- Name: Francisc Visky
- Born: 1948
- Birthplace: Socialist Republic of Romania
- Overcome Story: Followed, along with his mother and siblings, his deported father to Dobrogea penal colony, and lived in utter poverty for six years
- Interview: August 2022
- Links: (coming soon)
- Short interview (5m)
- Full interview (1h, 11m)
- Written story (PDF)
Francisc was ten years old when his father, a reformed priest, was deported to Dobrogea. What followed were six years of extreme poverty, uncertainty, and joy. Yes, joy; joy in the middle of the suffering. About his time in the poverty-ridden village in Dobrogea, Francisc tells how people helped each other, how they prayed together, and how they were encouraged by the smallest of gifts.
After the fall of communism, Francisc toured with some western reporters who wanted to learn about the horrors of communism from some of the Christian victims. He says that his guests were frustrated because all the victims kept talking about was “the grace of God.”
Francisc cleared up one aspect of this devotion to God. He said, “Speaking of the love of God, the grace of God, is the most anticommunist sentiment in existence.” He added, “being a Christian is the purest political attitude, against any regime.” This sentiment connects the Christian faith to resistance and resilience in the face of the socialist/communist persecution of his own family.
Reflection Questions:
- Where does deportation stack in your ranking of tortures and persecutions? What if you are 10 years old?
- Can there be joy in the middle of persecution? Why and how?
- Why does faith in God help people transcend their circumstances?
- Why are people not bitter about this kind of torture and abuse? Have you heard of stories like this in Holocaust accounts?