New Canadian Class 1968

On August 21,1968, my wife Anne’s country was invaded by the Soviet Union. The invasion of Czechoslovakia took place the day before Anne’s 10th birthday. The Soviet Union was intent on putting an end to what is known as the Prague Spring, a period of reform in Czechoslovakia that challenged the prevailing Soviet Communist hegemony.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Prague-Spring

 

Anne was thoroughly traumatized by this cataclysmic event.

 

When the 1968 Russian invasion took place, Anne was forced to hide and cower in a sealed room with all the blinds closed. Some 450,000 Soviet bloc soldiers and approximately 7,000 tanks had invaded her country. When she and her sister finally ventured out of her aunt’s home to seek sustenance, they were told to dive into the ditch if approached by soldiers or tanks. The little girl was terrified of rats and of being trapped in the mud.

 

Many warplanes were buzzing so low overhead that the village people could see the looks on the faces of the Soviet pilots.

 

The experience of the Russian invasion left Anne with what has been identified as ongoing symptoms of post traumatic stress. For obvious reasons, she also suffers from separation anxiety, claustrophobia, and a mortal fear of confinement.

 

In the fall of 1968, Anne and her family fled to Canada with no money or possessions. None of them spoke a word of English when they arrived in Vancouver, where Anne attended new Canadian class.

 

Anne is a precious gem, a sparkling fragment of the Canadian mosaic. I felt like sharing a fragment of her story on Canada Day.

Happy Canada Day to one and all.

 

This is an excerpt from my book My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny, available to order via this link:

https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/

Your friend,

Robert

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