Location
Romania is a country in southeastern Europe bordering Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine, Moldova and the Black Sea to the north and east, and Bulgaria to the south. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest. Bucharest is located in the southeast of the country and the sixth largest city in the European Union. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the center of Romanian culture, media, and art. About 2 million people live in the city. 22.5 million people in Romania and their official language is Romanian. Approximately 90% of population is Romanians, about 7% of them are Hungarians, about 3% is Gypsies, and the rest is others.
Major events & Recent History
In 1967, Nicolae Ceausescu becomes president. He was a Romanian communist politicianIn 1980s, obsessed with repaying the national debt Ceausescu orders a ban on importation of any consumer products and commands exportation of all goods produced in Romania except minimum food supplies. In 1989, Romanians unite in protests against the communist leadership and local demonstrations sparked a national uprising that finally ousted communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu and his cabinet. Since January 1st 2007, Romania is a member of the European Union.
Body
The phenomenon of street children in Romania must be understood within the local historical background. Under Nicolae Ceausescu, both abortion and contraception were forbidden, leading to a rise in birth rates. Women were required to have at least four children and the use of contraceptives was forbidden. Ceausescu continued to spend large sums of money to make Bucharest a showcase socialist capital. At the same time, Ceausescu decided to pay off all his foreign debts. Thus, after 1980, it became increasingly difficult for families to support their “mandatory “ four children. Therefore, many parents could only keep their first four children and put the rest in orphanages. Also, during Ceausescu’s reign, frequent malnutrition and low standards of living caused the life expectancy rate to be significantly lower than in most developed countries. This led to many parents dying at an early age. Moreover, the malnutrition of mothers during pregnancy and the lack of routine pregnancy drugs/medical attention led to many babies being born with birth defects. The 1990s was a difficult transition period. Romania has gone through many economic and social reforms. However, poverty is still a major problem- over 1000 street children squat in Bucharest’s train stations, the number of children infected with the HIV virus continues to rise, prostitution is yet to be curbed. Many working street children face health problems, including skin diseases, scabies, wounds and burns, some also have tuberculosis and hepatitis, while most display signs of chronic malnutrition. Street children are also exposed to sexual abuse, often starting within their own family and then continuing on the street, and physical abuse, with about half of children working on the streets of Bucharest reporting that they have been beaten at least once, especially by the police. In coping with the harshness of their lives on the streets, many children turn to drugs or solvents, including common glue and paint thinners. Street children similarly continue to be discriminated against by the authorities, such as the police, at school, and by the health system. While many street children have never been to school,an even higher number are illiterate. Many of young street children sniff glue to pass time.They smear solvent inside a plastic bag, then place the opening over their mouths and inhale. These street children are abandoned by Romania’s society. They sleep in the cracks of the subway station and, for money, they either beg, steal, sell glue, or prostitute themselves. Nine-year-old boy, for example, holds a foreign visitor’s hand tightly and calls her ‘Mama.’ The majority of these street children have various diseases like HIV and AIDS. Street children have lost their childhood. They have little hope of a better future.