Marta Schwarcová

“My parents wanted to visit my brother in America, and being retirees they needed a permit from the local municipal authority. When the mother came to obtain the documents, her neighbour Mrs. Pauerová reproached her: ‘How did you bring your children up? Why are they fleeing?’ My mum answered: ‘You see, I don’t wish any mother that her children run away and cannot come back. There is nothing nice about it.’ My parents got the permission and they would visit my brother every year. Later on, my dad alone would go to the municipal authority, because Mrs. Pauerová did not act up when he came. When he asked about her at the authority once he was told: ‘She’s not here anymore. Her son left the country for America, so they sacked her.’”