Ears

by Lehel Vandor

Ears, too many of them, catching any accidental voicing of free thought... The tragicomedy of spraying trees with green paint during the Leader's visits... The deadly denial of the existence of serious 'imperialist' diseases... Three hours of TV broadcasts per day, food rationing, power cuts...
Then, the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which replaced communism with democracy, artificial stability with chaos, external threats with internal tensions, power with corruption, religion with greed, and one dread with many fears.
It is a personal journey of a Transylvanian Hungarian ethnic child of Ceausescu's dark '70s, a teenager during the suffocating Romanian '80s, a student during the surreal '90s and an emigrant of recent years.
His journey from a world that Kafka imagined, but Ceausescu created, to a society that still fights with numerous ghosts also reveals unexpected parallels between that past totalitarianism and the disturbing transformations of his recently adopted home.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

Lehel Vandor (1971-) was born in Transylvania, and grew up, as a member of the Hungarian ethnic minority there, during Nicolae Ceausescu's totalitarian regime. His school, and later high school, studies have been completed during the communist dictatorship.
The 1989 revolution in Romania and the 1990 ethnic pogrom organized by the newly formed Romanian extreme right happened during his final year at high school. In 1990, the first generation of students of the free Romanian began their University studies. Lehel Vandor, too was among them, and the five years of student life have been a memorable experience in the country that was just starting to find its way.
After finishing University in Transylvania, he obtained his PhD in the United Kingdom and permanently settled there. Radical changes in British politics, 9/11, the subsequent War on Terror, and its measures introduced by Tony Blair’s government have provided numerous opportunities for drawing certain disturbing and surprising parallels between two very different societies caught up in their ideological and political fights with very different enemies.
Previously Lehel Vandor authored several series of articles and radio programs in Hungarian and Romanian languages, published short stories in Hungarian language. His photography is represented by several photo libraries. One of his other passions is electronic music composition and production.