František Pavlík

"I cannot say that there were disputes between us and the Pioneers. Who had most problems with it were the old hard-core Party members, who were coming for inspections to see if we didn’t engage in any anti-state activities. As for the kids, they actually didn’t care. In 1968, we offered to cooperate with them, but it was not possible, because these were two opposing ideologies. This was east and west. Moreover, the leaders in Pioneer were under the political influence and pressure to do what the Party leadership wanted."

"There were great many of them, but the best experience I have is from Podkopná Lhota in 1969. Our group was there on a winter trip. It was on February 22, on the Sisterhood Day, and the girls were taking their oaths there. Just imagine a barren meadow, 15 metres long, and a campfire in the middle. It was in the evening and all was quiet. Those who were present lined up quietly, and the girls who were to take the oath were approaching on a forest path covered with snow. I was the group leader at that time, and I was the one to whom they made the promise."

"After 1968, a pressure began to be exerted upon us to quit scouting and join Pioneer." (A Communist organization for Czechoslovak youth.) "They were coming to our house and persuading us. We summoned a council meeting, and we discussed whether to join them or not. We eventually agreed that we would not leave the children. Even brother Plajner wrote that we ought not to leave them at that time. We insisted that we would stay where we were, but that we would change our name to 'campers' troop.' At first they permitted this, but gradually they liked it less and less and they were looking for elements of scouting there. We were not allowed to use the fleur de lis or Boys Scout scarves. But it all paid off, because scouting as such has remained ingrained in the children's consciousness and it became fundamental for the restoration in 1989."