Early Christmas Present

Well, I am super excited about a Christmas present I just got a few days ago. I went to college at the University of Maryland in Munich, Germany. Recently, I got back in contact with my Journalism professor from there(I graduated 20 years ago!!) and I asked if she had copies of the college paper, of which I was the assistant editor. To my complete delight, she said she did!! In a very short period of time, she had scanned them and posted them on FB. I was beyond encouraged to see one particular article that I thought I would never see again.

In October 1989, I had the amazing opportunity to visit the very beautiful city of Prague, Czechoslovakia (it was still called that then). But as beautiful as Prague is, I had another sight of interest I HAD TO see while I was there.

Having watched the German news prior to my trip, I saw very compelling images of East Germans that had fled to Prague to seek asylum at the West German embassy. The media showed pictures of hundreds of tents set up in the courtyard of the embassy and a large metal gate. I was determined to get to that gate while I was there.

I was so excited, because my professor allowed me to write an opinion column about my this life-changing experience that weekend. After I left Germany in 1992, I left most of my stuff with the lady I rented a room from in Berlin. Unfortunately, she put my boxes in an unsecure spot and everything I owned got stolen, except the two suitcases and one carry-on that I brought home. So, I hadn't seen this article in 18 years.

When I "friended" my professor on FB, she mentioned that she remembered me as the student who was there at the time of the events that precipitated the "Velvet Revolution" (the revolution in Czechoslovakia) just over a month later. I had never heard it referred to as that (ie: that they actually gave a name to the things that I was witnessing). I was pretty blown away!

When I was back in Munich, I remember very vividly staying up until 3am to make sure my article was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. I am so excited that I now have a copy of that article and that I am able to share it with you. This was one of my most poignant memories of my seven years in Europe. Here's the story I wrote:

(From the Munich Observer, November 1989, page 2)
STUDENS TRY TO HELP IN E. GERMAN FLIGHT
by Tim Morse

The sun was setting as we prowled through a quickly darkening forest in West Prague. We could see Czech guards only 50 yards away, watching us through the trees.
"I have to talk to those refugees," I thought.
That infamous eight-foot iron gate I had seen in the media eluded me by only a few meters. But I wasn't about to give up.
I and sophomores Amy Cashman and Tara Brown went to the West German Embassy in Prague, only to find it heavily guarded by Czechoslovakian police.
At the time of our October visit, about 1,000 East Germans called the West German Embassy courtyard home.
At one point, we were able to come within only a few meters of that iron gate which had meant the last major obstacle to freedom for thousands of East Germans in the preceding weeks.
It, too, was heavily guarded.
My dream of helping a refugee over that gate was quickly dashed as I viewd the security around it.
We still tried everything in our power to get closer to the gate. We walked around the embassy, mostly on the wooded hill behind it, for over two hours.
We even tried sneaking through the dark, steep forest that lead to the back side of the embassy, that is, until we realized we were being watched.
We then tried to talk to the guards, who were huddled around a small fire. Not only were they unwilling to help us, but they were downright rude about it.
Because I didn't have my passport, they refused to acknowledge me, told me very bluntly to leave, and pointed the way.
The second group of guards we met around a similar fire was surprisingly friendly. They tried to communicate with us in German and English, and of course Czech, but they couldn't allow us to access the gate either.
The did allow us, however, to take pictures of all of us together. It should be quite a souvenir.
I thought we could meet the refugees on our own, but of course, couldn't. So as a last resort, we went to the front door of the emmbassy.
I talked in German to the man who answered the door, but he responded that it would be "uberhaupt nicht moglish" (not at all possible) to talk to any refugees for matters of security.
I took this news very hard, but comforted myself in that I was, in fact, witnessing history in the making.
The events leading up to this exodus are historical.
For the first time in over 40 years, people in the Eastern Bloc countries were, for a time, able to "escape" the oppression of their countries with relative ease.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, on a trip to East Berlin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of East Germany last month, advised now former Communist Party leader Erich Honecker to ease restrictions in his country so that Gorbachev's policy of glasnost might gain more credibility throughout the world.
In past months, Czechoslovakia and Hungary have opened up their borders to the point that people may come and go almost as they please, according to our Czech tour guide, Vladimir.
This has made it possible for these East Germans to come West because before, they didn't need visas to enter Czechoslovakia.
Because of the exodus, they now do.
Media sources say that a majority of West Germans would like to see the two Germanies reunify, bu this would cause numerous social and economic problems for West Germany.
West Germany would have difficulties supporting the large number of new residents should the East German government allow such a reunification. West Germany has an accute housing shortage among other things.
Sophomore Martina Manles, whose mother is German and who plans to settle down in Germany, is skeptical. She believes that the refugees will take job opportunities away from the West Germans, herself included.
Whatever the outcome, I hope that the people of the East Bloc, who are suffering under the oppression that can still be felt there, will one day soon be able to enjoy all the things we take for granted here in the West -- espeically liberty.

(End)
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Due to time restraints, I was not able to proofread the article, so please excuse any misspellings, missing punctuation, etc. (Remember I was the editor of the paper) Anyway, I know it's a long blog today, thanks for hanging in there and sharing this with me. Until next time....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!