“I had a brother at the university; he was in his fourth year at the faculty of engineering. He was unable to apply for the university he wished, since in 1950s, when he wanted to enter seminary, all the seminaries were liquidated. Therefore he didn’t have any choice and because our father refused to join the cooperative, he had to work at a bridge construction factory at least for one year right after his graduation from grammar school, and yet afterwards he was allowed to apply to some university. When he was later at the university in Košice, once he came home and said: ‘I won’t let you fall behind here!’”
“When he came to the military service, he was very disappointed, because of border guards’ drill. They had orders to shoot on anyone trying to cross the borders. He didn’t like it; he was naturally, differently raised in the neighborhood by his father. He as a man was against it and that was also a reason, why he wanted to flee abroad. He wasn’t caught on the border line or elsewhere, but they were distant from their division for twenty-four or forty-eight hours. Thus he was tried in front of the whole division as an exemplary case and he got fourteen years for that he wanted to leave abroad. It was stated in the charges that he and his companions wanted to join the foreign legion and serve during the war in Korea.”
“He was in one cell with people who were sentenced for murders. Simply, he was among the worst
scum of the society. They used to go to the pit tied in chains. They lined them up and ordered them to go. The chain was all around them, so they had to hold it and move as they could. He said they just waddled.”
Soňa Rafajová was born on January 18, 1941 in Valaská. She was née Krúpová and comes from a peasant family that in turn of 1940s and 1950s due to collectivization got into conflict with the newly established regime. Not only the parents, but also their children had to face communist persecution. Soňa had to leave the high school in nearby Piesok and complete her studies in distant city of Košice. At the end of her study she met Július Rafaj, who returned to his home village of Valaská after being imprisoned for six years because of illegal border crossing. After their marriage, persecution of both husband and wife continued, at first at their professional, but later as well within the common sphere. They were constantly victimized by the authorities when desiring to built own family house and beehouse. In November 1989 their suffering finally ended after thirty years of difficult life times. However, their common life in freedom didn’t last for long. Few years later her husband Július was diagnosed with the lung cancer, which was a consequence of working conditions he had in Jáchymov mines. After a very fast progress of the illness he died in 1993 and also due to this Soňa became an active organizer within the Confederation of Political Prisoners of Slovakia.
