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My father passed away from #COVID19 on Sunday. He was 80 years old. He had Alzheimer's and lived in a nursing home in the Czech Republic where the virus has been spreading rapidly. (We're from there, so he wanted to live out the rest of his life there). THREAD
There won't be a funeral service. Everyone in the Czech Rep who dies of #COVID19 gets cremated almost immediately. Those were my dad's wishes anyway. I hope I can make it over there this spring to spread his ashes. I have my citizenship back, waiting on other docs & passport
His nursing home tried to be careful. Closed to visitors earlier this year... closed again when numbers started going up. But 25 out of 50 patients tested positive 2 weeks ago. Nurses got ill as well, including the amazing women who cared for my dad.
My dad was born during a World War and died during a pandemic. A journalist turned political refugee, he sought truth and freedom, and lived through Czechoslovakia’s most turbulent times.
After Vaclav’s military service, he became a news editor, reporter and photographer, including for Vecerni Praha (Evening Prague), for which he worked during the Prague Spring and the subsequent August 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Because of his work as a journalist, he was eventually blacklisted by the Communist Party and only allowed to work in “non-threatening” blue-collar jobs. His love of travel and outdoor adventure eventually led him to work as a travel guide.
He was on a private trip to Yugoslavia with a group of Czech tourists when he escaped in July of 1983 into the Karavanke mountains in what is now Slovenia. He hiked to a mountain ridge bordering Austria, waiting for a chance to evade border guards in their stone mountain outposts
He managed to avoid being seen while running and hiding beneath a pine tree during the guards’ shift change. After crossing into Austria, he traveled to Vienna and walked to the U.S. Embassy. (When I was 19 I hiked with him to the mountain ridge where he escaped).
He was advised to check into the refugee camp in Traiskirchen, where he spent the next three months. During this time, he was invited to the US Embassy in Vienna for an interview where he was granted asylum status in the U.S. We all became refugees.
My dad learned English, was a school janitor in the U.S., put himself through college (degree in Poly Sci of course) and then wrote a book about the Yalta Conference (in Czech). He also struggled with mental illness and alcoholism. There were many tough times. But I loved him.
One person asked me if they could donate to an org in his name. I said - support journalists. Give $$ to your local nonprofit news organizations. We need them. The Soviets fucked my dad over because he was a journalist. That's how scared they were of the Truth.
Some wonderful news orgs to support financially here are @highcountrynews @ChalkbeatCO and @ColoradoSun - and of course @CPRNews, which has been able to GROW and do amazing work because of contributions. Stories are important.
