I found rather difficult to structure the idea of this post. Simply because it has in background four recent different facts (and many, so many others not so recent), connected mostly by some aspects of the Dark Age of Communism.
1. A Romanian Eurosceptic site (yes, I usually try to stay informed, reading the both sides of a story), AlterMedia (well, not quite ‘Romanian’, since it is part of an international network, but on this particular site most of the authors are Romanian) is talking about the youth of Mr. Barosso, President of the European Commission, presenting a video, with an young and ‘lefty’ Barosso, member of a Marxist Leninist organization. They are quoting the Portuguese MEP Miguel Portas (nota bene - the link is from Mr. Portas’ website, but not to the related story).
Well, I have no reasons not to believe that Mr. Barosso was inclined to adhere to a communist movement, and I also believe that it was mainly a reaction to the autocratic regime that ruled Portugal in those times. They also quote Mr. Portas (again, the link does not confirm this) that the video was posted several times on You Tube but it ‘mysteriously’ disappeared every time. Which made me smile, because …
2. .. I found the same little movie .. guess where! On Mr. Barosso’ website. Smart move, Mr. President! Well, this is why I usually double check what I find on the internet.
3. In the context of Burma events, the European Commission VP, Margot Wallström, was talking about the Palme d’Or-winning Romanian movie, “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”, saying that “it was a totally depressing ( but true !) film, including how dark the streets were…”. A comment to this, from a Romanian reader, Marcela, was:
“Dear Margot,
I saw the film “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days” last week, too. It “rebuilds” only one moment of thousand difficulties, problems of Romanian dictatorial regime where I survived. My thoughts are now for a better life of Burma’s people, too.”
4. Few days ago, I was watching a talk show (”Altfel” Realitatea TV) with ‘three wise (Romanian) men” - Gabriel Liiceanu, Andrei Plesu and Dan C. Mihaescu. They were talking, among other things, about the people (many very young) that were praising the communist ideology, considering Guevara is a hero, arguing that the ideas behind communism are “ok”, but they were not applied accordingly. (Yeah, right! Wake up! The communism did not fail only in Romania, it failed in every country it was “applied”, wether it was Russia and all “Soviet” countries, China, North Korea, former Yugoslavia, half of Germany, Poland or Cuba). Smiling, the three gentlemen were saying that this new trend is mostly generated by people that have no idea what kind of regime this was (because they are too young to know or remember, or they did never live in a communist country), and the cure for this ‘disease’ would be to send them for one year to live in North Korea.
Well, in relation with these facts, I was thinking yesterday: If there are people who pay to spend few weeks in a ‘prison environment’, or as I was reading recently in press - to try for few hours the life a beggar, why not make them pay if they want to taste the life in a communist country?
I wouldn’t go so far and send them in North Korea, where they will probably (literally) die from starvation or tortured in the communist prisons.
But in Romania, where they are already exploiting the Dracula image, I can bet that in one or two years tops, we will have a new offer for tourists: a duplicate of the life in communism. One of a kind experience: darkness, cold, no TV, no food, no the elementary hygienic items or medicine, no information, no freedom of speech, no access to culture, forced to sing for the Big Brother, afraid to speak even in front of the relatives, living just a big and ugly lie. God help us to remain just a holiday experience (kind of twisted, I think), and never again a sad and terrifying reality.
