This year we will soon celebrate the 20th anniversary of the so-called Velvet Revolution. When looking back,1989 was indeed a revolutionary year; the Tien-An Men demonstrations of Chinese students for more democracy - which ended tragically in a massacre, Gorbatchev's perestroika was signing the destiny of communist ruled Eastern Europe - where a poorly managed church demonstration in East Germany unleashed slowly a whole exodus of people, through Hungary and Prague to the West - culminating in the end into the fall of the Berlin Wall, respectively in the whole Iron Curtain. Europe's political map was completely re-designed.
Those, who at that time were about to start their 'professional' career are now in their forties. - therefore "Generation 40" for this part - Back then, perhaps because of adolescent rebellious attitudes, it was that (student)generation which had perhaps a certain attitude, expectation and distrust towards the established ruling forces that caused them to be the litmus of how the changes would evolve. It is now still an age, where - at least in my case, being in my mid-forties - there lies much ahead of us, in which we perhaps have enough ideals and energy to address issues which we still would like to change. We witnessed certain things within our society going down in time. We noticed perhaps, despite irreversible changes, perhaps a slow return towards old structures, fighting against a more powerful (more powerful than individual politicians) Moloch of institutions, ministries, where the bureaucratic tradition was rampant like a virus, never to leave the organism. We have unfulfilled feelings, or are to the contrary completely satisfied.
In 2009, I live in one of the countries belonging to former Czechoslovakia (later Czecho-Slovakia, the hyphen to illustrate the federal equality between the two nations). Slovakia has detached itself from Prague, to have its own future in their own hands. For their self-esteem, I would argue that it was a good decision - despite the negative economic effects at the onset. But severing the umbilical chord also meant that suddenly this society had to learn to bear responsibility for its own deeds and decisions. To air frustration at another ruler, be it in Prague, Budapest/Vienna or else-wise was no longer possible.
After 20 years some expectations didn't completely work out the way we envisaged them back then in 1989. Slovakia still suffers with wounds from centuries under Hungary, has not straightened out itself to be confronted with ethnic minorities on its territory, has inherited a state which didn't function for decades and is not easily reformed to move and - as a consequence of the latter - a hidden menace of unceasing corruption. I shall try to fathom the sentiments and explanations within the population in order to find a rationale for the current unsettling situation, and why the aforementioned lingering issues, which do form a serious threat to the country's stability, are still persisting.
(to be continued)
MS
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