Facts: SOS our Children !

" Anti-social behaviour in present-day Romania is really terrifying. The mass- media, T.V. Radio newspapers, magazines etc. unceasingly present all sorts of incredibly violent crimes committed by children, young people and adults. Every minute a child or an adolescent either dies because of parental neglect, or is hurt due to own anti- social behavior: prostitution, drug addiction, and alcohol addiction. This dreadful situation is aggravated every day because of the increasing poverty, lack of communication, lack of an active social life within local communities and lack of interest from local and national authorities.

The immediate result of this is: school abandonment, increasing number of incredibly violent crimes committed by young people and even by children and adolescents and the marginalization and exclusion of the youth from the life o local communities.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth – the Board of Youth Programmes - show that school abandonment, drugs, and unemployment are the most serious problems in Romania and school abandonment increases every year. In 2003 85,000 children dropped out school and almost 800,000 did not go to any school.

Just a few examples collected in the 2 month period November –December 2003: “Assassination During a Requiem” -Adevarul (The truth), Thursday, 30th October 2003:
a 14 year-old boy from Radeni village, Moldavia, was killed by his own sister after a violent fight with her during their father’s requiem.

“Rape Accusations in Court” – Monitorul de Valcea (The Valcea Gazette), Thursday, 6th Nov. 2003: Gheorghe Zamfirescu, 27 year old, from Pietrari, Valcea, was found guilty of using violent force and raping two little girls of 13 and 14 years old.

“Every minute a young person either dies or is hurt from parental neglect or anti-social behavior”

“The Roma Kids Attack Like Wolves – in Packs” – Viata Valcii (Everyday Life in Valcea), 3rd December 2003: Roma kids in small groups of 5 or 6 attack passers-by in Rm – Valcea district town, in order to steal purses and money.

“Theft – a Way of Living for Some People” –Info Puls (INFO Pulse), 6th November 2003: this year more than 400 thieves were caught when they were trying to steal from people and shops, houses, apartments etc. in the whole Valcea county. Their ages were from 14 to 50 years.

“The Prostitute from the Train” – Ceahlaul, 26th November 2003: a young girl of 18 from Piatra – Neamt, Moldavia, was arrested for prostitution. She had more than 250 clients within 4 years and she was discovered because of the diseases that she transmitted to her client
(syphillis).

“489 Children Sold as Slaves by Their own Parents” – Libertatea (Liberty), 8th November 2003: within the last two months, these children were discovered by the authorities all over the country at their “masters” homes. They were used for work in the fields, to take care o the animals when they themselves were not properly cared for.

“The Roma Kids – Trash ‘Emperors’ ” – Monitorul de Valcea (The Valcea Gazette), 26th Nov 2003: their dreams and hopes are built on tons of trash; some of these kids go to school every day and hope that one day they will be able to do something special with their lives, for example to become teachers or have a real job.

To elaborate on one special case, the first mentioned above, regarding the assassination of a 14 year-old boy on 30th October 2003. Daniel Dascalescu lived in a small village in Botosani county with his mother, father and his sister’s family - including a husband and three little girls of 2, 4 and 6 years old. After two months of fights and scandals, during their father’s requiem, the sister Mariana, accused her brother once again of killing their father, of trying to rape his own nieces, of beating his sister and mother. After the violent accusations, she dashed and cut his femoral artery with a knife. Daniel died within 5 minutes. "

Written by Lia – Elena Porfir, President of Phoenix Carita, Romania

Published in May 2004 in the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centers, IFS Canada Newsletter as part of the EuroMed Youth Programme “Anti Social Behaviors in Youth – Needs and Preventative Measures”