Bitter Winter For Romania's Street Children

[carlyluvsunited]

Eighteen years after the collapse of the Communist regime in Romania and the
execution of President Nicolae Ceausescu (pig) on the 25th of December, 1989,
thousands of children remain in desperate need of the necessities of life. These
children are still living the life given to Romania by Ceausescu’s enduring regime !!

Harold Briley, a reporter for the BBC is a God send for Romanian orphans - he
reported things as they really were during Ceausescu’s reign without fear or
regret and for that we are eternally thankful …

30 years after meeting Ceausescu during the 1977 earthquake, Harold Briley has
been back to Bucuresti where he visited the newly-created Minister for Child
Protection, and searched out unwanted orphans and some of Romania's 15,000
street children. This is his story in his words……and it is quite shocking and sad
to read !!

Leaping from the shadows into the dimly-lit square in front of Bucharest's principal
railway station, the matchstick-thin silhouette of a boy waves his arms frantically
at passing cars.

Thirteen year old George Vasile is just one of Romania's many street children -
abandoned, neglected, without food, shelter or adequate clothing. George is far
from home - a town 500 kilometres away. His only asset is the empty car space
he pays "rent" for, to bigger boys. It's only a temporary possession until a
motorist parks there..... perhaps tossing him a coin...perhaps not. :(

He wears a thin T-shirt and ragged, cotton trousers. His torn shoes flop behind
him. He's shivering with cold. I slip my gloves over his grimy, unwashed hands.
He nods his thanks. By midnight, when the last of the commuters have hurried
home, the Street Children doss down on the cold stone floor of the Gara de Nord.
Others descend into the sewers to seek shelter from the winter winds swirling
around the silent station.

In their dark underworld, six metres below, they huddle against the hot water
pipes of the sewers, snatching fitful sleep, amid the stench, and scurrying rats
resentful of this human invasion of their territory.

At dawn, the children crawl out, covered in rat bites, fleas and sores. They fan out
into the market areas scavenging for food and stealing from passers-by.

Some of the girls are child prostitutes. When you are 11 or 12, with nowhere to
go and nothing to eat, it seems an easy - and sometimes the only - way to
survive. Unaware of the dangers, they fall pregnant, and their babies die. Those
that don't, they abandon because their unformed breasts contain no milk to feed
them. Occasionally there is a girl cradling a sickly baby. Some of the children have
AIDS, doomed to die before they become adults.

Inside the station, I meet more street children - older this time, some of them
openly sniffing glue from plastic bags - a substance they call Aurolac they get
from metal polish. Drugs give temporary relief from their harsh existance. 15 year
old Colstel gives me a broad grin as he draws comfort from a cigarette. His
mother died and his father remarried, abandoning him and his brothers.
Strangely, none of the children ask me for money. They are pleased someone
takes an interest - if only a stranger from a foreign land.

Most of these children were born just after President Ceausescu's tyrannical reign.
Eighteen years after the collapse of Communism, thousands remain in desperate
need - a melting pot of misery, which is Ceausescu's enduring legacy, along with
the grandiose buildings and the lavish treasures he laid aside for himself in his
25 years of mis-rule. After his execution, aid poured in from Britain and elsewhere.
Charities arrived in force. Most have now left, and aid money has slowed to a
trickle.

To their credit, the Romanian authorities are now doing a great deal themselves,
in contrast to Ceausescu's regime. The Government has launched its Strategy for
Protection of Children's Rights - brainchild of the newly-created State Secretary
for Child Protection, Doctor Christopher Tabacaru. As Romania's youngest
Minister, aged 29, he's ideally qualified. He's a paediatrician and formerly ran a
charity for abandoned children. His plan - encouraging foster care and adoption -
aims to reduce the 100,000 children in institutions by 30%.

I ask why children are sleeping down the sewers?

Why are Romania's children so much worse off than children in other countries?

He shrugged and said: "They did not have Ceausescu".

So next time you complain your life is crap …

Spare a thought for the little children still suffering from one man’s greed and
tyranny !!

Life isn’t so bad after all is it … ?

[fazman]

Eighteen years after the collapse of the Communist regime in Romania and the
execution of President Nicolae Ceausescu (pig) on the 25th of December, 1989,
thousands of children remain in desperate need of the necessities of life. These
children are still living the life given to Romania by Ceausescu’s enduring regime !!

