IRON CURTAIN

It was a cold December day in 1970 and I was on a SABENA flight from Istanbul to Brussels where I would connect an Air Canada flight to my final destination Calgary via Montreal. The French built Caravelle jetliner had one scheduled fuel stop in Prague, then capital of Czechoslovakia, a member of the Warsaw Pact and a Communist country behind the Iron Curtain. First leg of the flight was uneventful with the minor exception of an emergency noise dive to prevent a mid-air collision over Bucharest. Once landed in Prague, at a safe distance from the terminal building, the passengers of the Caravelle, including me, were taken to the International Passenger Lounge of the Main Terminal building by bus since safety concerns would not allow passengers to remain onboard during fueling. First thing I noticed at the Lounge were soldiers in khaki uniforms, donning AK-47s, strategically placed and carefully scanning passenger traffic, ready to use deadly force on a moments notice. Undeterred, I involved myself in a little window shopping until I suddenly realized that my party was leaving the lounge to be taken to the bus to return to the aircraft. In an effort to catch up with the rest of the passengers, I lurched toward the gate but suddenly stopped by two soldiers and escorted into a room where I was briefly interrogated by two civilian members of the airport security. After a short questions and answers session during which my passport was in the custody of the security, I was determined to be harmless and taken back to the aircraft, at which time, was fully boarded and ready to depart.

Now, every time I travel by air and see heavily armed guards at the terminals, I remember this little bone chilling incident in the land of hammer and sickle back in 1970 while yearning the good old days when I used to fly without the constant reminder of ever present deadly force, countless check points, metal detectors and strip searches. I am now a firm believer that there is no substitute for a world living in peace and harmony. All we need to achieve that tranquility is a little more understanding, mutual respect and cooperation between different nations, cultures and religions of the world while refusing to follow the lead of war mongers, criminals and saboteurs.