People of Whom We Know Nothing

"A quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing." That was how Neville Chamberlain, a British Prime Minister, justified handing swathes of a country that was then called "Czechoslovakia" over to Nazi Germany.

I am sitting in the Czech Republic, a part of that country. For most it is still a faraway country that they know little about.

The Czech Republic is part of the "Other" Europe, the Europe that the west forgot. This Other Europe is the Europe that suffered under the Russian-Soviet Empire. The Other Europe didn't experience the social movements of the 20th century. Hippies, beatniks , punk rock, feminism, sexual liberation, the New Romantics, disco, acid house, Thatcherism, monetarism, stagflation, conglomerates, restructuring, Gordon Gecko, junk bonds, Woodstock, package holidays and nuclear disarmament movements just didn't happen here.

When those from the West swagger in, speaking of such things, those in the Other Europe, may be insulted, or perplexed, sometimes they're bemused. "This is not our experience," they think.

Now, the Other Europe is joining the Rest of Europe. The Other Europe has been, and continues to be transformed. But any reaction causes an equal and opposite reaction. The Rest of Europe is feeling the effects of this transformation. This blog will attempt to explore these issues, through politics, economics and anecdotes of daily life.