Harold Briley, a reporter for the BBC is a God send for Romanian orphans - he
reported things as they really were during Ceausescu’s reign without fear or
regret and for that we are eternally thankful …

30 years after meeting Ceausescu during the 1977 earthquake, Harold Briley has
been back to Bucuresti where he visited the newly-created Minister for Child
Protection, and searched out unwanted orphans and some of Romania's 15,000
street children. This is his story in his words……and it is quite shocking and sad
to read !!

Leaping from the shadows into the dimly-lit square in front of Bucharest's principal
railway station, the matchstick-thin silhouette of a boy waves his arms frantically
at passing cars.

Thirteen year old George Vasile is just one of Romania's many street children -
abandoned, neglected, without food, shelter or adequate clothing. George is far
from home - a town 500 kilometres away. His only asset is the empty car space
he pays "rent" for, to bigger boys. It's only a temporary possession until a
motorist parks there..... perhaps tossing him a coin...perhaps not. :(

He wears a thin T-shirt and ragged, cotton trousers. His torn shoes flop behind
him. He's shivering with cold. I slip my gloves over his grimy, unwashed hands.
He nods his thanks. By midnight, when the last of the commuters have hurried
home, the Street Children doss down on the cold stone floor of the Gara de Nord.
Others descend into the sewers to seek shelter from the winter winds swirling
around the silent station.

In their dark underworld, six metres below, they huddle against the hot water
pipes of the sewers, snatching fitful sleep, amid the stench, and scurrying rats
resentful of this human invasion of their territory.

At dawn, the children crawl out, covered in rat bites, fleas and sores. They fan out
into the market areas scavenging for food and stealing from passers-by.

Some of the girls are child prostitutes. When you are 11 or 12, with nowhere to
go and nothing to eat, it seems an easy - and sometimes the only - way to
survive. Unaware of the dangers, they fall pregnant, and their babies die. Those
that don't, they abandon because their unformed breasts contain no milk to feed
them. Occasionally there is a girl cradling a sickly baby. Some of the children have
AIDS, doomed to die before they become adults.

Inside the station, I meet more street children - older this time, some of them
openly sniffing glue from plastic bags - a substance they call Aurolac they get
from metal polish. Drugs give temporary relief from their harsh existance. 15 year
old Colstel gives me a broad grin as he draws comfort from a cigarette. His
mother died and his father remarried, abandoning him and his brothers.
Strangely, none of the children ask me for money. They are pleased someone
takes an interest - if only a stranger from a foreign land.

Most of these children were born just after President Ceausescu's tyrannical reign.
Eighteen years after the collapse of Communism, thousands remain in desperate
need - a melting pot of misery, which is Ceausescu's enduring legacy, along with
the grandiose buildings and the lavish treasures he laid aside for himself in his
25 years of mis-rule. After his execution, aid poured in from Britain and elsewhere.
Charities arrived in force. Most have now left, and aid money has slowed to a
trickle.

To their credit, the Romanian authorities are now doing a great deal themselves,
in contrast to Ceausescu's regime. The Government has launched its Strategy for
Protection of Children's Rights - brainchild of the newly-created State Secretary
for Child Protection, Doctor Christopher Tabacaru. As Romania's youngest
Minister, aged 29, he's ideally qualified. He's a paediatrician and formerly ran a
charity for abandoned children. His plan - encouraging foster care and adoption -
aims to reduce the 100,000 children in institutions by 30%.

I ask why children are sleeping down the sewers?

Why are Romania's children so much worse off than children in other countries?

He shrugged and said: "They did not have Ceausescu".

So next time you complain your life is crap …

Spare a thought for the little children still suffering from one man’s greed and
tyranny !!

Life isn’t so bad after all is it … ?


