Kelcie Gubler and Dr. Steven Walker, English
The Issue
As Romania recovers from the problems created by Communist rule, their economy is in a major upswing having joined the European Union in January 2007, unemployment among the middle class at a low 6.1% with a GDP continuing to stay above 4%. Over 25% of the population is reported as living below the poverty line while 27.4% of the population lives in the highest income bracket. These most recent numbers begin to show signs of an emergence of a middle class. Literacy among this middle class is estimated as 97.3% of the population being classified as literate. All of which are positive indicators of strong, rapid growth for Romania that merit a vote of confidence from the EU. In his post-admission address to Romania Rehn enforced that Romania was accepted on her own merits and she must continue to move forward by the same methods of hard work and discipline. In other words, the EU is not going to Romania’s dirty work for her, nor is membership in the EU to be considered, in any way, a “free ride”.
However, despite all of these indicators of growth and development, over 23% of Romania’s children continue to be housed in orphanages all over the country. Of that startling number, nearly 80% of them are the Roma, or Gypsy, children. While this number has dropped over the past decade, the rate is still, by any standards, unacceptable. Our research therefore, focused primarily on the current state of the Romanian homeless and the humanitarian organizations that are in place to bring individuals off the street. These foundations or ‘homes’ serve as a means to bring children into schools and qualify them for legitimate work and integration into society.
Humanitarian Organizations
The humanitarian effort in Bucharest includes both large, government funded organizations, and smaller, privately run foundations. For better or for worse, Romanian government has made it very difficult for foreign investors to run or fund humanitarian programs in the country. This is due primarily to the EU’s demands that Romania begin to solve her own problems and not “export the homeless situation.” While these laws have arguably made Romania’s homeless safer, the Romanian government has not supplemented the foreign funding. This has caused many organizations go bankrupt leaving the organizations left with a huge population to cover.
The larger organizations specialize in educational programs concerning the children in government-run orphanages. These educational programs host lectures for children about the importance of hygiene, abstinence from drug abuse and illicit sex, and positive self-image. These are followed by a photo-op of the mayor or the police chief or other VIP’s surrounded by children happily holding a bag of goodies. It could be argued that these programs provide an opportunity for children to be taught about important topics they may not otherwise ever be exposed to until the moment of critical decision making. It could also be argued that these programs provide opportunities for children to have positive interaction with authority figures such as the police. It could also be argued that it’s better than nothing. These programs are a step in the right direction, but still fall vastly short of meeting even the physical needs of the kids. The next step will hopefully be toward the homeless not simply EU regulation.
The smaller, private organizations are geared toward placing individual children in ‘homes’ and helping them to adjust to stable life and receive an education. These homes are intended to be simulated family situations where there is an average of 12-15 children and a staff of 6-8 adults. The largest challenge facing these foundations, besides jumping through legal hoops, is keeping the children in the homes. Legally, foundations cannot claim guardianship over the kids and can therefore not prevent them from running away. They cannot force children to attend school, they cannot prevent them from using drugs or having sex, and they cannot do anything without explicit permission from the child’s legal guardian. Of course, these laws are in place to protect the child and prevent the type of corruption and scandal that has previously been seen in humanitarian organizations. However, the very laws that are intended to prevent abuse are serving to tie the hands of many well-intended social workers. Better safe than sorry, right? Humanitarian efforts are wringing their hands with the same questions. How can they convince children of the importance of stable family life and education without forcing them to stay put and without punishing them for misbehavior. The latter offense threatening to throw them out of business, these little efforts do the best they can with the resources they have available to them. And to their credit, their best turns out to be quite a lot. Unfortunately, these types of foundations are always working at maximum capacity and are few and far between.
Without these organizations, and left to their own methods, it is both expensive and arduous for the Romanian homeless to obtain the legal documents necessary to be legally employed or attend school. Often times, individuals need organizations such as the aforementioned to act in their behalf in order for them to go through the process of obtaining identification. However, an entirely unplanned, yet pleasant side effect of this situation is the camaraderie that has either developed or been maintained among the citizens of Romania. The homeless are somehow fed; day after day, children continue to return with coins in their pockets. This money does not come from tourists or scams as they might in other countries or situations, there is no market for this in Bucharest. It is not a lavish lifestyle they find in the compassion of others, the poor are truly poor. Romania is well aware of her homeless, and she continues to watch after them through the decency of one Romanian citizen after another.
Conclusion
What we saw was not ideal, but it was in no way the horror of ’96. Romania has a new face, and her people are warm, inviting, and strong. The average citizens are the future of Romania, as they have always been. They may be misdirected and still trying to regain their feet, but they are Romania and will continue to be so. For us, this experience proved to be life altering, not in the horrific way that we had anticipated, but instead in a quiet dignified manner. Such dignity as we saw is the persistence of humanity in the face of the harsh reality of life that has been Romania.
References
- Andreea Pocotila (28 September). Rehn: accession is a result of Romania’s own achievements. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News,1
- CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ro.html
- Ana’s Children: http://www.anaschildren.org/ – This was an organization that we spent quite a bit of time with. The Director of affairs in Romania and co-founder, Mihaela Voivozeanu, is also the Director of a government funded organization that assists severely physically and mentally disabled children in Bucharest. The latter organization is the only one of its kind in operation in Romania.