ROMANIA 2018
Romania, like a lot of its neighbouring countries, is going through a rough post-communist transition. It hasn’t quite achieved the democratic values of the European Union and in fact, seems to be heading back down a dark, oppressive path.
I arrived in Bucharest late in the evening, having been in contact with a group of art activists for the past three weeks. My main contact had informed me that a small, informal protest would be taking place that night. As the crowded airport bus drove into the city, the sound of a few people chanting caught my attention and a group of protestors standing in the middle of a large roundabout soon came into view. I looked on, captivated by this peculiar scene of no more than 200 people chanting angrily in the midst of a busy road, holding up cardboard signs and Romanian flags. Yet when I turned back to my fellow bus passengers, hardly anyone had even looked up from their phone. The odd glance was cast, but no one was focussed on the demonstration quite like I was. After spending a week in Bucharest I soon realised why. This had become the new norm. The wave of protests began in January 2017, ever since the newly sworn in government attempted to sneakily slide through some rather corrupt laws. What particularly caught people’s attention was the effort to decriminalise corruption cases of under €40 000; meaning that politicians would be able to take money out of public funds without having to give a reason, if it was equivalent to this value or less. Furious citizens immediately took to the streets. A movement kick started unlike anything the country had witnessed since the 1989 revolution, which resulted in the fall of the nationalist communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of Romanians across the country protested throughout January and February, as well as members of the diaspora in Europe, America and Australia. The mental landscape of Romania has been permanently altered by these events. Particularly in Bucharest, where large protests in August 2018 resulted in hundreds of people being indiscriminately and excessively tear gassed by riot-police after fights broke out. Everyone I spoke to had something to say about the corruption in the country and the on-going protests. It wasn’t an off-topic conversation as one might expect, particularly when coming from a reserved British background. Instead taxi drivers, hostel workers, tour guides and of course the artists, were all eager to get deep into the topic. Surprisingly, people were not afraid to talk negatively about the government in public. On a free morning walking tour around the city, courtesy of Walkabout Tours, (highly recommended), our guide took us through the fascinating history of Romania, ending with the current protests and government corruption. Like many others in the capital, she alluded towards the similarities between the existing government and the old communist one. ‘Go and tell your friends about what is happening in Romania’, she passionately ordered the international group, despite being right in the centre of the city. Whether or not the government is arrogant enough to not care about what people think or say, or that by allowing people the freedom to openly criticise creates some kind of democratic illusion, I’m not sure. One thing is clear though; the citizens of Bucharest are desperate for a change and have little fear of their government. INTERVIEWS FROM UKRAINE
DMITRY is a former journalist who had flee from his home in Donetsk due to the war. I meet him and a group of other protestors demonstrating for adequate refugee housing, outside the Ministry of Finance. He is a tall man, with strong, tired features, and he is passionate when talking.
I am from Donetsk. In the summer of 2014 I had to run away from the city with my wife and three year old son, because our apartment was only 5km from Donetsk airport [where some of the most intense battles took place]. Every night we heard shooting and the glass in our apartment almost broke. We decided to go to Kyiv where one of our friends offered us his second apartment. We just had to pay for gas, electricity and water. In Autumn 2014 my wife became pregnant with our second son. We were happy but sad at the same time. A year later our friend decided to sell his flat and said he was sorry but we had to go. We went to another nearby city, Bovary because it’s cheaper. But I work in Kyiv and have to travel far everyday. We have no future and no perspective. There’s no chance to have any money for our own home. Half the money goes on rent and half goes on food. But still, in my family, we have hope. The Ministry of Finance doesn’t want to give money to programmes that help us. People can’t afford apartments here. We have to pay 30% interest, but we want a smaller per cent and compensation. We don’t get any refugee housing. There are so many of us, but we don’t want to take stuff for free. We want to pay, just with a more suitable price. My wife is an English translator and teachers children for little money. I was a journalist, but I am afraid I will be put in prison if I return home. My friend is in prison because he wrote something in support of Ukraine. The Russian agents are looking for people who left Donetsk and Luhansk. Leonid
