Ivan Jurica, November 2015
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The ambivalence of the caption above is an intended one, developed and imposed to reflect the political state of Eastern Europe in its formation after 1989 that is, currently, achieving a permanent visibility of a closed unit of sadistic racist mentality and practice. At the same time, Eastern European racism is nothing of unexpected surprise, as in the past years it was frequently demonstrated by all possible forms of violence, especially against local Roma. Now it achieved another dimension, as it is not anymore about the local Roma and Christians, but migrants, refugees (be it war- or economic refugees), non-EU-citizens. The core of what’s going on in the Eastern European borderlands – in the “corridors of escape” – might be conceived by the notion of dispensable lives. This time as a domino effect (still having in mind Angela Merkel’s powerful act at the 20th anniversary celebration at the former Berliner Mauer in 2009), as the majority of Eastern Europeans could, especially in the 1990’s, experience the dispensable lives on their own. To shed light on this statement, as well as on the current “Eastern Block” and its political practices, it is useful to recall the start of the economic transformation in the 1990’s.
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On remnants of totalitarian past
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In the last decade of turbulent 20th century, after the collapse of socialist block in 1989, capitalism turned into global ideology and practice. In Eastern European conditions it was rather the form of turbo-capitalism, imposed on the remnants of real-socialist structures. Beside its players obviously nobody knows what exactly happened in the backstage of power, but from the outside it always looked as easy and clear thing – totalitarian socialism in crisis and with almost no support by its citizens must have been collapsing. In the era of Cold War, capitalism was just too sweet promise of a consumerist paradise. Beside this, the image of a capitalist (entrepreneur) was one of a good uncle, willing of peace and of a good advice. Of course, that sort of admiration never functioned in reverse. The good uncle’s admiration befitted possibilities of expanding and of securing own economic interests. The sudden transitional turn was a brutal one, claiming losses of in the past focused futures, long terms private savings, assurances, jobs, existential infrastructures, and often lives. Eastern Europeans were taught about the necessity of losses – combined with hard work it will be soon compensated by a better future that, exposed in the advertisement images, looked so charming. For a few, those promises functioned quite well, the rest couldn’t exit the position of a cheap working craft. All within a system of individual competition and existential fears, well analysed by, and known from anti-capitalist critics. In these terms, some reader might put in question worker’s passivity within the newly established conditions of turbo-capitalist exploitation.
Within the Eastern European socialist system anti-capitalist criticism played an important role. As one of the fundaments of state’s ideology it even became very well elaborated. But within the totalitarian real-socialist practice, especially since the 1970’s and 80’s, any anti-capitalist criticism in the end introduced an impotent agit-prop. The history and presence of an effective and organized workers struggle was taught as one of the foundations of anti-capitalist practice, but any resistance toward the official communist regime, socialist economy including, experienced repression immediately. In these terms the events of 1989 just introduced the peak of a collectively anticipated hopelessness, maybe the one and only real-collectiveness within the last phase of socialism. For the communist leaders it actually wouldn’t be a problem to send heavy armed forces to overroll the masses in the streets, but even the rulers were obviously of no further interest to perform communism (with exception of Romania and Ceaucescu’s violent destruction; also with exception of Soviet Union that, despite the term “Eastern Europe”, conceives within the history of socialism/communism an “own” chapter). For citizens of real-socialism, capitalism arrived as freedom’s angel, as a promise of consumerist adventures and technological progressing, but most of all as a dream of justice: Those diligent, hardworking and truthful, from now on will be rewarded by a better future.
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Transitory dispensable lives
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Events that succeeded in the meantime are known as history of disintegration of Eastern European societies. What also might be known, but remained completely ignored, is the notion of those subsequent transitory dispensable lives. Capitalism was conceived here as righteous brother, so the positivism overshadowed all possible strata of social structures. Any agenda of social relationships was perceived as burden on the new achieved “freedom”. Any critic on economic and social injustice became criminalized as a “communist”. For Western capital in compliance with local elites everything was just too fine, there was no alternative to “freedom”. Winners were winners, losers just the losers. Thus, the communist idea, its structures and struggles became erased, the antagonism of Eastern Europe disappeared. The same way as smaller companies or alternative economies disappears when overtaken by bigger ones. Or, put differently – Eastern European economies became within the new order included into Western ones. Eastern Europe, the brave pupil, even obtained the category of a “former” one. And apropos new local elites: The same elites nowadays pollute the area with their long-term disgusting xenophobia, articulated perversely as the will of the nation.
In the meantime it is clear that the “catching up the West” policy will remain an eternal one, as it is not about a competition but a form of domination. In these terms the position of a well educated, but underpaid working craft led into an accepted frustration. And it was just a question of time when, how, and in which form, this frustration might find its way of ventilation.
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Post-secular societies
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In terms of displaying subordinated “former” Eastern Europe and its current racist policies toward refugees, next to the economic conditions it is necessary to keep in mind the religious fundamentalism of post-secular societies. And the following ironical formulation describes it in short cut at the best: When the leaders of anti-communist religious dissent fought before 1989 for a factual political separation of the church from the state, after 1989 and until today it still didn’t happen. Within the post-secular order, religion and religious practices do not conceive components of social coexistence, they conceive the society itself. Society, nation and religion became identical. One cannot be a real Slovakian, Czech or a Hungarian (as an example), if he or she doesn’t claim being a Catholic. Not necessarily as practice, but as ideology and tradition.
