DAY OF STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY SURPRISED

21. 11. 2023

Last week, together with students from four other Poruba high schools, we commemorated the Day of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy. We were in for a big surprise... twice. The first time was at a morning discussion with the actors of the November 1989 events. In their opinion, coming to terms with the communist past had not been fully implemented in Ostrava (and indeed in the whole Czech Republic). The proof can be seen in the streets of our cities, which still bear the names of some communist notables. 

The fact that our grammar school stands on Gustav Kliment Street is a shining proof of this. By the way, if you want to hear and see more, listen to the shortened version of the discussion, where you will also learn in what funny and elegant way this relic of the past could be solved.

The second time around, many of us were pleasantly surprised. That is, the level of student speeches that were given at the rally. The meeting took place symbolically in the place where the statue of V. I. Lenin stood on Main Street and the individual speakers quickly moved from reflecting on the events of the student protests in 1939 and 1989 to the present. Here there were no more reminiscences, but inspirational thoughts and opinions on how to deal with, develop and maintain the heritage of freedom and democracy. It would be pointless to transcribe it here; watch the clip and think for yourself how you actually have it with freedom and democracy.

We would like to thank everyone involved. Thanks to you, we really enjoyed the Freedom Day. I hope you had a similar experience. We look forward to seeing what we can come up with together next year.