstairs to welcome everyone to the party (40 kids and 10 adults). The main part of the party was the haunted maze, but everyone couldn't go through it at once, so upstairs we had games and prizes to keep them busy while they waited for their turn to go through the maze. After going through the maze kids either told me they wanted to go again or that it was really scary; both responses were good to hear. The party was a success. The kids all went home with a smile and a bag full of candy.

Jeremy and I had a lot of help setting up the maze and game room the day before, as well as on the night of the party. We would like to thank everyone who helped, especially those where were upstairs with me and those who were in the maze being scary. The party would not have been as great a success without your help. Thank you. Also, a special thanks to those who sent us things for the party from the U.S.; the kids had a great time. Thanks for all your help :)

Quick update

This past Saturday, Jarda and I had our first interview with Mila Plecharcek. It went fairly well, besides the fact that I had to continually switch between English and Czech, which made the whole 3-hour process completely exhausting for me. First impressions, from my side, are encouraging, yet I am leery. I realized that after our first interview that this project will be a lot of work: I must translate most of what I record, questions need to revised, my Czech must improve and I need to have a clear goal. All in a days work...

I've also been living with an eye towards next year. Jamie and I have been searching for new jobs and opportunities, as we both understand that our remaining 9 months will literally be a blink. I am excited to tell you that I have decided (tentatively) to join Americorps VISTA. This program is geared more towards adults who have experience and are willing to work with a non-profit to fight poverty all over the United States. The Vista program is excellent in the fact that it bestows more responsibility upon the volunteer to DEVELOP and implement programs that address the causes of poverty. With my history of work, I feel that I am able to apply my skills to a wide array of needs within the Americorps program: ecology, environmental sustainability and management, counseling, youth interaction, community development, adult education, economic development, etc... The greatest worth of the program is that it gives me an excellent opportunity to really 'flesh out' if this development 'work' is for me. I would like to go to graduate school, so I feel that the 12 months that I'm in the Americorps program will be a wonderful tool in assessing my own skills and passion for that kind of work. Also, you never know, I might get a permanent job out of it. :)

Jamie is searching for work in Environmental Education; she would like to be a director or have an administrative position.

Update

I wrote about a month and half ago that I was planning on writing/researching for a historical paper that deals with the oppression of protestant pastors under the Communist Regime; focusing mainly during the period of 'Normalization.' I wanted to update you on this work.

Just this past weekend, I fished through a few of the resources I have attained. Many of them have come from Mila Plechachek himself, which affords me the very unique opportunity of actually being able to read first-hand documents. Everything is real. Nothing is scanned, copied or stored away in some box, on a shelf, in the dank room of a library. My Czech is still, foundationally, conversational (or as Czechs like to say, 'v Hospodě), which is a very different language than the flowerly writing of academia and the often cryptic reports from the StB; it has been quite a challenge. My picture of the situation is getting clearer every month, but I still feel as if I am viewing this story through clouded lenses, or atleast, ones that are warped.

Throughout the past month, I have been randomly receiving emails from both Americans and Czechs who have been encouraging me. I don't know how many of them are finding out about the project, but they have all said one thing in common: it needs to be done. One of the realizations I have come to see, is that this 'history' that I am researching/talking about isn't very old at all. The Fall of Communism only occured 20 years ago--this year, in fact, marks the anniversary--which gives me hope that in a VERY small way, I am able to pay tribute to those who did suffer and did fight for political freedom. It is my small gift for them. In addition, while the church DID play quite a large role (Catholic and Protestant) in protest actions against the government, there has been surprisingly very little written about it. Of course, there have been many studies and some books published, but for the most part, a lot of the academic work has come from within the seminary or the denomination itself. There is nearly nothing written in English.

I don't want to call this paper an academic one, because I don't believe I can write an academic paper. It is a project rooted in personal interest. Many of these pastors have come to be my personal friends, so it is also a way for me to understand them on a deeper, more real level. There is still A LOT of work that needs to be done and I am just at the very beginning. My friend Jarda, a student of history at Charles University, has offered his assistance. We will be working together. I am also relying, to a large degree, on many of my friends in Policka who have helped me translate and write quetsions (thanks Madla!). Jarda and I will be meeting this weekend to discuss our next plan and to really get the 'ball rolling'. I plan on having many of the interviews completed by the end of winter, which means, it is time to get started.

Reflections

Walking to work this morning I had to step over the brown/blackish snow-sludge that accumulates on the roadways; cover my bare chin from the stinging, blowing winter wind; clear the lenses of my glasses, so I was able to see properly; and, fight the 10 or so flakes that fell from 34,000 feet and somehow landed, of all places on this earth, in my eye. Today was an emphatic end to the season that we call fall. Snow has been coming down, consistently, for the past two days; this morning is by far the strongest. To say that Policka appears as if it is in the middle of February would be accurate.

The snow has found me in quite a relfective state. For the first part of this month, and the end of September, I chose not to post anything on the blog. Part of it was due to laziness, yes I admit, but another aspect was that I don't find many of my daily experiences that interesting/englightening/challenging anymore. Last year, there was always something to write about. Maybe it was the first snow, which ironically, came quite late. Or, I felt compelled to let you all in on a funny experience where a cultural exchange occured. Or, I relayed some deeper thoughts and struggles that I had had in adjusting to life here in the Czech Republic; however, this year, my experience really feels and is different.

I'm not so sure if I should call this year a year of 'change' or a year of 'comfort', because it really is neither. Yeah, my life situation in less than 10 months will be drastically new: I will no longer be here in the Czech Republic (hard to imagine), Jamie and I will be working COMPLETELY different jobs with unknown friends, we will most likely be speaking English all day every day, and we will be living somewhere, across the ocean, on a continent, that consists of only three gargantuan-size nations. Change is what I need to prepare for.

Yet, as I was writing earlier, the emotional and cultural struggles of a year ago are not nearly as strong. There aren't many days where my perception or my engrained attituded (which is often cultural in foundation--more than I like to admit) are sabotaged. I feel quite confident that I can adapt to any social situation that I am in, because I have enough of a precedent to have a firm conviction of how the Czech people will react to a certain statement, challenge or expressed opinion (of course this is not true for EVERY Czech person). I have grown to feel a little more connected within the network of the Policka community and Czech is becoming less and less of a barrier to communication every single day. I am comfortable. I feel excellent about these developments, but I must remember not to slide into complacencey. I must remind myself that each day there STILL is something to learn and that my Czech excursion WILL be over shortly. I have to try to live it.

One of the most terrifying possiblities, is that upon my return home, I will look back and regret that I didn't travel enough, or do a better job of cultivating relationships.

But, enough about the end. I have to think about now, today: the snow, the quaint baroque square with its dressings drapped in white, my favorite pub, the stars that peak out from behind the gothic steeple and the farm fields manured and plowed, prepared for the long slumber underneath frost.