Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – A Chanced Encounter with Czech Republic

In our first night at the Bahodir B&B, we were quite disturbed by the group singing that went well into the depths of the night. The songs sounded like Christian songs to me, and I thought there were some evangelicals also staying at the hotel.

The next evening, I met a few members of that group. I learned that they were from the Czech Republic.

I asked them whether they were singing Christians songs, thinking that perhaps they were here to proselytize Christianity. They were actually singing songs that celebrate the country. Like folk songs. He explained to me that the celebration of Czech culture could not be done without some reference to Catholicism. Catholicism is so pervasive in his country’s cultural fabric that the interpretation of the world could not be done without Catholicism as the starting point.

They caught my attention as they were yelling “Slava Ukrani” when they passed by the courtyard. So naturally, I asked about Ukraine. We then had a pretty long chat about the ongoing affairs of the world.

My conversant began with WWI, how the former Czechoslovakia was formed from the Austrian Czech and the Hungarian Slovak. Although Czechoslovakia was not part of the Soviet Union (and clearly I had the history wrong—I thought Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet Union), the two countries were close allies. The Czechs chose the way of communism after WWII and Czechoslovakia was a true communist country.

He emphasized that the year 1968 was a critical event to remember in order to understand the current situation with the Czech people’s worldviews and political affinities. The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in that year. With that invasion came a very divided country, split into the pro- and anti-Soviet camps. The differences between the two camps have survived the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Unlike Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia split peacefully into Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in 1993. And my conversant was thankful for that development.

“A silent majority in the Czech Republic supports Ukraine.” When Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the rancor between the two camps re-surfaced afresh and there was a clear split of opinion in the country. He told me that the disagreement amongst the people have destroyed families and friendships. Discussions about the War of Ukraine could not go on in any civilized manner.

I observed that there seems to be a world trend in the growing intolerance for different political views. Despite the celebration of diversity and differences that was regarded as the golden rule in my university days some twenty years ago, the world no longer practices the agreement to disagree. There is not even a pretense of tolerance; every opportunity for rational discussion of worldviews is turned into spats. This is clearly the case in Europe, America, Asia, and certainly Hong Kong.

I wondered if this development indicates the beginning of the end of western democratic values, as the golden rule that lies at the foundation of civic discussions is at stake.

It was in Uzbekistan that I learned about the views toward Ukraine in current Czech Republic. And this is an example of one of my most looked-forward to occurrences when I travel. I get to meet interesting people who bring me perspectives that I would never come across if I stayed home.

I bided farewell to the Czech conversant. We were at the hollows of the night.