The life we do not want back never again
The were already adults, but still young when suddenly everything changed. My parents, now aged 45 and 50, told me about the world in our country before November 1989.
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about times before the Velvet revolution in 1989?
Father: The whole life was very different like it is now. There was a communistic regime and we had to live by its rules.
What do you mean by rules- what did you have to do?
Father: It was compulsory for everyone to work and to accept the whole regime and noone could complain or say anything bad about it. It was absolutely prohibited and you could loose your job or even get to prison for it. People were afraid to tell these things in public, because you never knew who could be from the government or someone who could sue.
Did you have any hope that it will ever be over? And are you satisfied now with the way you live?
Mother: People always have hope, you have to be always optimistic or you will have no goals for future and life is about fulfilling your goals. We knew there are better systems in the world how can be states governed and so we believed some day we will also have one of those. And it is so much better today. Every system has its pros and cons, but in general, democracy is a modern and forward system and I would never change it back.
What’s your worst memory from those times, I mean thing you could never accept?
Mother: I personaly didn’t like that everything and everyone was the same, all the efforts to be a little bit different in every aspect were subjugated. All of us had to have same clothes for school, you could get only one or two types of every clothe in shopps, houses and apartments were very similar, because of no variety of goods.
Father: Definately limiting peoples‘ freedom. Now when I imagine all the thing we had to go under just to leave the country...it would be absolutely impossible today. It was especially bad for us, because we live on the border with Hungary it is so close to us, but could go there only with official permission and only one or two times a year. But others from the country also wanted to travel, go abroad, visit the sea in summer, but we couldn’t and I could not understand it why.
Do you keep some things which are connected or remind you about the comunistic times, something what’s a memory?
Mother: I can’t think of any. I don’t have a feeling that I need something like a memory for that. We still have a few decorations or utilitarian things we use, but not because they come from that period, but because they are useful and they still work.
You’ve mentioned the poor range of products in shops. I’ve heard a lot about the same situation in groceries. How was that- could you get everything you needed?
Mother: Absolutely not. We could buy basic food like bread, milk, cheese always, but there was one kind of everything and there were absolutely no products from abroad or specialities. Sometimes you heard from someone that they got something new in the shop- that were usually some exotic fruits like bananas, oranges or kiwi, very rarely you could buy yoghurts. But it automaticaly meant standing an hour or two in queues and it wasn’t sure you will get the product in the end.
What do you think about the fact that there are still citiziens today who vote for the communistic political party and they would like to bring back the old regime?
Father: I cannot understand them when I look at the things from my point of view- maybe they have their reasons. I think they are mostly people who were in high functions and had good life, but as we can see from their results, they don’t really have the support.
Can you tell me some positive things from back then?
Mother: There are really not a lot. I would say that a good thing was that everyone had a job and in fact you coulnd’t become unemployed.
Zuzana Fraňová