INPUT / … / … / The East – views from outside_ views from inside

1989 was the year of the breakdown of Communist Governments – to be experienced as a “live” event in countries of the West. Television turned demonstrations, the breaking down of the Wall, the Romanian event into an ongoing sequel of stories which in 1991 could only be “topped” by the Gulf War. The shortcut-memory of everything that happens “after the ball” is a constant item of discussion in countries which have been immediately exposed to the televised revolution or “unification”. The difficulty of getting along with the new freedoms – the unemployment, high expectations, frustrations – the actual misery and the feeling of having been fooled for lifetime. This is all not as spectacular as the most recent “action-items”. The Germans witness how difficult it is to “unify” – how slowly things change which have been unquestioned for decades. The Romanian aftermath after a “staged” revolution is alarming. Pain and frustration don’t sell as well as celebrations, but they have to be witnessed.