Jiří Ščobák

* 1970

  • "I did not go to kindergarten, although paradoxically, the house where we lived in Prague is a semi-detached house and there was a kindergarten in the next part. Our parents have never put me there, because they didn't want to put me in that system. As a result, I was unable to communicate with children. More than the regime, I realized that somehow, I had no friends.”

  • "When I was supposed to go to Slovakia and I mentioned it to my high school gym teacher, he said to me, 'Buddy, don't do this!' My grandmother and mom were nervous. - "You fell in love with a woman there, didn't you?" - Yes. I ran the Country Farrow club in Prague for four years and once... a dancer from a friendly club from Bratislava came to the club. Well, she was interested. We were going for half a year between Prague and Bratislava. I just didn't have a job and she tells me: "Why wouldn't you find a job in Bratislava?" So I came to Slovakia in March 1993, the republic was exactly divided. My parents were nervous because they didn't know what it would be like here. "

  • "How did I experience the revolution? We rang the keys on the wrecker and called to give the clowns jingle bells, even with our class teacher. It turned out that they were looking for people who would bring prospectus to other areas of Czech. I took the prospectus and followed the trail to Strakonice. In Strakonice, this evening, they founded the Civic Forum and welcomed me as a representative from Prague. - "In fact, you were just a messenger ..." - Yes. After the meeting, I left and all my political involvement ended for me. The funny thing is that after many years, one person called me, knew my name and said: "You helped to establish a Civic Forum in Strakonice."

  • Celé nahrávky
  • 1

    Bratislava, 03.12.2020

    (audio)
    délka: 01:13:56
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Príbehy 20. storočia
  • 2

    dištančne, 15.03.2021

    (audio)
    délka: 12:19
    nahrávka pořízena v rámci projektu Príbehy 20. storočia
Celé nahrávky jsou k dispozici pouze pro přihlášené uživatele.

I don‘t want to be afraid again, never

Jiří Ščobák was born on September 13, 1970 in Prague. He grew up with his mother and grandparents. From an early age, he felt a negative attitude in his family, towards the communist regime. His loved ones had several reasons for this setting. After the coup in 1948, the neighbours made a pogrom at his grandparents‘ house, as they were among the richest families in the area. During the monetary reform in 1953, Jiří‘s grandfather lost seven million crowns. He did not go to kindergarten because his mother did not want him to be influenced by communist ideology. Due to his family‘s attitude towards the regime until high school, he felt a kind of social exclusion. On the one hand, he had trouble communicating with his peers, probably because he was not in kindergarten, and on the other hand, he was never a spark, a pioneer or a bond. He actively participated in the events of the Gentle Revolution. During high school, he got into dance and square-dance. Thanks to the opening of the borders after the revolution, he was able to contact the worldwide square-dance community. He considers freedom of speech to be another advantage of the fall of the regime, that people no longer have to be afraid to speak out. Shortly after the division of the republic, he moved to Slovakia, although his family and friends told him that it might not be safe in the given situation. It was not known, what to expect from the division of the republic. He still lives in Slovakia, actively blogs and devotes himself to aquaristics.