The grave of Marína Paulíny at Brookwood Cemetery in England. (source: Facebook/Memorial Association for Free Czechoslovak Veterans)
Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Commemorating “Štefánik in a skirt”
March 28 marks the anniversary of the birth of a remarkable woman.
Marína Paulíny was born on March 28, 1897 in Slovenské Pravno, a village in Žilina Region, but later moved to the United States with her parents.
Marína Paulíny (source: Facebook/Slovak Embassy in UK)
The Slovak diplomat, journalist, humanitarian and translator rose to prominence during World War II when she was active in the Czechoslovak wartime resistance in exile. She became deputy head of the Czechoslovak Red Cross, and secured help for thousands of soldiers.
She also promoted the country abroad, gave interviews to media and built rich contacts. For the work she did for Slovaks, she was dubbed “[Milan Rastislav] Štefánik in a skirt”.
Paulíny died on October 5, 1945 in a plane crash at Blackbushe Airport, England, on her way back to Czechoslovakia after the war. The accident claimed the lives of other Czechoslovaks too. Paulíny is buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, England, where there is also a Czechoslovak war memorial.
Back in 2020, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of her tragic death, the Slovak Embassy in London restored her memorial.
In 2024, President Zuzana Čaputová awarded Paulíny the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross 2nd class in memoriam, for extraordinary merit in the field of humanitarian aid.
A revolutionary surgery to fight liver cancer
A unique surgery to treat liver cancer. (source: Facebook/Fakultná nemocnica s poliklinikou F.D.Roosevelta Banská Bystrica)
Interventional radiologists from the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital in Banská Bystrica have introduced a revolutionary, minimally-invasive surgery that should bring hope to patients suffering from liver cancer.
“This unique method, which includes two sophisticated techniques, has already saved the lives of several patients who are now considered fully cured,” the hospital wrote in a Facebook post.
During the surgery, two treatment techniques are used that support each other and thereby improve the result.
“This method represents a significant advance in treating liver cancer, as it combines the effectiveness of targeted chemotherapy and local thermal ablation, which significantly increases the chances of a complete recovery,” the hospital wrote. Still, it stressed that the surgery is not suitable for all patients, and proper consultation with the hospital's team of specialists is necessary.
Young girls crocheting to help young patients
Some of the crochet octopuses at Martin hospital. (source: Woollnies)
Students from a secondary vocational school in Námestovo, in northern Slovakia, are crocheting toys to give to children who undergo hospital surgery, in order to help make their time as inpatients less stressful; they are also organising workshops to teach others how to spend their free time more effectively.
Girls from the third grade at the Secondary Vocational School of Business and Services, with a specialisation in business and information services – international business relations, created a student company, Woollnies, under the auspices of the Junior Achievement Slovensko non-governmental organisation.
A crochet workshop for both old and young people. (source: Woollnies)
One of their activities includes crocheting for charitable purposes. They have already crocheted the toy octopuses that are now used at the children’s Department of Anaesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Medicine of the hospital in Martin. They are given to small children when they wake up from anaesthesia.
“Our relations unexpectedly strengthened and deepened,” said Eva Rusnáková, president of Woollnies, as quoted by the regional newspaper MY Orava.
In the future, they want to address the staff of other hospitals in order to extend their charitable activities.
Four feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:
Emily Heinz Vargic's first Easter Monday in Slovakia was quite a shock. But in the years that followed, she became much more familiar with how the holiday is celebrated here.
A monument to the creator of the world-famous Krav Maga self-defence system, Imrich “Imi” Lichtenfeld, has been unveiled in Bratislava.
Whoever steps behind the doors of the Von Roll Cable Car Museum, situated near the slopes of Chopok, the highest peak in the Low Tatras, feels like they are travelling back in time. A valuable part of history is unveiled before their eyes.
For a long time, the ossuary beneath Námestie Nežnej Revolúcie square in Bratislava has been closed, with the exception of occasional tours on city days. This might change in the near future.
Political meme of the week
Campaign Easter (source: Hej, ty! – Györe)
This Hej,Ty caricature, alluding to the Slovak Easter custom of dousing people in water and spraying them with perfume, implies that the final days of the presidential election campaign, which include the Easter holiday, will involve less fragrant exchanges than water and perfume between the two candidates who made it to the April 6 run-off: Ivan Korčok and Peter Pellegrini.
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