I've always been attracted to the way romania play football loving the team of hagi , petrescu , dumitrsecu . But away from football people should realise the hardship people suffer in a country without a goverment to run and stablise a nation . Ive seen translevania on tv and it looks a wonderfull place and i would love to visit if given the oppurtunity

[Skele]

Carly,I understand you as a neighbour.I know what hapend in your country,but i have to say to you that everybody has or had their Ceausescu:Hitler,Stallin,Sadam or even Milosevic.....ah...it sounds so cruel.This name is synonym for death,suffer and pain.Thanks to this idiot Serbia is today the black hole on the Europian map.But,trust me,Ceausescu is just your dark past.Today,Romania is beautiful country with famous history.Life is not so great,but,I am sure,day by day it will be even better and better.I saw ,with my eyes how Romanian people are swiming Dunabe river and runing to Serbia for better life.Also,did you know that half of Belgrade's been made by Romanian hand.In year 1996 next to me,there were leaving few Romanian workers.They were digging tunels and holes for telephone and water all over Belgrade.Romanian workers was so cheap.I remember that daily wage for Serbian workers was 20 Deutche Marks and for Romanian 5-6 Marks.
But today is totally,totally different.Romania is economy leader for Eastern Europe.You are in front Serbia,Bulgaria,Croatia.........and now we are "swiming Danube".....we are unemployed......we are going in new-open factories on the other side of the river.
And those children......well.....this is not anything strange.Unfortunately this is the case all over the world.But in your country it will disappear very soon.It will be another myth,just like this one about Nicolae Ceausescu the Pig.

[sparkic]

Nice read carly..and your right, life isn't so bad after all

[carlyluvsunited]

Carly,I understand you as a neighbour.I know what hapend in your country,but i have to say to you that everybody has or had their Ceausescu:Hitler,Stallin,Sadam or even Milosevic.....ah...it sounds so cruel.This name is synonym for death,suffer and pain.Thanks to this idiot Serbia is today the black hole on the Europian map.But,trust me,Ceausescu is just your dark past.Today,Romania is beautiful country with famous history.Life is not so great,but,I am sure,day by day it will be even better and better.I saw ,with my eyes how Romanian people are swiming Dunabe river and runing to Serbia for better life.Also,did you know that half of Belgrade's been made by Romanian hand.In year 1996 next to me,there were leaving few Romanian workers.They were digging tunels and holes for telephone and water all over Belgrade.Romanian workers was so cheap.I remember that daily wage for Serbian workers was 20 Deutche Marks and for Romanian 5-6 Marks.
But today is totally,totally different.Romania is economy leader for Eastern Europe.You are in front Serbia,Bulgaria,Croatia.........and now we are "swiming Danube".....we are unemployed......we are going in new-open factories on the other side of the river.
And those children......well.....this is not anything strange.Unfortunately this is the case all over the world.But in your country it will disappear very soon.It will be another myth,just like this one about Nicolae Ceausescu the Pig.
Awww Skele this is a nice post you make about our country :)

Yes things get better and better now and as you say the economy is
probably the best it has ever been for the last 800 years !!

Also, the best things is we have nobody to fear now. Before Ceausescu there
was Ilionescu, before this King Karel and so the list goes on - full of people taking
advantage !!

As you say Romania is beautiful - most beautiful place on earth whereI live
Trannsylvania :) Very soon millions and millions of people will be coming for
holidays to see this for themselves and we are so happy to welcome them.

But the children are my priority - I do my little bit to raise awareness for them - I
add this thread not for sympathy or for people to give money and all these
things - I did it just so people are aware - and maybe, just maybe someone will
see this and do something, help out with these kids etc etc ... :)

Or maybe no one will see it - but it cost me nothing more than my time to do this -
and for the children I have all the time in the world for free !!!

[Skele]

Awww Skele this is a nice post you make about our country :)

Yes things get better and better now and as you say the economy is
probably the best it has ever been for the last 800 years !!

Also, the best things is we have nobody to fear now. Before Ceausescu there
was Ilionescu, before this King Karel and so the list goes on - full of people taking
advantage !!

As you say Romania is beautiful - most beautiful place on earth whereI live
Trannsylvania :) Very soon millions and millions of people will be coming for
holidays to see this for themselves and we are so happy to welcome them.

But the children are my priority - I do my little bit to raise awareness for them - I
add this thread not for sympathy or for people to give money and all these
things - I did it just so people are aware - and maybe, just maybe someone will
see this and do something, help out with these kids etc etc ... :)

Or maybe no one will see it - but it cost me nothing more than my time to do this -
and for the children I have all the time in the world for free !!!


yeah....I know.I saw your priority in your first post.

