DANCING BEARS by Witold Szablowski (Translated from Polish)

The full title for this most interesting and curious book is Dancing Bears: True Stories of People Held Captive to Old Ways of Life in Newly Free Societies. The author is Polish, so is himself from one of the very societies that in recent decades has gone from being Communist controlled to being 'newly free' - democratic, capitalist. The world he was born into has gone from one where fear, compliance, blind obedience in thought, word and action has morphed into one where freedom in thought, action and deed is the name of the game. But not everyone adapts quickly, easily or even willingly to the new way of doing things. This is a really interesting, informative and easy book to read.

The author has taken a very sensitive and empathetic journey through some of the recently communist countries to see just how people and communities have coped with these upheavals. I don't know how he chose the places he has  - it is a most diverse bunch. He begins his narrative in Bulgaria. Since joining the EU, Bulgarian gypsies are no longer allowed to keep bears and use them for their earning capacity as entertainers. For such families, training and keeping bears is all they have ever known for generations - the transition has not been easy, they mourn the old days. Despite the blatant cruelty to the bear!

The author goes to Cuba where the death of Castro has left considerable uncertainty over what comes next. The locals are fearful of losing the excellent health care and education systems that have been in place under Castro for 50+ years. In the Ukraine he is involved in smuggling a car across the border; he is in Kosovo as it declares independence from Serbia's' authoritarian rule; he is bemused by the love and adoration for Stalin in his native Georgia. In London's Victoria Station he finds an old Polish woman, homeless, who lives in the station on donations, receives a pension in Poland, but prefers life in London. Odd.

It is a clever title - not only is it the end of the dancing bears in Bulgaria, symbolising new beginnings, but it also refers to many of the people of these countries and communities who are struggling with the notion of independence, not being under the authoritarian rule of communist doctrine. For the bears, even though they are now 'free' from living in captivity, are totally incapable of living in the wild, so now live in sanctuaries. Their 'training' is so deeply ingrained in them, that even though they don't have to, they still get up on their hind legs and dance when they see human beings. Such is the lot of many of the people - they can't go back to what they know, and they are unable to navigate the new present. 

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