Jun 16 2006
Cafe Europa
There are books out there that talk about the plight of post-communist eastern Europe, but few contain more insight than Cafe Europa. This is an easy read for someone who wants to familiarize themselves with how people in another part of the world live without having to read history, economics, or political science books (or having to go live there). Slavenka Drakulic is a journalist who lived and worked in Croatia until she married a Swede. Having lived in Croatia and in Sweden gives here a unique perspective on how her world was shaped by communism early in her life; and how its collapse has left her, her family, and her country in a confusing and frustrating position. The transition from communism to capitalism is not as easy as it sounds, nor is it fully desired here. In this book, Drakulic simply shares her stories from different periods of here life that paint a picture of a people that live in fear - fear of failure, fear of the next regime that will undo anything you try to accomplish in your lifetime, fear of the standing out or being different.
The fear of being different is the thing that stood out to me the most in the book, even though it is not among the main points. I guess because it stands in stark contrast to my American mindset. I’m not just talking about peer pressure. I’m talking about a deep-seated fear of being different that’s operating at a very conscious level and has been inculcated in people at a very young age. From a young age in America, we are taught that everyone is unique, the assumption being that unique is better. Under communism, anything or anyone that stuck out got chopped off. If not by the communist party, then by the others you worked with that didn’t want to work too hard or do to well so that everyone could get away the same mediocre work.
There is a generation of school children now that are being raised in a slightly different atmosphere, but for this generation of Croats, Czechs, and Albanians, there is little hope of overcoming this fear. I know that there is a hope for the people in this region to overcome the spirit of fear, and that is why I am here. And it seems that young people are the only ones who are willing to face this fear.
The most interesting part for me is to see a Euro leading a team into the Finals. I honestly never thought it would happen. Many times I’ve made the statement to the team I coach here in Split that a Euro will never lead a team to an NBA title because Europeans lack the mental toughness and competitive greatness it takes to win an NBA championship. I would save line this for my half-time speeches when my team was underachieving. However, Dirk Nowitski might be ready to prove me wrong. I will never hear the end of it if he does. I might have to move away from Croatia if he continues the rampage that he is on. He’s attacking the rim and rebounding in traffic - two things that European players are not supposed to be able to make themselves do.
