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The syndicate held some elections and they proposed me as secretary of the block syndicate. This ‘block’ consisted of the Polyclinic no.1, the 3rd Medical Clinic, the Orthopedic Clinic, the Stanca Hospital – 2nd Gynecology – and the medical facilities of the enterprises located in that part of the city. The other block comprised the Epidemic Hospital and the Neuropsychiatry Clinic. It was an open vote election, and two of the cleaning ladies didn’t raise their hand for ‘yes.’ They didn’t vote against me, they just didn’t vote.
The chairman of the meeting had to ask them what they had against Comrade Fulop, to which the braver one of them replied, ‘Well, it’s nothing personal. We think she’s a great lady. She shares everything with us, lets us take time off, so we can’t complain about that. But she never stops bugging us about the toilets.’ The whole audience burst out laughing and couldn’t be stopped.
That was my great flaw: I insisted that the toilets be clean. The woman had spoken her mind, and then she was afraid I would get even. But I told her: ‘Don’t be afraid. In a way, you’re right, but I have no choice. What would you say if you went to someone’s place and saw a dirty toilet? You’d say that the mistress of the house is lazy, wouldn’t you? Well, the same thing applies to us. Here, we are the mistresses of the house.’
They were nice to me afterwards, and they apologized. Of course, I had to report to my superiors too. I had my differences with them, like in any other job. I didn’t always agree to what my bosses wanted and, what’s more, I always defended my subordinates. This was something my superiors didn’t appreciate too much. So there were some differences – not fundamental, but important enough to prevent me from sleeping at night from time to time.
The chairman of the meeting had to ask them what they had against Comrade Fulop, to which the braver one of them replied, ‘Well, it’s nothing personal. We think she’s a great lady. She shares everything with us, lets us take time off, so we can’t complain about that. But she never stops bugging us about the toilets.’ The whole audience burst out laughing and couldn’t be stopped.
That was my great flaw: I insisted that the toilets be clean. The woman had spoken her mind, and then she was afraid I would get even. But I told her: ‘Don’t be afraid. In a way, you’re right, but I have no choice. What would you say if you went to someone’s place and saw a dirty toilet? You’d say that the mistress of the house is lazy, wouldn’t you? Well, the same thing applies to us. Here, we are the mistresses of the house.’
They were nice to me afterwards, and they apologized. Of course, I had to report to my superiors too. I had my differences with them, like in any other job. I didn’t always agree to what my bosses wanted and, what’s more, I always defended my subordinates. This was something my superiors didn’t appreciate too much. So there were some differences – not fundamental, but important enough to prevent me from sleeping at night from time to time.
Period
Location
Cluj
Romania
Interview
Elza Fulop