VISIT

A red carpet was unrolled in the "23^rd of August" enterprise visited by Ceausescu on. His subordinates knew his schedule and, before ending the visit to a certain section, they rolled the carpet and went to the next place and unrolled it again.

The same things with the pieces. People knew when he visited a market and they gathered everything was beautiful and turned it into an exhibition. When he left for anothet market, they moved all things there. Moreover, Ceausescu went on a route chosen by his subordinates so that people could have time to arrange things in the next market. He thought Romania was rich. (32)

Ceausescu went to see how maize grew. What did people do if it was spare? They cut the maize on other fields and planted other straws between the spare ones. How did they do it? A quarter of an hour before he came, for otherwise the straws shrivelled! (S.C., 110)

The 1986-7 Gorbacev's visit to "23^rd of August" enterprise was the most difficult one. I remembered we were trained very well, were told that if Gorbacev should ask something, for he used to talk to lay people, we would ask that everything was fine and we were rich. 6,000 people of Security joined Gorbacev in his visit. So 6,000 people of Security spread all over the enterprise.

This was their objectice. "Uncle Nicu" came with Gorbacev to shot in the enterprise. There was an opening programme "Perestroika" on the Russian channels and we were allowed to get closer to Gorbacev's cars. He came with three well done-up and armoured Ceika cars. A Russian told us they were armoured, had some high performance weapons as the current ones, but the organizers' and the Party's mistake was that he wanted to see how the working class of "23^rd of August" would eat. He was taken to the work canteen where a very well garnished table was designed: mushrooms food and all kinds of steak. The funny thing was that a worker passed around before they came, sneaked in and took a helping and ran away with it. The mushrooms fell off the plate. People of Security followed him. It was such a funny thing?

Of course Gorbacev did not believe that. It was an exaggerated protocol. Finally it was reported that the visit was alright. (22)