Romania’s huge protests cause rifts among families, friends

Most of the protesters are on the younger side. Through travel, jobs at foreign companies and the internet, they feel closer to the West than their parents. They speak languages besides Romanian, and some have worked in countries with higher wages and less pervasive corruption.

When the centre-left government issued an emergency ordinance on Jan. 31 to decriminalize abuse in office if it involved less than $48.500, it struck a nerve.

Taking a break from editing a program about fishing, Lupan, a slim, bearded man, said the young must show Romania’s politicians “we want change. We want to reach Western standards.”

Premier Sorin Grindeanu eventually withdrew the decree, although the government still plans to introduce the measure as a law in Parliament, where Grindeanu’s party has a majority.

The centre-left government also is popular with older voters. It has promised to raise state pensions, a move that would bring Valentina Lupan an extra 200 lei ($47) a month, a 20 per cent increase.

Valentina, 65, is skeptical about the motives of the anti-government protesters, including her son. She thinks they were lured by financial incentives or told to demonstrate by the multinational companies they work for, echoing the news channels she watches.

As a young architect, she crafted wooden and metal doors for the giant palace of President Nicolae Ceausescu, the communist leader executed in 1989, and insists she has never paid a bribe to secure a contract. She says byzantine legislation, not outright deceit, is to blame for official corruption.

“Why weren’t they out in the streets to protest against illegal logging on a large scale?,” she asks her son during the heated exchange that had her worrying about her blood pressure. “So they didn’t protest against (that) or the stray dogs’ issue?”

In the quiet of his apartment, Lupan attributed his mother’s frustrations to a loss of earnings in recent years.

“Everything was laid out for them … in communism and immediately after,” he said, adding that the news channels she watches have “indoctrinated” his mother.

Despite their differences, Lupan remains convinced that Romania needs to make steady progress toward reform so “my future children will have a chance not to be …. a generation of sacrifice.”

Alison Mutler, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Romania’s huge protests cause rifts among families, friends

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