“Bodies scattered everywhere around the country. Wherever you look, a haunting figure with daunting eyes stares right back at you.” The aforementioned description is the scene in Slovakia this stormy evening of January fourth, 1993, reports Peter Černý. The first case of the Plague of Slovakia, also referred to as the White Plague, saw its first signs of life in a middle-aged businessman five months ago. After spending a week in the hospital, his last dying breath iterated that he will destroy every living being in this corrupt country. This threat comes after the newly-elected president, Michal Kováč, announced a massive increase in taxes and no retirement pay for people who acquire more than 30k euros a month. Although a significant change, this gives the late Jozef no warranted motive to threaten such an act. However, his nearby neighbor Anna informed us that he was going through a troubled period, with his wife passing away, and his company, which prospered for many years, was declining. Isolating himself from the rest of the world, his death was the first time he was seen in four months. In spite of this logical reason, the source of his anguish does not stem from the country, leaving us to wonder why he would menace a thriving nation.
Buried in the Goat Gate’s cemetery on an abnormally rainy day; it was as if the people were sobbing for their foreshadowed future. His corpse rested peacefully beneath the ground. On the contrary, the scene above the ground was a different story. The white plague was wreaking havoc in the country. 24 hours after his death, four new cases were recorded. The following week 50 cases were identified. The week after saw a massive increase of 400 cases. In the span of a month, 2209 cases of the plague were recorded, all leaving this sad world one by one. As the plague entered the body of its next victim, it left no mark of its presence. One glance at a fallen human rendered them normal and not with a heart ceasing to beat.
Towards the beginning of this tragedy, we got word of one woman witnessing the death of her husband. Adriana reports that he was fine, and all of sudden he started chanting: “We will all fall until there is nothing left of us!” This chant was repeated several times, until he fell on the ground and commenced convulsing. His precise last words were; “Hate will triumph over love.” Finally, he closed his eyes, and lay as if he was in a deep slumber. No sign of any sickness or such was remarkable on his face. The distressed woman shook him until she fatigued herself, but merely got utter silence as a response. He was dead. Several later incidents resembled this peculiar loss, dying people declaring these precise words.
Two month following a huge surge in deaths, medical specialists deduced that it was a microbe, but as more people succumbed, that discovery was soon rejected. The highly contagious plague was eating its way through the population. Bodies became too much to bury and were thrown onto the streets. The pungent smell of corpses pervaded the air with blood painting over the roads. Citizens locked themselves into their homes, fearing they would be the next target. Leaving their home was inevitable, and so to the streets they joined the others. The previous joyous laughter of kids on the streets began disappearing, and eerie silence took over the country. No cure has yet been found, or will it ever be?
Slovakia, once ranked very high on the list of most developed countries in the world, thought to be a nation reigning with care, justice, and pride, deteriorates slowly before us. The origin of this national catastrophe circuits its way back to one human being. A man who embraced the choice of taking the fall, but taking down everybody with him. Why must we ever believe that people are morally-intelligent and capable? The thought of pure goodness in any is false, thus hatred has power stronger than any matter. We don’t live inside a world, but a mere headspace, convincing us of the cruelest, most appalling routes. Your anger fuels you, but destroys everything around you. Your calmness disappears to a place the deceased shall visit, for it lays with you in your grave. Your due has been paid, but was it deserved?
As we remember the businessman who has brought about pain, fear, and insurmountable trauma over all of us, we wonder what will become of a once prosperous and growing country. Will it fall like its citizens or does a miracle await it at the end of the road?
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