My father’s photo club took a dramatic turn when he offered the teenagers something extraordinary: he had managed to source a film negative featuring The Beatles. At the time, Western beat music was officially denounced by the regime as imperialist propaganda. My father developed the prints together with the students, who were thrilled. But when the photos were brought home, word quickly reached the authorities.
The principal immediately launched disciplinary proceedings, demanding my father's expulsion from both the party and the teaching profession for violating socialist principles. He only avoided a complete career ban thanks to the backing of fellow teachers and, above all, my mother. Though she had refused to ever join the party due to a sexual assault by an official during her youth, she was a committed anti-fascist who defended her husband fiercely.
Through that act, my father showed me what civil disobedience actually looks like in everyday life. When I support people today who stand up against the dogma of endless economic growth and relentless performance pressure, I am simply continuing a long family tradition.