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The difference lays in the 1990’s
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But the religious radicalization of societies, linked with the notion of a nation and cultural difference, is not an Eastern European “privilege”. In these terms the racist conflict in the Eastern European borderlands doesn’t concern solely the clash of “former East” and the West. Traditional Western societies accordingly experience massive intensified radicalization of its citizens. But why, then, does the current conflict on migration retrograde Europe in its previous Cold War division? The answer might be twofold: Exactly because of the difference of the 1990’s, visible in the current clash between the political right (or neoliberal left) and the left. Means, meanwhile in the West the current European crisis takes form of real-political clash between the right and the left, between the Christian-capitalist tradition and antifascist/-racist solidarity action of 21st century, what remained of the East after its ideological turn, after the own leftist history became enemy of the state, criminalized or erased?
Thus, the current image of Eastern Europe retrogrades into its pre-1989 form. But this anew “achieved” homogeneity appears, in comparison with the socialist past, even as a sustained one, as in the real-socialist past an effective and respected dissent against the communist power was actively at work. Now, it is not that signs and voices for/of solidarity with the refugees wouldn’t currently exist at all. Activism and solidarity are proceeding, its workers struggle to get visible and to get heard, but rather on a very small and individual scale. They even work under a permanent emergency, as confronted with the official policies and angry masses of citizens they remain unprotected. Reasons for this state of things are mentioned above, they are to be searched in the previous decades of neoliberal transition, (total) domination of the West over the East, in the proud slavery and in the decay of solidarity.
And positions claimed here shouldn’t serve an excuse on the primitive brutality in the Eastern European borderlands, but display in what way Western governments and institutions actively participated and still are participating on sustaining racism and xenophobia within post-socialist mentalities.
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The difference on 1960’s
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Maybe it is possible to compare current struggles with those of the second half of the 1960’s in the West which, in that time, introduced a bright heterogeneous civic coalition rejecting old fascisms and (post-)colonial practices. In these terms it introduced forms of solidarity and common action through different strata of Western societies. Now the colonial history strikes back, unexpectedly involving “former” Eastern Europe. And its socialist totalitarian past and the proto-fascist presence make the difference. If the second half of the 60’s in the West was about a clash between the patriarchal and colonial tradition and modern socialist or leftist positions of this era, currently the clash is about the official anti-racist EU and Eastern European modernist racisms without any organized leftist alternatives. And the repetition of history doesn’t occur solely in the re-establishing of monolithic Eastern European Block and, this time, a voluntary shift toward Russia. It is also a repetition of Cold War’s post-colonial fundament: If the contention between USSR and USA, respectively Eastern Block and the West, brought hot wars and real killing in the “Third World” (currently considering especially Middle East and North Africa), this time the hot wars and killing expanded on the routes of migration and transitory border camps.
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Eastern Europe as the “Other”, but inside of the European colonial tradition
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Eastern Europe doesn’t exist anymore. It was deleted throughout the era of economic and social transition after the Fall of the Wall, dictated by the West. It doesn’t exist, as the Eastern economies became included into the West. Eastern European post-socialist societies experienced, with the help of the new constituting local elites, a treatment of a defeated enemy – anything that might have resemble or recall the real socialism, must have been erased. Anything else, understood as an obstacle on cheap working craft and consumerism, too. Yet, erasing of real-socialist practice and position of a cheap working craft, they have something in common. The consequences of total superimposing of neoliberal policies without any leftist alternatives and structures are demonstrated in the current power and presence of Eastern European racisms (of course, by “leftist” are meant functioning structures of anti-capitalist resistance, not the neoliberal socialists). Its current displaying as a block of sadistic racist pleasure is perceived in the tradition of the “Other”, this time inside of Europe and the system of Whiteness. But Western policies are here not as innocent as they pretend to be: The above mentioned neoliberal domination of this area from the 1990’s brought an intensified individualization and evaporation of social responsibility. What followed was its shift toward the religious agenda within the post-secular order, including proto-fascist nationalist policies. Currently we can in these terms even observe a repetition of the 1990’s in its contemporary form – a further claim of teaching/dominating this area exactly due to its racist policies. And as more the demand on solidarity is uttered, the more intense that stubbornly primitive racism grows. And thus, Eastern Europe doesn’t exist. It exists as negative shadow. Eastern Europe conceives the “Other” within EU, but inside its colonial tradition.
281539m2 ad acta, a project conceived by Slovak artist Anton Čierny, released 21.11. 2015, in cooperation with Ivan Jurica. Part of the event took place at the site of a former concentration camp, later prison and “forced work camp”. The notion of a work became contextualized in its transformations throughout different 20th century ideologies. Its current position as one of the main instruments of EU-migration policies conceives an exact opposite to “forced work camps” – transitory camps of forced passivity. The site is currently a field and no man’s land.
Images: Pavlína Fichta Čierna, Anton Čierny.
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* A further clarification of the notion “West” might be of necessity: In this text adopted in the meaning of a block, similarly as Eastern Europe, or the East. Currently the main conflict on the routes for migration, as well as on the obligatory quotes, is circulating between South-East-Central European countries and Austria and Germany. Anyway Germany, once again, currently represents the main leader/speaker on negotiating the crisis in the manner of EU-deputy, but this time in the conflictual relation between Western and Eastern Block. In the context of economic and structural transition of the 1990’s a major patronising over the area was executed by Germany, Austria and USA. In these terms the West is conceived by its expanded notion. And thus, the concept of the “West” represents here a difference, actually a conjunction of differences – those historical, economical, and in those terms cultural.
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Ivan Jurica, artist, active at the intersection of art, politics and education. Focusing writing of histories, Eurocentrist ideologies, anti-racist activities and feminism. In these regards additionally relations between West and East of Europe. Participation on several collective and individual projects. Since 2006 working as art educator at mumok in Vienna. Living in Vienna, working in Vienna and Bratislava.