Tag #129752 - Interview #78111 (Aristide Streja)

At the 1977 earthquake, the Free Europe [15] had a broadcast in which they said that Mrs. Letzler from the US wanted to know if her relatives in Romania were all right. I was working in a Communist State institution, and was a Party member, while the Americans were imperialists and enemies of the people. When I met my co-workers, they told me 'The Free Europe is looking for you'. This put me in a dangerous position. Those from the Party organization asked me 'What is the meaning of this? Why is the Free Europe looking for you?' However, I didn't get any sanctions. The next day, we received a phone call from the Free Europe: 'This is the editorial office of the Free Europe. Are you aware of the announcement that was broadcast? Have you heard it?' It was my wife who had answered the phone. She said 'No, I'm not aware.' 'Then we'll play it for you, because we recorded it.' 'There's no need for that', my wife said. The radio station probably told Mrs. Letzler about this conversation, so she asked them not to send any more messages, for they might cause us harm. The Free Europe announced that 'Mrs. Letzler asked us not to send any more messages, for they might cause harm to her family'. And the story repeated itself. We would secretly listen to the Free Europe and discussed the things that went on in the Western world.