Dana L. Yeoman, DDS

Dentures and Implants

The Power of a Smile to Transcend Borders Part 17

Site last published: 08/28/10

The Power of a Smile to Transcend Borders Part 17

One of the more remarkable things to see in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, are the pock-marks in the sides of buildings left unrepaired since the 1956 Revolution. The Soviet tanks had rolled in and crushed the revolution started by students wanting political reform. The bullet-riddled buildings throughout this beautiful city remain as a grim testament to the 2,500 Hungarians who died fighting for freedom. Being a teenager visiting Budapest for the first time, I remember the chill I got when I realized what the holes represented. It has haunted me ever since.

Fast forward more than a decade later in my life, and I was standing on a street corner in the former Soviet country of Ukraine, whose ties to Russia were still strong, regardless of their independence. With a little imagination, one could see the thoroughfare on which we were walking through downtown Kiev a perfect staging place for Soviet military parades in the past. On this day, I was watching a parade of civilians, donning orange scarves and waving orange flags. They held signs with slogans I could not interpret. I felt a cold terror sweep over me. It was obviously a political march, but I had no idea if it was sanctioned by the government or not.

As it turned out, I was witnessing the beginning of the historic Orange Revolution where protestors demonstrated against a rigged presidential election. Orange was the color of their political party, and hence the scarves and flags. I began noticing even grocery stores were “decorated” with pyramids of oranges in the front windows. They were calling for a new “fair and free” election.

Meanwhile, it sounded like an old Russian spy novel. Yushchenko, the favored candidate who lost in the rigged election, had ties with the West and the European Union. His counterpart wanted closer ties with Russia. Before the next election, Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, allegedly by the other political group (though it has never been proven). The poison somehow did not kill him, but disfigured his face and caused severe health problems. I learned he had been scheduled to speak in Kiev’s Independence Square where I was standing this very day. However, due to the poisoning, he was telecasting his speech from his hospital room in Vienna onto huge screens for his supporters. He looked terribly sick, but showed determination.

There was no violence during the entirety of the Orange Revolution. However fortunate I was to be safe, I knew many people in the recent past were not as lucky, witnessing horrendous atrocities at the hand of their government.

Much of the turmoil had come from the fact that Ukraine has been in an economic depression since their independence from Russia in 1991. All of the funding simply disappeared, and suddenly the citizens were forced to survive in a topsy-turvy corrupted “free” market. This left everyone in a huge quandary because no one remembered how to run a business. Their generation of business owners were gone, the Soviets having taken over in 1917. With no one to ask for help, advice, or even ideas, most of the “small business” was conducted on the city sidewalks over a bundle of vegetables from someone’s garden.

In comparison, I can't help but think how blessed I am. I have a mentor and a coach, my father, who ran a successful dental practice for 35 years. Not only did he pass down his master craftsmanship to me, but he has taught me to run a business where I help people to regain their beautiful youthful smiles through art. I have only to look to my dad for the answers to questions and challenges in both the art and vocation. The Ukrainian generation with that sort of knowledge has since passed away. How terrifying it must be to people starting out on their own with no blueprint for success.

With our eyes opened to Ukraine’s economic struggles, we discovered a whole new ministry waiting to be birthed.