LEONID, 30, is a former soldier turned pizza restaurant owner. His restaurant employs Ukrainian veterans, and the interior is decorated with badges of Ukrainian armed forces, a giant model gun, and most powerfully of all, a map of Ukraine made out of bullets. The areas of Donbas and Crimea were made out of used bullets. He is clearly a respected figure in the community, and several people interrupt our interview to talk to him, all big, tough army guys. DOM- After the war, why did you set up this restaurant? LEONID- Before the war I made pizza, after I came back an ex soldier called me and said he wants to help veterans and their families. We worked helping their families, and I realised working with veterans was very comfortable. We had more in common than with civilians. Many did not want to go back to their old jobs so we set up a business to employ veterans and allow them to come together. I studied business management and eventually sot someone to invest. We set up and now we have 13 veterans employed in this restaurant. I brand grew and now we employ over 30. I employed 2 psychologists to help with the mentality of the veterans too. D- You fought on the front lines? L- Yes, I was a machine gunner. I finished military school in 2004 and was in the army for 1 year. But then I made pizza for 6 years. D- So why did you go to fight? L- Because it is my duty. When war started in East Ukraine, I couldn’t just watch TV and not out to fight. This is my country. When the Russians took Crimea it was fucking shit. D- So many of the military had civilian jobs? L_ Yes of course. I think about half. D- How did you adapt? L- We had one common enemy so we became like brothers. D- Were you involved in EuroMaidan? L- Yes I was there. I protested and helped other guys with medicals and food. But it wasn’t the same feeling as being on the front line. D- Would there be war without the revolution? L- Not the right question. Revolution was because of corruption and poverty. Russia always wanted Crimea. Even without the revolution, the war would of happened sooner or later. We have one enemy, Russia. They want to see Europe and NATO on their borders. They want to bring back the Soviet Union, but we want to be independent. D- What about independent Donetsk? L- They want to be part of Russia. How can they defend against us? We were kicking their arses until Russia sent military and weapons to them. We had a task to finish this war in 2014. D- How much longer will the war go on for? L- I don’t know. I don’t know.. Russia has their own voice in Donbas. There will be no peacekeeping in Donbas. If there is, the war will finish. They don’t want to finish the war. Russia likes to have this difficult situation in Ukraine. D- Do you think there are any Ukrainians in support of Russia? L- Yes of course. Russia has very powerful propaganda machine. They have T.V shows, news. People don’t know the truth. They say we are Nazis. We have a few radical Nazi guys, but they are very small and we don’t support them. But Russia shows that everyone in East Ukraine is fighting Nazis or fascists. D- Would you describe the divide in Ukraine as Pro Europe vs. Pro Russia, or Pro Ukraine vs. Pro Russia? L- I think it is both. Ukraine fights not only for Europe but we fight for independence in all sense. We want to decide. The lifestyle in Europe is much cooler than in Russia. I was in Poland, and I liked it very much. There’s not so much corruption. We want to live like your living. D- Do you think its possible with this government? L- No. But its what we have now. All government is so corrupt. We can’t have changes for the next two or three years. D- Is there propaganda on this side? L- We don’t have such propaganda. We don’t know how to do this. We just have anti-propaganda, and our news just says where Russia lies. D- Will Ukraine be united again? L- Yes of course. We need change of government through the change of people’s mentality. |
Outside of the capital, things are different. Whilst Bucharest is a typical, post-communist metropolis, filled with cool cafés, art galleries, fantastic restaurants and unique Bauhaus, communist architecture, rural Romania remains a different story. Driving through the often sparse and frankly quite dull countryside eastwards, towards the magnificent Danube Delta, small villages are randomly scattered everywhere. Most are home to either the very old or the very young, whilst others are semi-abandoned or predominantly Roma. Cars are still principally used, however it isn’t unusual to see people travelling by horse and cart.
A photographer in Bucharest had informed me that this region, the Southeast, was much poorer and far less developed than the north or west of Romania. It’s also an area that holds very high support for the government: more so than any other region. After successfully arriving in the Danube Delta, a vast nature reserve where the Danube river carves through the land, creating a serene world of islands and lagoons, a boat carried me to a small fishing village right on the coast of the Black Sea. With only a population of 797, it is a tight nit community; effectively isolated from the rest of the country. Around here, fishing and tourism are the main sources of income, with a hefty flow of middle and upper class Romanians and international tourists descending upon the tiny village in the heat of summer. With no cars penetrating the still sea air and cows freely roaming around, life is simple and idyllic for those that choose to live here. Although in the winter, the freezing sea breeze and lack of income means that those left behind are no strangers to hardship. It still remains fairly un-developed for a tourist hot spot: aside from the trendy new four-star health and water-sports resort. It’s about as far off from Bucharest’s intense concrete jungle as you can get, with absolutely no sign of any government discontent. I mean, why should there be? For many people in this region, political life seems irrelevant. The actual impact of a change in government to their personal life would probably be minimal. Few have the luxury to contemplate politics when life is hard enough as it is. Over-fishing has led to a drastic decrease in supply, whilst many youths are leaving to pursue other careers or a better life in the cities. In this isolated area, political protest is reserved for those who have the time, money