Who's talking to "small" Romania?

31.05.2025

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Last year we spent almost a month in villages in Argeș County, as part of the Bookland Campus project focused on dual education.

Beyond the educational objectives, we discovered a world that is developing organically, purely through the strength of its people. Rural communities seem completely isolated from the rest of the country. Some people have money and invest it in houses and land, driven by a semi-entrepreneurial vision (because in reality, the development is chaotic and instinctive, without a clear understanding of what they could really do). Others live in poverty that is hard to describe in words.

Those who are doing better don’t have stable jobs. They work abroad for a few months, save up some money, then return home and invest it in their property. They are hardworking, ambitious people who love their families and their country—otherwise, they wouldn’t make such an effort. But their lives revolve around just two points: their village life and potentially going abroad. That’s it. Their only sources of information are their phones, the internet, and what others like them say, their communities. They’re fairly aware of dangers and don’t believe everything they’re told; they’re resourceful people. But surprisingly they are in fact connected to the outside world, especially through knowing about the countries where they find work in. Essentially, they think that they are not “employable” in Romania.

Those who live in poverty, especially women, are effectively stuck and survive on the little work given by the community and child allowances.

We remember the case of a woman with a physical disability. She was capable of working and had some education, but she preferred to stay at home rather than work for 2000 RON and lose her 495 RON disability pension. That’s the kind of math people do there!

We also remember a woman with three children: one daughter who had been placed in foster care because the father was violent, a boy in 7th grade at risk of dropping out of school, and a small child in kindergarten who didn’t speak and refused to go to school. His scared eyes made me want to hold him and tell him everything would be okay, but the father was skeptical, afraid we might take him away. In that woman’s eyes, I saw despair and a willingness to at least make some money and feel useful, but she was trapped in a survival situation too hard to overcome alone. The rest of the village avoided her and her children because of her husband's past. A heartbreaking, almost unbearable situation.

We also encountered a woman living on top of a hill with one of her sons; the other had been placed in foster care. She lived in a house with broken doors and walls, left behind by her alcoholic husband. The younger boy was doing well in school and attached to his mother. The older one was in foster care in Pitești and had started doing well in school, on the path to getting a job. The mother worked odd jobs in the village, and her only joy was that her kids were doing well in school.

We also visited Roma communities in the villages. They welcomed us warmly, “because we paid well for interviews,” they said. Even though the place felt risky and we were just a group of women, the people were more than helpful. We spoke with the women who were raising children, and they told us they weren’t allowed to go to school because their husbands got jealous. Some of them were incredibly smart. Still, they couldn’t do anything because they had to follow community rules.

In other Roma communities, families faced alcoholism, depression, and school dropout. One mother told us bluntly that she didn’t want anyone helping her kids, because too much school makes people stupid. She said she knew a girl in the village who passed her Baccalaureate and now just wanders the streets talking to herself like a madwoman.: “Too much school DRIVES PEOPLE CRAZY,” she said.

EVERYONE—kids and parents—has a mobile phone and TikTok. They don’t have indoor bathrooms, but they have TikTok. Life is very beautiful and interesting there. On TikTok, they feel powerful, “empowered,” active—and that’s where their hope comes from, the hope that they can change something in their lives.

Who is talking to this part of Romania?

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(Romanian version) 

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Anul trecut am petrecut aproape o luna prin satele din judetul Arges, in proiectul Bookland Campus - invatamant dual lasat.

Pe langa obiectivele legate de educatie, am descoperit o lume care se dezvolta anorganic, doar din forta oamenilor. Oamenii de la sat par complet izolati de restul tarii. Unii au bani si ii investesc in case si curti, cumpara terenuri,au o viziune semi-antreprenoriala (pentru ca de fapt se dezvolta haotic, instinctiv, fara sa stie exact ce ar putea face), altii traiesc intr-o saracie foarte greu de descris in cuvinte aici.

