Free: Coming of Age at the End of History

by Lea Ypi

“It’s been opened,” she announced, looking towards the door. “They’ve opened it.” The silence in the room transformed into a collective murmur. “Bastards,” my mother finally came out with. “They haven’t just opened it once. Several times,” explained Donika. “Yes, obviously,” her husband, Mihal, retorted. “It’s not like they’ve hired new people to work in the post office. They just do what they’re used to doing.” Some neighbours nodded. Others disagreed. “Post office workers should be instructed to stop opening letters,” Donika replied. “Privacy,” my mother said. “Privacy is so important. We never had any privacy before.” Then she suggested that nothing would happen before the post office was privatized. Only privatization could respect privacy. Everyone agreed that privacy was important. “Not just important—it’s your right. It’s a right,”