August

I am young. I do not remember much from the pre-revolution past. I remember when my father took me as a young boy into a dark room, and hidden under a blanket we listened to the Radio Free Europe's broadcasts. I was too young to understand. I remember, my parents told me not to tell anyone what I think, I remember being carefully rebuked by my parents when watching sports competition and cheering for the USSR sportspeople I proclaimed the phrase taught at school "they are our brothers." I was too young to understand.

Now I live in a different country, I have traveled a bit. I listen to any radio I want, I write my thoughts on-line for everyone to see. I publish what I believe to be true, I do not have to censor my own thoughts. I can read any book I want.

I am sad reading the current news, and discussing it with some of my colleagues, who were born behind the iron curtain - in the free west. They think that the eastern Europeans are being paranoid and are making up the cold war ghosts.

But I cannot forget the reasons why my childhood was living in fear, why saying what you though was not advised, why elderly in the whole society are still crippled by fear. When I was a teenager, and studied history, with my classmates we discussed how the world could have been, had the U.S. Army progressed from Pilsen to Prague, had somebody came to help our neighbors in Budapest in 1956, or even us in 1968. Nobody did, and we had to wait for the evil empire to implode and collapse. But it's not the end of history:

In October 1956, Soviet troops occupied Hungary and its capital city of Budapest. Nobody helped Hungary.

In August 1968, Soviet troops occupied Czechoslovakia and its capital city of Prague. Nobody helped Czechoslovakia.


In August 2008, Russian troops occupy Georgian territory, and U.S. Secretary of State Rice said that “This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russian tanks threatened its neighbors, occupying the capital, overthrow the government and get away with it; things have changed.”

How much have the things changed? How much do we value freedom? Are we willing to help others when their freedom is being compromised? Or its only about money and power?

Hungary, Olympics, 1956:


Czechoslovakia, Olympics 1968:


Georgia, Olypics 2008:
???


If you don't stand up for somebody, when their freedom is being compromised. Who will stand up for you?