Miroslav & Zdena Palat - a Czechoslovak marriage amid the Velvet Divorce

With just days to go before the 10th anniversary of the division of Czechoslovakia, Rob Cameron speaks to a Czech-Slovak couple about the 1993 "Velvet Divorce". Czech Miroslav Palat and his Slovak wife Zdena lived in Bratislava for many years, leaving Czechoslovakia for the U.K. on the eve of the 1993 split. They returned in 1997, and chose to settle in Prague. Rob's first question to Miroslav and Zdena was whether they were conscious of having separate Czech and Slovak identities before their country was divided in two.

Zdena Palatova: I have to admit that I always felt Czechoslovak. I didn't realise that I was Slovak and there were two republics, and just as I was learning at school that we were two republics I realised that we were living in the Slovak republic. But I didn't feel "Slovak".

Miroslav Palat: I have to agree with that. The identity was more Czechoslovak than distinctly Czech. I'm afraid this is something that has never really been appreciated in the recent history of our country, neither before the split nor after it.

Some of the more amusing aspects of Czechoslovakia that I've read about include football commentary - when Czechoslovakia played another team, the first half of the commentary was in Czech, and the second half was in Slovak. Was that always the case, and were there any more examples of that?

ZP: I have to admit that I didn't even notice it! Maybe we were so "half-and-half", I don't know. But really I never noticed it. But certainly there were special programmes on TV. On Monday there were federal broadcasts of TV series from Slovak Television, and they were very popular. Even now, after the split, people miss these programmes. Some of my friends miss these programmes on Czech TV because they aren't there any more.

You left Czechoslovakia shortly before the country split, at the end of 1992. Do you remember any specific omens of the storm to come? I don't mean what the politicians were saying, but perhaps something a Czech friend said to you Zdena, or a Slovak friend said to you Miroslav, that made you think this federation is doomed'.

ZP: No, I wouldn't say so. In the Slovak republic it was mainly the voices of the radical Slovak nationalists who were making these noises, and suddenly it became true. Because it was about the political ambitions of a couple of politicians, rather than the real wishes of the people.

So what you're saying does seem to confirm the theory that the division of Czechoslovakia really did go against what most people wanted, and it was simply a political move.

MP: Yes. I think it wouldn't be straying too far from the truth to say that the majority of people, if there had been a referendum on this, would have voted against the split of the country.

You were out of the country at midnight on the 31st of December, 1992, you were not in Czechoslovakia. Where were you, and what were your feelings at midnight on December 31st?

ZP: I remember it very well because at that time we were living in Great Britain, and we spent New Year's Eve with our friends in London. And surprisingly, it was a community of Czechs and Slovaks who had left Czechoslovakia - mainly in 1968. And it was very interesting because at midnight we sang the Czechoslovak national anthem with both parts, and I felt very sad.

MP: It was a very moving occasion, and it felt like something significant in our lives, as us current or former citizens of Czechoslovakia knew that this country was no more. And there would be two new countries, both of which were looking optimistically to the future, but we didn't really know what the future would bring.

As for your future, you decided not to stay living abroad, but to come back. You moved to Prague - why here, why not Bratislava, where you had lived before 1992?

MP: I think it was probably due to the consideration about where the largest city was, and where it seemed that - for our professional development - there were more opportunities. I think it had little to do with the split of Czechoslovakia into two countries. Even if Czechoslovakia had still existed when we came back in 1997, we probably would have chosen Prague anyway. Just because of what we perceived as much broader opportunities here.

ZP: And especially because Mirko studied here, I used to come very often, and we had quite a lot of friends over here, so Prague was - for me - always the city I wanted to live in. But back then our situation was a little bit different, we wanted to go abroad, so this was the reason why we left, but actually we wanted to live in Prague even before the split.

What language do you speak at home?

ZP: It's interesting. Sometimes we speak Slovak, but if we argue we talk in English because I believe that English is more to the point!

Really? You argue in English?

ZP: Yes, sometimes. But mostly in Slovak, it depends. If we have guests, we always speak the language of our guests.

Unfortunately many younger Czechs and Slovaks no longer understand each other so well, especially in the Czech Republic. I've heard that Czech children, or Czech teenagers, no longer understand films in Slovak. Slovak children, on the other hand, still understand Czech films because there are more Czech programmes on Slovak TV than vice versa. Does this sadden you, that the children of two countries which have shared so much are having to struggle to understand each other?

ZP: It's really a pity, because for us it's normal, because we grew up in a society where we were exposed to both the Czech and Slovak languages equally. And now I don't understand how Czech children no longer understand Slovak, because there are really very few differences. But it's through exposure, and unfortunately in the Czech Republic there is no Slovak TV anymore. And in Slovakia people watch TV Nova and they are exposed to the Czech language, therefore the kids can understand more.

We're just days away from the 10th anniversary of the split. What feelings are going through your mind?

ZP: Far less emotional than in 1993 and 1993. I feel now that maybe it was maybe very good for Slovak people that they can live in their own republic. They have their own responsibility, and if something's going well, or badly, it's up to them, and they can't complain to anyone. So from this point of view I believe it's very good. They can have their own self-confidence from the political and economic point of view. I believe that in the future, as both republics go into the EU, there won't be a border between us. There will be no more Slovak or Czech Republic, but just countries in the European Union. And this is very good.

MP: I agree with that completely. To a degree I'm almost proud, if I may say, that Slovakia will have its own little yellow star on the European flag. And I'm also very much aware that since the split there have been very few problems, if any, between the two countries. It is considered that their relationship is far above the usual standard that you have with your neighbours. So the partnership of the two countries and the two peoples within the European Union will just become even better than it was in the past. And rightly so. As I said, with hindsight, it was probably a good move.