Change management

Change: the movement from one state to the next. It always comes at a price. As for the fall of the Communist regime and the transition toward a more middle ground social welfare state, it was clear who stood in the winning camp. However, there was a hidden price to pay and the people pay it still.

These are the sons and daughters of the Velvet Revolution who were either retired or were preparing to do so. Imagine having served the last few decades as a labourer, farmer, worker, all earning a preset wage, all equal in the eyes of the regime. No need to save - nor was there much opportunity to do so unless you were one of the privileged few, yet another oxymoron of the regime - for the state would provide through one's golden years.

Then along came 1989. The Berlin Wall fell and through all of east Europe, the shock waves were being felt of a Soviet rule under siege. The Velvet Revolution hit the Czechs that same year and before they knew it, Communism was a thing of the past and they were embracing a more Capitalistic way of living. The shadow side of that ray of hope was the seniors caught in the crossfire. Twenty years later, seniors still cannot eek out an existence from their pension cheques. Definitely a case of a generation falling through the cracks.