Baietzi din Romania

On the train from Bucuresti Nord (Bucharest North) to Constanta, the second largest city in Romania. The geography going east so far has been mostly wide spaces of flat land. Farms and dusty towns reside in the plains outside the train windows. Last night in Bucharest, the city was quiet. Despite the communist era being over 17 years now, the evidence of the dictatorship remains in the industrial architecture, the inadequate infrastructure and, within the older generation. The country joined the EU in the New Year but it remains one of the poorest and least industrialized. Another legacy which the era left behind was a large number of children with HIV. At the time, untested and unnecessary blood transfusions were routinely given to young children as an economically viable method of boosting health. Tragically, many children were given the virus. With poverty being widespread and a lack of adequate drugs being available and administered, many children died before they reached the age of 16. Many other children were abandoned by their families and put into homes. Many are institutionalized.

My friend Warren has worked here as a Paediatric nurse with the same children on and off for 10 years. I have come this first time to observe and possibly aid in facilitating an activity called Participatory Video. We are working with NGO’s Everyone’s Child Romania (Constanta), Children In Distress (within Saint Lawrence’s Hospice) and Nightingales Children’s Project (Cernavoda). It is an activity used to enable and help people in many different ways. One such premise being social interaction and collaboration. Beginning with this and then in further steps, video can enable people to communicate personal expression and ideas, about themselves or about their community or business. This is the first time Warren has brought forward this activity here with the teenage boys who have the virus.

I would surmise at this point that people do not like to be thought of as being part of a collective of ‘sick’ persons be it HIV, cancer or otherwise. Generally, people don’t like to think of themselves or others thinking of them to be part of a collective sick persons, they like to be thought of as who they are, rather that what they have.

Below, view from the train and me and Warren in the internet café.


- J