World pays tribute to Václav Havel as Czechs mourn

Havel honored for all his roles: as dissident, dramatist, president and plain-speaking citizen who couldn’t be deflected from the truth

Society

Chris Johnstone | 19.12.2011

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Ordinary Czech pay tribute to Václav Havel on Sunday evening

Following fulsome praise and tributes from world leaders and their own political elite, ordinary Czechs have begun to pay homage to former president Václav Havel, whose remains were taken to Prague on Monday and Tuesday for citizens to pay their own respects. On Wednesday and Thursday, his body will lie in state at Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle.

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A Great Moral Force Leaves a Vacuum

A Concerned Citizen|20.12.2011 - 10:25

Havel was a great moral force who stood for principle, for ethics, for humanity. Who in Czech politics can even come close to replacing him? No one that I can see. No one. We now have a moral vaccum in the "political class" with no figure to oppose it. I hope someone will emerge and step forward.

Vaclav Havel restored the

Mila Saskova-Pierce|19.12.2011 - 21:30

Vaclav Havel restored the pride of Nebraska Czech culture.

I want to thank President Havel in the name of Nebraska community, for all the kind support he offered to us, as well as to the suppressed and distorted world of totalitarianism. He renewed our trust in intellectual leadership translated into political action. For many dark years, whenever one of the idiotic propaganda laden speeches of Czechoslovak Communist representatives appeared in the world press, we, in the Czech community in Nebraska and in the Great Plains, felt uneasy about sharing their language and place of origin. We felt strongly that the Czech culture we claimed was violated by the Communists. Unfortunately we felt that the brutal regime would never end. Then in the 70’s Vaclav Havel and his fellow dissidents appeared in the press. The brave writer articulated the functioning of the regime, the reasons why the crowds put up with the propaganda, and even collaborated seemingly with it. “Power of the Powerless “and plays that we teach at the university in Lincoln tell us and our students how our people became victims, and, unfortunately, victim makers. It freed us from our shame and gave us courage to live and construct our Czech cultural life as a part of the world-wide Czech community, with pride.

We are sorry Vaclav Havel was too sick to come and accept the honorary doctoral degree the University of Nebraska offered to him. Nevertheless, we feel that he remains one of us.

Dr. Mila Saskova-Pierce, member of the Nebraska and Lincoln Czechs, The Czech Cultural Club in Omaha, and the Czech Language Foundation. Department of Modern Languages at the University of Nebraska