How would I know how call tabbing worked? There must have been some truth about that, so scared we were all of it. But it wasn?t the people from the phone company that planted the bugs, its was the secret police, and anyhow, they wouldn?t have done it under your nose. I can?t say more. Yet I?m not so sure they tabbed all calls, did they really? What do you think?

Note :  Our interviewee Mitica is very convinced that today, you had better keep at a distance from whatever has anything to do with the former Securitate secret police. That is the reason why he withheld his identity. (V. M., 95)

            We became pioneers in the 3^rd grade, in series: those who were one year elder made us pioneers. We went to a special place ? I was made a pioneer at the Military Academy- where the festivity took place. I said an oath! It was really a touching thing, I came home very proud.  Since you became a pioneer, you had two uniforms: the daily one you wore at school and the festive one- a pleated skirt, white shirt and scarf. And if you had shoulder straps and badges you couldn?t be happier. The straps and the badges were distributed according to one?s merit, according to the study subject. But you had to work in order to get them. They were given to reward your learning efforts, but also for the patriotic work. (O. S., 120)

The pupils at school 45 were made pioneers at the Museum of the Party The younger ones were promoted to this rank by their older colleagues, a kind of mentors. The key point of the ceremony was the oath and kissing the flag. Half of my class skipped the last moment. Because the elder ones scared us by telling that if we kissed the flag (which was obviously dirty and overused) we would become sick of I don?t know what terrible disease.  So most of us just mimicked the kiss, being twofold scared, not to touch it and to be caught not touching it. (160)

I always had straps because I had good results at school. First I had the red strap which meant, ? group commander?, then I was the ? class commander?, who wore a yellow strap, and then ?vice school commander ?, that is the blue strap and I was to become ? school commander?, that is the dark blue strap. I didn?t get to wear dark blue because the Revolution came. (S.C., 5)

School meant a series of achievements for me. The decisive moment in the positive valorization happened, not as one would expect it, the day I was made a pioneer, in a festive atmosphere, at the History Museum, but much later, when I was elected ? class commander?. I remember I did not want the yellow strap, but a modest position of flag bearer or trumpet player, but I was the victim of my colleagues, the boys who had decided to overthrow the girls? tyranny. Their reasoning was simple. One of the tasks incumbent upon the class commander was to pass a judgment together with the teachers regarding a certain misconduct of a pupil, on which occasion I was supposed to side those who had elected me.