Vaclav Havel - his return to the Castle

This morning was the formal procession from the church where Vaclav Havel lay for public mourning to the Castle, where the formal state funeral will take place.  There were well over 10,000 people who walked the path from Old Town, across the Charlies Bridge, through Lesser Town and up to the Prague Castle in the drizzle and the cold. I was told to come to school a bit later as those 10,000 formed a wall between my home and my school, so I did.

And on the way I saw something I've never seen before. Not a massive gathering of people, not people teary-eyed and blank faced, but rather black flags.  The schools in my neighborhoods had strung up black flags on their flag poles. While official buildings were flying their Czech flags at half-mast, they were flying black flags for mourning.

There have been a few other remarkable things in the past few days - the comments and recognition that have been coming through form all parts of the world. The local embassy has been sharing numerous links and quotes which I will share with you here (some are excerpts from articles and not properly credited, sorry):

‎"Vaclav Havel believed in freedom, and had the courage to speak out about the evils of communism. He will be remembered as a hero to the people of the Czech Republic and to lovers of freedom around the world." -Nancy Reagan, widow of ex-U.S. President Ronald Reagan

‎"We have lost a hero of our times, a friend of freedom, who lived his life with integrity and sent forward ripples of hope into the world. He will be missed and remembered..... In an uncertain, always evolving world, I am certain of this: Vaclav Havel's words and example will endure and continue to provide inspiration, lighting a path forward, reminding us that history takes place in the here and now and that we all contribute to making it." CNN           

‎"All Americans loved him, regardless of party or creed, because of his courage and his extraordinary commitment to the values he exemplfied and that we share with the Czech nation. We will miss him greatly. But I am comforted with the knowledge that the spirit, ideals, and wit of this great statesman and man of letters will live on in his writings, in the memory of all who knew him, and in the thriving democracies which he helped nourish." -U.S. Ambassador Norman Eisen on the passing of Vaclav Havel

‎"Vaclav Havel went from being a playwright to a symbol of the new Czech state and democracy in Eastern Europe. Along the way he became Czech's first democratically elected president, nominee and winner of prestigious peace prizes, and one of the world's preeminent anti-communist revolutionaries." CS Monitor  - and in the American version of the paper the he was remember as “Czech president, playwright, and peacenik” and “one of the world's preeminent anti-communist revolutionaries”.

‎"Barbara and I join in mourning the death of Vaclav Havel, a gentle soul whose fierce devotion to the rights of man helped his countrymen cast aside the chains of tyranny and claim their rightful place among the free nations of world. His personal courage throughout that twilight struggle inspired millions around the world, including those of us who worked with him during a historic period of transformation for Europe." - Former U.S. President George Bush (1989-1993)

‎"President Havel spent his life removing chains of oppression, standing up for the downtrodden, and advancing the tenets of democracy and freedom. When communism threatened the peace and prosperity of our world and covered Eastern Europe in a cloud of hopelessness, he wrote plays so powerful they changed the course of history and created new democratic opportunities for millions." -Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 

 “…a politician whose vision and wit embraced not just the art of the possible but of the impossible too… (All the states of Europe)  have to be open to the new, the brave and the difficult without abandoning the moral, the wise and the treasured. In that sense, Vaclav Havel's Europe belongs not to the past but the future.” UK Guardian

 “(Havel) came to personify the soul of the Czech nation. His moral authority and his moving use of the Czech language cast him as the dominant figure during Prague street demonstrations in 1989 and as the chief behind-the-scenes negotiator who brought about the peaceful transfer of power known as the Velvet Revolution”. NY Times

TIME magazine, in an overview of their coverage of Havel dating back to 1968, “rarely do politics and art find such a tempered combination as in Vaclav Havel”

The Spanish press noted “Václav Havel, the Hero of Prague, has died", and the German stated simply “The Conscience of Europe is Dead”, while Al-Jazeera noted “The leader of a small country but a giant on the international stage, a statesman equal to any of his contemporaries, Václav Havel’s standing and influence stemmed not from his leadership of armies or command of political institutions, but from his commitment to the freedom of the individual, and to the power of ideas and human rights.”

And here is where it gets interesting - there have been so many more memories, tributes, formal recognition of his passing it's nearly impossible to keep track. President Obama has released a statement and the Clintons will be attending the funeral, as will a number of heads of state.  There is one place that, will their local Embassy has sent condolences, the heads of the government have yet to do so - that country is Russia. I hope that they are able to step beyond any past official resentment they may hold for Havel and his peaceful path to democracy and recognize that this was a great man who devoted his life to a fight against tyranny and oppression in all forms and actively worked, until his death, to create a more peaceful and united world. I hope that more people take the time to learn about his path, his work, his organization, Forum 2000, and realize that living your beliefs can be the impetus for great change.