Return: news and assimilation

The New Times continues publishing the diaries of the famous journalist Masha Slonim, who went into exile for the second time that I would continue my education at some Western university and "assimilate". Nevertheless, the first thing I did when I arrived in America was to work at Ardis, and after moving to England, to the BBC. In "Ardis" I, not looking up from Russian culture, hung out with American students and in just 8 months I almost completely "assimilated". And in London, on the BBC, I daily dealt with news from Russia, although I was purely humanly interested in what was happening in the USSR - my friends remained there, this was my country. But very quickly, England became my country - I read English newspapers and books, married an English lord, lived on his estate, sometimes hunted foxes, and in the days when cricket matches were held on our site, I hosted the estates of the local team and fans. Having emigrated for the second time, I took a Russian Facebook with me to England, and this, in addition to calls from friends, is the strongest connection with my homeland. I don’t know why I’m there, on Facebook in Russian, reading all sorts of horror stories. After all, I left because I realized that I could not change anything (in Russia). But it’s probably like an old sore that you don’t stop picking and scratching ... True, while reading Russian FB, I simultaneously listen to English radio or watch TV, and gradually English news again, as during the first emigration, becomes mine. For example, six months ago, the question of whether the UK would remain in the European Union sounded abstract to me. Now I am following the discussions on this topic with great interest and will definitely take part in the referendum on June 23 *** - it is important for me to vote for us to remain in the EU. But the main sensation concerns the tragedy that happened 27 years ago in Liverpool Hillsborough Stadium, when 96 people were killed in a stampede during a football match. Following an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy, it was announced that people died as a result of an accident. The police insisted on another version: drunken hooligans are to blame for everything. But the families of those who died at the stadium, united in the group Justice (Justice), all these years sought the truth. And finally, England heard the verdict of the jury: the fans died as a result of gross errors of the police, which hid the evidence and covered up the perpetrators. And one more thing: there could have been fewer deaths if the ambulance doctors acted more competently and more quickly in rescuing the wounded. The head of the South Yorkshire police has already been fired. Relatives of the victims are filing a civil lawsuit against the police. These people defeated the system. And while listening to this news, I think about Beslan and Nord-Ost. * Continuation. Beginning - NT #40 of November 30 and #42 of December 14, 2015. Nos. 1,3,5,9,11,13 for 2016.** Ardis Publishing is an American publishing house established in 1971 that specializes in publishing Russian literature in the original language and in English translation. Since 2002, Ardis has not published books in Russian.*** On June 23, 2016, a referendum on UK membership in the EU will be held in the UK. Photo: youtube.com

The New Times continues publishing the diaries of the famous journalist Masha Slonim, who went into exile for the second time*

When I emigrated for the first time, my mother really did not want me to work at Ardis ** or for the BBC - she hoped that I would continue my education at some Western university and “assimilate”. Nevertheless, the first thing I did when I arrived in America was to work at Ardis, and after moving to England, to the BBC. In "Ardis" I, not looking up from Russian culture, hung out with American students and in just 8 months I almost completely "assimilated". And in London, on the BBC, I daily dealt with news from Russia, although I was purely humanly interested in what was happening in the USSR - my friends remained there, this was my country. But very quickly, England became my country - I read English newspapers and books, married an English lord, lived on his estate, sometimes hunted foxes, and in the days when cricket matches were held on our site, I hosted estates of the local team and fans.

Having emigrated for the second time, I took a Russian Facebook with me to England, and this, in addition to calls from friends, is the strongest connection with my homeland. I don’t know why I’m there, on Facebook in Russian, reading all sorts of horror stories. After all, I left because I realized that I could not change anything (in Russia). But it's probably like an old sore that you never stop pulling and scratching...

True, while reading Russian FB, I simultaneously listen to English radio or watch TV, and gradually English news again, as during the first emigration, becomes mine. For example, six months ago, the question of whether the UK would remain in the European Union sounded abstract to me. Now I am following the discussions on this topic with great interest and I will definitely take part in the referendum on June 23 *** - it is important for me to vote for us to remain in the EU.

But the main sensation concerns the tragedy that happened 27 years ago at Liverpool's Hillsborough Stadium, when 96 people died in a stampede during a football match. Following an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy, it was announced that people died as a result of an accident. The police insisted on another version: drunken hooligans are to blame for everything. But the families of those who died at the stadium, united in the group Justice (Justice), all these years sought the truth. And finally, England heard the verdict of the jury: the fans died as a result of gross errors of the police, which hid the evidence and covered up the perpetrators. And one more thing: there could have been fewer deaths if the ambulance doctors acted more competently and more quickly in rescuing the wounded. The head of the South Yorkshire police has already been fired. Relatives of the victims are filing a civil lawsuit against the police. These people have defeated the system.

And I, listening to this news, think about Beslan and Nord-Ost.

* Continuation. Beginning - NT #40 of November 30 and #42 of December 14, 2015. Nos. 1,3,5,9,11,13 for 2016.

** Ardis Publishing is an American publishing house established in 1971 that specializes in publishing Russian literature in the original language and in English translation. Since 2002, books in Russian have not been published by Ardis.

*** June 23, 2016 in the UK will be a referendum on the membership of the UK in the EU.

photo: youtube.com