Tag Archives: Czech Republic

The unbearable lightness of being: from historian to boiler-room operator to cloakroom attendant to national archivist.

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Only then will I be able to die – until that time, someone has to take care of all of this!

Posted in Communism, Czech Republic, Dissidents, History, Human Rights | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The 21st Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

21 years ago the Czechoslovakian students began what became the Velvet Revolution.  Not much has been written today about such a monumental event.  Today, Lech Walesa celebrated the occasion in Bratislava. Here’s President Havel being interviewed on the 20th anniversary … Continue reading →

Posted in Communism, Czech Republic, Dissidents, Empathy, Europe, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Roma sterilization.

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Human rights campaigners won an important moral victory on Monday when the government of Jan Fischer expressed regret over the forced sterilization of women, almost all of them members of the country’s Roma minority.

Posted in Czech Republic, Human Rights | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Judge Vojtěch Cepl was a gentle giant with a wry sense of humor and great incisive perspicacity.

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

He was the principal drafter of the Czech Constitution and a great admirer of the United States. 1938 – 2009 The rules of human conduct are the most difficult to transform because there is the tremendous force of inertia to … Continue reading →

Posted in CEELI, Czech Republic, Human Rights, Rule of Law | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unaccompanied tours – or when Dad is away in Iraq

Posted on May 30, 2008 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

It has been 3 months since Kenneth went to Iraq and I became an “unaccompanied tour” spouse. No one ever writes about all the myriad of support avenues that the US government provides families in my situation. The State Department, … Continue reading →

Posted in Diplomacy, Foreign Service, Hilla, Iraq, Poland | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Advancing Rule of Law in Prague.

Posted on June 11, 2007 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

President Havel, Homer Moyer and Sandra Day O’Connor The common thread at the Democracy and Security Conference in Prague was the role of the Rule of Law in free societies. Fittingly, the second event I attended in Prague was the … Continue reading →

Posted in CEELI, Dissidents, Human Rights, Rule of Law | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dissidents in Prague: Aznar, Havel, Sharansky and Bush.

Posted on June 10, 2007 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

by Barbara Dillon Hillas Spent a very busy week in magical Prague, attending 2 events. The first one, the Democracy and Security Conference in Prague was historically monumental. Did anyone report the standing ovation that President Bush got at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dissidents, Human Rights, Rule of Law | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dissidents, human rights and security.

Posted on May 21, 2007 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

by Barbara Dillon Hillas Natan Sharansky, once a dissident who spent 9 years in the Soviet gulag, is co-hosting a conference on democracy and security in Prague next month, together with former president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel and … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Poland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment