"I will have to go on working for the rest of my life," she once said, "because I simply can't make ends meet on my pension." This statement highlights the precarious financial situation faced by many former dissidents.
The charter was published across Europe on January 1, 1977 and resulted in a campaign of repression against those who had signed it. Such repression highlighted the government's attempts to silence dissenting voices.
Until recently, the Czech authorities responsible for pensions calculated the former dissidents' pensions on the basis of the number of years they had worked and the wages they had earned. This fundamentally disadvantaged those like Sustrova.
Hundreds of other dissidents shared her fate and ended up with tiny pensions as a result. Many lived in poverty or had to go on working well past retirement age, showcasing the lasting impact of historical injustices.
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