VOICE OF AMERICA

Usually listened to and then discussed between (very good) friends. Most people listened to this channel but were afraid to say it. (M.C.J., 96)

One evening all my family was home (my mother, my father, my sister and me) and listened to a broadcast. My mother just wanted to tune the radio set to hear better and all of a sudden she came across "Voice of America". The program had just ended. The following evening, being together again, we listened to this channel and ever since then we had been listening to it. I did not know what it said. I only remember it was about Romania's policy, about Romanians who led a hard life. I don't want to talk about the program, but about the fact that my parents told me and my sister that we were going to listen to it on the radio turned down and that we shouldn't tell anyone (and what we talked about Ceausescu or other issues in our house either). Otherwise, the police would come and took all of us to their office, and my parents would be sent to jail and so on. (M.C.J., 109)

VOTE

Usually it happened on Sunday when everyone was home. It happened one Sunday when I was working! People of age voted at schools or high-schools. Teachers were working, students had classes and all the other people were at work. That was not the only Sunday when we were working. The crazy thing was to vote at 8 o'clock in the morning for the elections were about to end. Yes, at 8 o'clock p.m. You heard it well! The elections vote procedures started very early. So between half past six and eight Bucharest's streets were crowded. The voting paper had four columns: order number, name and then "Yes" and "No". One had to tick "Yes" or "No". The Party secretary or the syndicate chairman or any other official of the institution covered "No" with his hand, so you had no choice, you had to tick "Yes". Open voting. There was no way out. You had to go and tick?(I.H., 144)