...during the Socialism
Mother: I was too young, so I remember very dimly this day. I think back on peoples scary faces, who didn´t know what was going on, on closed shops and tanks, which were going across our street. Father: Grandmothers from our village were buying sugar, flour, because they thought the war is at the beginning and we will have food shortage... and I remember big fear, people thought that Russian attacked us... Mother: Everybody had to work, so I had to find some job, despite it didn´t suit with my education and ideas... Father: I was satisfied with my job, but when I wanted to have a higher position I need to be a member of Communist Party, but I didn´t want to be. So I couldn´t be a technologist and I had to work as a foreman or a supervisor. Mother: Yes, I liked to be a pioneer. It was fun. But sometimes they scared us, that we had to be very good, because they could exclude us from a Pioneer Organization. In fact, they didn´t do something like that – everybody were a flickers and pioneers. Pioneer Organization was quite fine, because children didn´t loaf away, they didn´t take drugs etc, but they were meeting with their mates – pioneer leaders – and they made them a fine afternoons. Father: Yes, I was a pioneer and I really liked it, especially blue shirt and red tie. We had a hobby groups and we were going to the trips... and we had pioneer leaders – they were making a sort of programms for us, we were playing basketball, football, handball,... Father: Yes, after Pioneer Organization, there was a Uion of Youth. When you finished High School you could go to this Union of Youth. Father: It was easier during the socialism in that point, that everybody had to work and state offered a loans for newly married couples. Mother: To establish a family during the socialism was totally easy (when we compare it with nowadays). Mother: In finance. State built a flats, which alloted to young people. There were three types of flats: Company flats - those companies alloted to their employees, Public-assistance flats - those alloted a city to eymployees of borough and Cooperative flats - which people could buy for a reasonable price. Merits of a case is that, there was a big house-building, a lot of flats and every family (if they wanted) could have a flat. And also Romani had a flats, those Romani, who live in a huts, now. They were assimilated and they were intagrated between „ordinary“ people. Mother: I don´t know, because we weren´ t religious. But I had a friends and they were normally going to the church. Nobody took care about their religious view. However there were a checklists in which you should write whether you are a religious or not. But it was up to you... Father: November 1989 – I was really happy... and my first step was a registration to VPN – Verejnosť proti násiliu (Public against violence). I was working in factory (in foundry), where I wrote a petition. I was a leader of Petitionary committee... and I made a list with ten main points – for example – How to eliminate a lead position of Communist Party; How to realize an independence of divisions, free elections, etc Father: Yes, when the first demostrations was in our factory, we were going (all together) to square (those people who didn´t agree with that regime)... and I had a speech infront of SNP monument, where we sang a state song and we came out against a violance. Mother: It was a big chaos, for me, because I didn´t know what to think about it and what is going on... and I was confused, because I didn´t believe that something like that regime, which was over 40 years in our republic, could be (day by day) destroyed because of singing songs and screaming on the streets. And the reason why I was so confused - I didn´t think that the system was so bad how everyone started to talk about it... Mother: Positive things on socialism – a social confidence, right as a constitutional part, right of work and also a conscripted labour. Resulting from this points, people were emplyed, everybody had work (appropriate work) and also people who don´t work in this days, they had to work. There was almost 100% employment. People had also a freelance occupation – an independent artist... and those people who didn´t work, they had to prove that they had enought money to live – failing which they were cosidered to be a sorner. What was bad... maybe an economic constraint – especially travelling. You needed a visa to go abroad and also „doložky“ – clauses. Čepková L.