Prefer a Russian in the kitchen … (peace recital by Jeroen van Zuylen)
Jeroen van Zuylen wore the {tip World Peace Flame on Thursday 24 September::Ignited in Wales in 1999 from living fire from seven continents. Salient detail: the fire was often flown over in planes of the air force}world peace flame{/tip} from Wijchen to Hernen.
‘I’d rather have a Russian in the kitchen than a rocket in my bed!’. That was one of the many slogans that were carried along in the large peace demonstration in Amsterdam on November 21, 1981. I’ll never forget that date… What people, what solidarity! It was the largest demonstration ever in the Netherlands – no fewer than 400,000 people were on their feet. I remember the great positive atmosphere that was there, the songs that were sung, all those creative slogans that were carried away. (or was it: ‘I’d rather have a Russian in my bed than a rocket in the kitchen’?).
It was the time when the cold war between NATO and Warsaw Pact was growing to dangerous heights. Long-range missiles (cruise missiles) aimed at the Soviet Union would be placed in Western Europe, and no fewer than 48 in the Netherlands. And in the Eastern Bloc, SS-20 missiles aimed at the west. In total, hundreds of nuclear missiles, each with a destructive power of many times the bomb on Hiroshima. ‘As a deterrent’ was what it was called from both sides. Only, when things went wrong, the whole of Europe was in ruins… Fears of nuclear war grew and grew, both in Eastern and Western Europe. Mass peace demonstrations were the order of the day in the early 1980s. From London to Bucharest, from Madrid to Athens. And… in Amsterdam.
We came from all over the Netherlands to the capital by train and bus. I believe the NS allowed us to travel for free (maybe that’s why it was so busy?). Someone on the train was carrying a transistor radio. Traffic jams of no less than six kilometers in the direction of Amsterdam were reported! Haha, that’s not even reported anymore.
There was hardly any question of walking a route, the streets were so full of people. We swayed along in the colourful procession of people singing and chanting, sometimes left, sometimes right, but we never saw a main stage with speakers. ‘Cows kontra nuclear weapons’ was written on a wall somewhere. Free milk was handed out by ‘Peasant women against cruise missiles’, a group of beer drinkers represented the ‘Alcoholics for Peace’ with a banner. I also saw a sign that said: ‘No kernrakut!’ Now… Somewhat more refined was the text that a group of Calvinists carried along: ‘A people that succumbs to rockets will lose more than life and property – then the light will go out (v Randwijk)’.
Do I remember all that? No, I wrote down a lot of banner texts at the time and recently found the notepad. Only, that one slogan wasn’t there… How was it again? ‘I’d rather have a Russian in my crotch than a cruise missile in…’ No, it doesn’t . Oh well, it’s been so long….
Jeroen van Zuylen