Cei care se dezvolta nu au locuri de munca stabile. Lucreaza in strainatate cateva luni, acumuleaza bani, vin acasa si investesc in proprietatea lor. Sunt oameni muncitori, ambitiosi, care isi iubesc foarte mult familia si tara, ca altfel nu ar face acest efort. Doar ca viata lor inseamna: sat - strainatate. Atat. Iar informarea este exclusiv din telefon / din online / din ce mai zic altii ca ei, comunitatile lor. Sunt destul de constienti de pericole si nu cred chiar tot ce li se spune, sunt oameni descurcareti. Doar ca ei sunt conectati la strainatate, ca de acolo le vin joburile. Nu sunt "angajabili" in Romania.

Cei care traiesc in saracie, mai ales femeile, sunt efectiv blocati si traiesc din ce le mai da comunitatea sa faca. Si din alocatiile copiilor.

Imi amintesc cazul unei doamne care avea un handicap locomotor, putea sa munceasca, avea si ceva scoala, dar prefera sa stea acasa si sa nu mearga la munca pentru 2000 de lei ca sa nu piarda pensia de handicap de 495 lei. Aceasta e matematica acolo!

Imi mai amintesc cazul unei doamne care avea trei copii: o fata care plecase de acasa in plasament pentru ca tatal era violent, un baiat in clasa a 7-a in situatie de abandon scolar si unul mic, de gradinita, care nu vorbea si nu voia la gradinita. Si avea niste ochi de copil super speriat. Imi venea sa-l iau in brate si sa-i zic ca o sa fie bine, dar statea tatal cu ochii pe mine, sa nu cumva sa plecam cu el. In ochii femeii aceleia am citit disperarea si dorinta de a munci, dar era captiva intr-o situatie de supravietuire greu de depasit de una singura. Oamenii din sat o ocoleau, si pe ea si pe copii, din cauza antecendentelor barbatului. O situatie greu de descris, greu de trait.

Am mai intalnit o situatie a unei femei care locuia in varful unui deal cu unul din baietii ei, celelalt fiind plecat in plasament. Locuia intr-o casa cu usi si pereti sparti, urmare a dezastrului pe care il lasase in urma sotul ei alcoolic. Copilul mic era bun la scoala si atasat de mama lui. Cel mare era la Pitesti, in plasament, si incepuse sa invete bine, urma sa aiba o meserie. Ea lucra cu ziua prin sat si singura ei bucurie era ca invata copiii bine

Am fost si in comunitatile de romi din sate. Ne-au primit cu bratele deschise,pentru ca "plateam bine pentru interviuri", cum spuneau si ei. Desi totul parea periculos, iar noi eram doar fete, oamenii au fost foarte de ajutor. Am stat de vorba cu femeile din comunitate, cele care cresc copii, sine-au spus ca ele nu prea au voie sa mearga la scoala pentru ca devin barbatii gelosi. Unele dintre ele sclipeau de inteligenta, si nu exagerez. Dar nu puteau face nimic pentru ca se subordonau regulilor comunitatii.

Am intalnit si situatii in care, in aceleasi comunitati de romi, familiile se confruntau cu cazuri de alcoolism, depresie si abandon scolar. Unde mama spunea cu convingere ca nu doreste sa-I ajute nimeni copiii pentru ca prea multa scoala ii tampeste. Spunea ca stie ea pe una in sat care a luat Bacul si acum umbla pe strada aiurea si vorbeste de una singura, ca nebuna. Scoala prea multa ii INNEBUNESTE pe oameni.

TOTI, absolut TOTI, copii & parinti, au telefon mobil si tiktok. Nu au baie in casa, dar au TikTok. Viata este foarte frumoasa si interesanta acolo. Pe TikTok sunt conectati. Acolo se simt puternici ("imputerniciti"), activi si de acolo vine speranta ca vor putea schimba ceva in vietile lor

Cu Romania aceasta cine vorbeste?

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