{"id":20150,"date":"2022-03-05T12:10:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T17:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=20150"},"modified":"2022-03-05T12:13:30","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T17:13:30","slug":"episode-543-prague-march-1993-joy-in-ethnic-costume-peaceful-upheavals-happen-but-not-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=20150","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 543 PRAGUE , MARCH, 1993 , JOY IN ETHNIC COSTUME — PEACEFUL UPHEAVALS HAPPEN…BUT NOT TODAY."},"content":{"rendered":"
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ERROR: YEAR OF OUR VISIT TO SLOVAKIA SHOULD BE 1993, CORRECT PREVIOUS EPISODES<\/div>\n

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EPISODE 543   PRAGUE, MARCH,1993   JOY IN ETHNIC COSTUME — PEACEFUL UPHEAVALS HAPPEN<\/p>\n


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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
March 5, 2022<\/div>\n

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NOTE: As Marjorie pointed out, the year we were in Slovakia was 1993, not 1989 as said in error in earlier Episodes.  <\/div>\n

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BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS\u2026MARJORIE SKEOCH AND CZECH DANCER, PRAGUE, MARCH 1993<\/div>\n

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On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two independent states, the Czech Republic<\/a> and Slovakia<\/a>, in what is now known as the \u201cVelvet divorce\u201d (in a reference to the Velvet revolution) due to its peaceful and negotiated nature. Both countries divided their common \u201cgoods\u201d (embassies, military equipment, etc.) on a two-to-one ratio to reflect their populations. Although the dissolution didn\u2019t lead to any unrest or bloodshed, the new frontiers did create a few odd situations, like splitting border-towns in half.<\/p>\n

The split \u201cwas not entirely inevitable, but the political and economic costs of keeping the country together would have been extremely high\u201d, pointed out Jiri Pehe, political analyst and former advisor to Vaclav Havel.<\/p>\n

The division of Czechoslovakia: an undemocratic decision?<\/h2>\n

A widespread narrative argues that the divorce was a purely political move decided behind closed-doors by Czech and Slovak leaders Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar against the will of the population. There is some truth in that: all the opinion polls at that time showed that a vast majority of Czechs and Slovaks was in favour of the preservation of Czechoslovakia and against the country\u2019s break-up.<\/p>\n

In its January 1, 1993 edition, the New York Times<\/span> wrote: \u201cA multi-ethnic nation born at the end of World War I in the glow of pan-Slavic brotherhood, Czechoslovakia survived dismemberment by the Nazis and more than four decades of Communist rule only to fall apart after just three years of democracy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Although no referendum was ever held on the matter, democracy was indeed at the heart of the issue: all the problems associated with the federation of two states of unequal weight and size only appeared after the centralized, communist regime collapsed as Czechoslovakia reconnected with democracy. The decision-making paralysis and the federal government\u2019s inability to push any significant reforms in the early 1990\u2019s strongly contributed to the top-down decision of Klaus and Meciar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Centre of Prague, Czech Republic, March 1993<\/div>\n

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An upheaval was happening but only Kevin Skeoch seemed to notice.  Note the Pink clad coat of optimism on Marjorie.<\/div>\n

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Bakeshop\u2026Normal exchanges happening<\/div>\n

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Look at the boy with the glasses. He notices something joyful.<\/div>\n

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Street scene Prague, Czech Republic, March 1993.  Joy seemed everywhere.<\/div>\n

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JOYFUL DAYS IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC,  MARCH   1993<\/div>\n

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TRAGIC DAYS IN UKRAINE, MARCH 2022\u2026DID THINGS HAVE TO GO SO HORRIBLY WRONG?<\/div>\n

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Today, March 5, 2022, \u2018We watch in horror as unspeakable crimes by one man, Vladimir Putin, tear<\/div>\n
Ukraine into pieces that will take generations to repair.  Did this have to happen?<\/div>\n
Was there not another way to  effect change, perhaps by respecting neutrality?<\/div>\n

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Our eldest son, Kevin Skeoch, had high hopes for Ukraine and Russia finding the<\/div>\n
middle road through education.  He had (has?) the clout of a CEO in International<\/div>\n
Schools around the world.  Upbeat, positive, above the grimy sludge of low level<\/div>\n
politics.   Will happy days return?  \u201cWe can but hope that somehow good will be the final <\/div>\n
goal of ill,\u201d as the saying goes.<\/div>\n

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In 1993, when Kev was a \u201c$4 a day” teacher in Slovakia there were terrific changes happening.<\/div>\n
Political changes, as the Soviet Union collapsed and sane heads tried to <\/div>\n
manage the collapse sensibly.  It was not an easy time.  On our March break<\/div>\n
in 1989, Marjorie snd I visited Kevin in Bratislava, Slovakia with a side trip<\/div>\n
to Prague, Czech Republic.   A political divorce. The former, rather artificial , nation of Czechoslovakia<\/div>\n
decided to get a divorce.  <\/div>\n

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Notice the reflections\u2026admirers of folk art\u2026Marjorie and Kevin Skeoch<\/div>\n

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When we crossed the new border between these new states we almost missed<\/div>\n
the border guards.  Come to think of it, We did miss them.  We did not stop as I remember.  A political divorce<\/div>\n
without much ill will.   Yes, we saw more ill will in the Slovak Republic.  Poorer of the two states,  it<\/div>\n
seemed.  Graffiti on a few walls saying \u201cEnglish go home\u201d.  Negatives that longed<\/div>\n
for the idealism of Marxism.  <\/div>\n

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Gorbachev\u2026a leader with a birthmark\u2026a leader.<\/div>\n

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I remember us driving into a Slovak lodge in the High Tatra mountains where a bunch<\/div>\n
of young rather drunk Slovak \u201920 somethings\u2019  were taking a collective leak (piss).  Noticing us,… perhaps Marjorie\u2019s<\/div>\n
bright pink coat\u2026they turned and pissed in our direction.  They laughed and we laughed.<\/div>\n
A difference of opinion expressed and accepted.  Done without tearing the nation<\/div>\n
apart.<\/div>\n

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What is happening here?  I had no idea in 1993.  But whatever was happening was full of joy.<\/div>\n

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If only a leader like Marjorie and a leader like the costume bedecked young lady were present today.  <\/div>\n

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A few days later we witnessed the reverse situation in the heart of Prague where <\/div>\n
ethnic clothed dancers were expressing great joy while dancing on the street. <\/div>\n

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 If pressed<\/div>\n
to take a leak there was a squeaky clean toilet available in a huge MacDonald\u2019s <\/div>\n
fast food store.<\/div>\n

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If only Ukraine and Russia could have found the same common ground.  If only we <\/div>\n
could find ourselves,  our global selves, with leaders who can lead.  If only there was<\/div>\n
middle ground possible.<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n

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No comment necessary below.<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
March 5, 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ERROR: YEAR OF OUR VISIT TO SLOVAKIA SHOULD BE 1993, CORRECT PREVIOUS EPISODES EPISODE 543   PRAGUE, MARCH,1993   JOY IN ETHNIC COSTUME — PEACEFUL UPHEAVALS HAPPEN alan skeoch March 5, 2022 NOTE: As Marjorie pointed out, the year we were in Slovakia was 1993, not 1989 as said in error in earlier Episodes.   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}