and effort to travel; something most fisherman and farmers don’t have. Although I’m speaking solely on my experiences in the Danube Delta, it is a known fact that other rural regions face similar issues. Villages are slowly dying as people leave to find better work, whilst the older generation are stuck in a limbo between communism and capitalism. They grew up with the belief that the state would look after them when old age finally took its grip and were unprepared for the sudden switch to capitalism. As a result, rural Romania is crippled with poverty. During election periods, politicians are known to travel to rural and impoverished communities and offer up a small amount of money, food or even just oil, in return for a vote. It’s a tactic that is also extensively used in Russia and Hungary, cementing the corrupt politicians in place, even if they have a huge number of critics. For those protesting, it’s distressing and frustrating to see their fellow citizens and family members manipulated. State controlled media pushes out disinformation, sweeping people up in their lies, whilst those impervious to such propaganda, frustratingly attempt to convince others that it’s ‘fake news’. Frustration is the best adjective to describe Romania's situation. It rings throughout Bucharest, injecting itself into the people’s disposition. There’s frustration at the blatant corruption and manipulation, frustration at the lack of opportunities, despite the potential for Romania, and to top it off, frustration at the little change the protests are making. It seems no matter how hard they push, the government simply push back, exhausting the protestors. Fortunately there is some change in the mentality of the people. At the start of October, a referendum opting to redefine marriage to only being between ‘a man and a woman’, essentially banning the potential for same-sex marriage, failed to come to light thanks to a successful boycott. It revealed the progressive route Romania is going down. However at a cost of $40 million, the referendum was simply a waste of money and a distraction from the government corruption. Even in a small victory, the taste of frustration bitters the celebration. Nevertheless, the majority of people I spoke to remain sanguine about their activism and won’t stop protesting until a significant change comes to Romania. DOM- After the war, why did you set up this restaurant?
LEONID- Before the war I made pizza, after I came back an ex soldier called me and said he wants to help veterans and their families. We worked helping their families, and I realised working with veterans was very comfortable. We had more in common than with civilians. Many did not want to go back to their old jobs so we set up a business to employ veterans and allow them to come together. I studied business management and eventually sot someone to invest. We set up and now we have 13 veterans employed in this restaurant. I brand grew and now we employ over 30. I employed 2 psychologists to help with the mentality of the veterans too. D- You fought on the front lines? L- Yes, I was a machine gunner. I finished military school in 2004 and was in the army for 1 year. But then I made pizza for 6 years. D- So why did you go to fight? L- Because it is my duty. When war started in East Ukraine, I couldn’t just watch TV and not out to fight. This is my country. When the Russians took Crimea it was fucking shit. D- So many of the military had civilian jobs? L_ Yes of course. I think about half. D- How did you adapt? L- We had one common enemy so we became like brothers. D- Were you involved in EuroMaidan? L- Yes I was there. I protested and helped other guys with medicals and food. But it wasn’t the same feeling as being on the front line. D- Would there be war without the revolution? L- Not the right question. Revolution was because of corruption and poverty. Russia always wanted Crimea. Even without the revolution, the war would of happened sooner or later. We have one enemy, Russia. They want to see Europe and NATO on their borders. They want to bring back the Soviet Union, but we want to be independent. D- What about independent Donetsk? L- They want to be part of Russia. How can they defend against us? We were kicking their arses until Russia sent military and weapons to them. We had a task to finish this war in 2014. D- How much longer will the war go on for? L- I don’t know. I don’t know.. Russia has their own voice in Donbas. There will be no peacekeeping in Donbas. If there is, the war will finish. They don’t want to finish the war. Russia likes to have this difficult situation in Ukraine. D- Do you think there are any Ukrainians in support of Russia? L- Yes of course. Russia has very powerful propaganda machine. They have T.V shows, news. People don’t know the truth. They say we are Nazis. We have a few radical Nazi guys, but they are very small and we don’t support them. But Russia shows that everyone in East Ukraine is fighting Nazis or fascists. D- Would you describe the divide in Ukraine as Pro Europe vs. Pro Russia, or Pro Ukraine vs. Pro Russia? L- I think it is both. Ukraine fights not only for Europe but we fight for independence in all sense. We want to decide. The lifestyle in Europe is much cooler than in Russia. I was in Poland, and I liked it very much. There’s not so much corruption. We want to live like your living. D- Do you think its possible with this government? L- No. But its what we have now. All government is so corrupt. We can’t have changes for the next two or three years. D- Is there propaganda on this side? L- We don’t have such propaganda. We don’t know how to do this. We just have anti-propaganda, and our news just says where Russia lies. D- Will Ukraine be united again? L- Yes of course. We need change of government through the change of people’s mentality. |