Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen,

2008 is resonating with important anniversaries, so if you allow, I will take you back in the history, exactly 20 years…

…that year 1988 had a strange feeling of expectation among the people back in Czechoslovakia and of apprehension among the communist establishment. The police presence during any gathering of people was overwhelming. Anniversary celebration of important historical dates that might have turned into a revolt were forbidden or closely supervised. Even such innocent dates as the anniversary of John Lennon’s death were closely followed by the paranoid regime. Many people, who were detained and questioned by the communist Secret Police were beaten more severely than in the years before.

“We are ready for you in 1988” was the message voluntarily shared by the Secret Police officers during interrogations of dissidents. And the same message was sent to the general public. They were afraid; and rightly so - many Czechs and Slovaks believed in the magic power of the years ending with “eight” in our history. And many of us firmly believed that 1988 was the year to put an end to the hated regime. 

Unfortunately it did not happen, at least not according to the calendar. Perhaps we were passively hoping that history would end it by itself, without our input. But, perhaps it was exactly the frustration stemming from the fact that the “MAGIC “EIGHT” YEAR” went by unnoticed, which sent thousands of Czechs to the streets of Prague already in the first weeks of 1989, during the so-called “Jan Palach week”.

Despite the brutal response of the regime at that time, too many ordinary Czechs saw fear in the eyes of communist leaders and police sergeants on the squares of Czech towns. It was this fear in the eyes, this momentary little dent in the seemingly unyielding might, that turned into the slippery slope, sliding smoothly into the Velvet Revolution and causing the collapse of Communism ten months later.

In other words, had it not been for all the unfulfilled desires for 1988, Vaclav Havel might have to write many more letters to his wife Olga from prison.  And therefore, with a small exaggeration, we may add 1988 to an already strong breed of contenders among important dates and milestones in the Czechoslovak history ending with “8”. All of themcan be seen as defining moments, where the identity of our countries changed...for better or for worse.

To mention just the most important:

- in 1848 we first rose as a nation
- in 1918 that nation created a state.

Than the “bad” eights came:

- in 1938 the young and flourishing state became prey to Nazi Germany
- 1948 saw the beginning of a disastrous communist experiment
- And it was all topped off in 1968 with an occupation by Soviet tanks and army boots of “friendly nations”.

 Often in searching for a deeper meaning it is simple to see the significance of these events in the country where they happened, but less so in far away lands. Yet those “eights” were almost as important for Canada as they were for Czechoslovakia. Especially the “bad eights” for the country in the middle of Europe turned beneficial for this country.

 Because it was Canada, that willingly opened arms and with sympathy welcomed the best and brightest of the nation fleeing from either Nazism or communism. Those people may not have looked best and brightest at the time of their arrival to Canada - many of them running with not much more than their lives. But some years later, many of you and many of your sons and daughters became “solí této země”, heart and soul of this country…

 Fast-forward twenty years to the present time and note that your country in the middle of Europe has probably never been better. Economically, the Czech Republic is closing the gap with Western world really fast. Politically, we are back to Europe, where we belong - crossing of the border between Czech republic and Germany is as easy as driving from Ontario to Quebec.

 For all of you, your mere presence here displays the dedication and strong ties that you have to the country, that have given you your names (no matter how hard they are to pronounce in English). Your mere presence here displays that you have not failed your roots and your motherland and I am here today to assure you that your motherland will not fail you.

 THANK YOU VERY MUCH