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Contrary to widespread expectations, shared by both Eastern and Western Europeans, life did not automatically improve for the ordinary East European citizens following the overthrow of Communist governments when The Berlin Wall was removed in 1989. While the event itself marked a new hope, the promise of a democratic government, and most importantly, a union with Western Europe, the quality of life for many changed drastically throughout Eastern Europe. No longer living with the safety-net communist governments once supplied, for many the conditions of living deteriorated to a standard that remained below the quality of life most Western Europeans took for granted. The wall had been removed, yet at the same time remained, even though invisible to the eye while Eastern Europe slowly adjusts to its new identity within a theoretically “undivided” continent. As a result, the old and new regime blended together to create a hybrid of both worlds embracing a democratic capitalist society with an undercurrent of the old communist lifestyle that Eastern European culture experienced. In her collection of essays, Café Europa: Life After Communism, Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulic examines the new “purgatory” that Eastern Europeans have come to experience as everyday life. While most are free of the forces of slavery and oppression they felt beneath their communist governments and leaders, they now struggle to reach the “promised land” that the onset of democratic governments and capitalism preached to offer. Through an examination of everyday images and occurrences, Drakulic shows that the decline of Communism has not granted an immediate satisfaction; instead the reader is granted a look at the continuous progression towards a Western European standard of living – one which often reflect the harbored suspicions and cultural reflections of living under the old regime.
Approximate Word count = 1113
Approximate Pages = 4.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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