That's nice from you.Starting this thread,you'v done a good job.But,like I said,unfortunately,those kids are not something strange for us.We can see those pictures every day.It happens in Romania,Serbia,Bulgaria,Hungaria,UK,USA........... all over the world.But,hey.....this story should make us to start thinking about those kids who don't have a thing.In Serbia we say"You don't know what do you have,until you don't lose it".But before we lose "it",we all should help them on one way or other.

This thread should make at least only one of us to think about this situation,and it's doing good already.

[carlyluvsunited]

yeah....I know.I saw your priority in your first post.

That's nice from you.Starting this thread,you'v done a good job.But,like I said,unfortunately,those kids are not something strange for us.We can see those pictures every day.It happens in Romania,Serbia,Bulgaria,Hungaria,UK,USA........... all over the world.But,hey.....this story should make us to start thinking about those kids who don't have a thing.In Serbia we say"You don't know what do you have,until you don't lose it".But before we lose "it",we all should help them on one way or other.

This thread should make at least only one of us to think about this situation,and it's doing good already.

It just takes one person to see this and maybe a miracle happens and they are
willing and able to do a lot of good things to help with the problems of the
children.

These people saw Myspace - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zvi_dC2wmm8
and now build houses for the children with money from
kind people in the UK.

There is a guy from USA who is a film maker and very wealthy too - he spotted an
ITV News Bulletin on youtube - 2 days later he was in Romania offering big
money and his own time to help them !! I will ask his permission and then name
him here - he has made a lovely film of the children too.

So yes - even if one person finds this through Google or by reading as a member -
and something good comes from it - it's done it's job ... :)

Also ... some people may read about this - be shocked and surprised by it and tell
all their friends/family and they tell someone else - again word of mouth may find
a miracle. So we hope and we pray for these miracles to come along - and soon
the problem might be solved. For the children there right now it is maybe too
late - they have missed the chance of better things - but for those of the future
we can and will make it a good life !!!

I know it is the same for Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungaria, etc etc and people do the
same as I do - but for these countries too - I see and read stuff all the time.

A huge task to solve all this - but we must persevere and push on and on ... and
if everyone does just a tiny little bit toward this - millions of future children will
have a 'normal' life and not years and years of suffering and torment !!!

Right now - the children in Bucuresti orphanage where my man works don't cry !!

Children that never cry ... :confused: Sounds perfect to a lot of mums I bet ! But
it's not - they don't cry because they have given up !! When they cry nobody
comes to them - nobody has the time to make them happy - so they give up,
they dont bother to cry any more. A life where they don't know what playtime is,
they don't know what care is .... they have never been loved either ... imagine a
lifetime spent with no one to love or hold you when you are sad !! Just knowing
that someone cares is all they ask ... they deserve this much surely ....

Welcome to their world ... :(

[spellbound]

A friend and neighbour to my sister have two adopted children from Romania since more then 10 years now. These kids are now 13 and 12 and is living a better life now then what they've had been doing if they had been in Romania. The happy ending isnt so happy as it seems since one of the kids have some serious health problems which comes from the mum using drugs durig the pregnancy. The other child have some minor health problems but still these are chronical health problems. This comes from drug use and mismanagement.

[carlyluvsunited]

A friend and neighbour to my sister have two adopted children from Romania since more then 10 years now. These kids are now 13 and 12 and is living a better life now then what they've had been doing if they had been in Romania. The happy ending isnt so happy as it seems since one of the kids have some serious health problems which comes from the mum using drugs durig the pregnancy. The other child have some minor health problems but still these are chronical health problems. This comes from drug use and mismanagement.
This is very good news to hear ...

Someone who cares enough to take 2 unfortunate childrn in to their homes and
take care of them for 10 years is truly admirable and I am so happy to hear
this ... :)

There was a lot of problems with adoptions and the traffic of children for perverts
to abuse !!! It got to the point where Romania said "No more......" and has now
banned ALL adoptions from ouside Romania ...

I think this is a bad move - they should have implemented a strict 'selection'
program and made foolproof checks on those asking for a child ...

By banning foreign adoptions they have slammed the door shut on a very good
supply of 'possible' loving parents !!