Prisoners of the Lord
Turnov Service Project 2008 Newspaper article in Denik, April 10
Headline: 200 Young Americans Improve Turnov
Picture Caption: Workers. American youths who are living in Turnov this week have taken on a difficult task – they will build a beach volleyball court at the ISS dormitory on October 28th Street in Turnov. We will be able to judge soon how daring their plan was.
Article: The inhabitants of Turnov now have the opportunity to see perhaps the greatest number of American since the Velvet Revolution. Almost 200 young people are spending their Spring vacation here working and getting to know a different culture.
“They are children of American military who work at NATO bases around Europe.” Many of their parents are now in Afghanistan or Iraq,” explained the organizer of the action, Peter Boudny from the JB church in Turnov (Jednoty bratrská)
The American teenagers are here for a few days to build a beach volleyball court at the ISS dormitory. They are also helping to improve the interior and backyard of the JB church house on October 28th Street.
“They are unbelievably hard workers in all kinds of weather. I am very surprised by their attitude towards work,” praised Renata Subertova, director of the ISS dormitory.
Besides working outside, the American students also attend English classes, where they have conversations with the Czech students and in the afternoons they prepare interactive programs in English.
During the week the Daily News discovered that the image of American youth as spoiled idiots with over self-confidence is wrong.
“They were born in America but have traveled with their parents around Europe, so they are missing the most important things that people their age need: friendship and love,” said Peter Boudny about the foreign visitors. “They are very modest, undemanding and not afraid of work. They really aren’t like the Americans we know from the movies,” he added.
The students will spend a few more days in Turnov. They will finish their work on the volleyball court at the dorm and then they will return to their NATO bases in Europe where their parents work.
Short adjoining Article: Podekujme = We Thank You
Although I will take a risk that I will be called an agent of the USA, I would like to thank those 200 American students. Instead of taking drugs or drinking alcohol or loitering on the streets they did something that would make their ancestors proud. We needn’t be professional historians to know that their grandfathers laid their necks on the block in their fight against Nazism in occupied Europe. However, in a different way they follow their ancestors. If only we could say the same about ourselves …
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
