1. MEETING ROMANIAN SPEAKING PEOPLE FROM NORTH
TO SOUTH OF EUROPE
A FAMILY LIKE MANY OTHERS IN SPAIN
Constantin Nitu, is a Romanian who arrived in Spain in 1997 to work as a day
laborer. Now he runs his own small construction business, employing other
Romanian immigrants. He has 15 employees.
Many people found work in the booming construction sector. Across the suburbs of
Madrid, armies of hard-hatted workers are building row upon row of apartment high-
rises on freshly bulldozed hillsides. "If you work well, you always have work," says
Constantin Nitu.
His wife, Luminita, runs a thriving bakery in the Madrid suburb of Coslada.
She sells poppy seed pastries and other specialties of her native Romania. Trained
as a nurse, she arrived in Spain in 1997 with little more than a suitcase and took a
job caring for an elderly Spanish woman while her husband did construction work.
By 2001, they had saved and borrowed enough from friends to open the bakery.
When they wanted to expand the business two years ago, they easily got a $55,000
loan from a local bank. "At first my idea was to stay here for a year, earn money, and
go back, but now I know I won't leave," she says. "I work hard, but my life is like a
fairy tale."
They are from Transilvania, Sibiu city. Besides of the crisis, they don’t intend
to leave Spain, as their children, Maria and Luca are already going at school.
2. LESSON OF EMIGRATION IN ITALY
Among different stories on emigration in Europe, a unique experience for me
was visiting The National Museum of Italian Emigration opened at Rome’s
Complesso Vittoriano in Piazza Venezia.
The lesson I have learned from that particularly day was complex and
interesting, meaningful to me, both history and human personal story.
• Lesson of experiencing emigration of Italian people – “ feeling an immigrant”.
Emigration is an essential part of the history of
Italy, believe the actual leaders of Italy. Therefore, in
October 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened
this museum.
The meaning of this museum is to illustrate the
birth and development of Italian emigration from the
late 19th century to the present day, and how Italian
people have left their mark all over the world, contributing to development and well
being in many places.
The Museum aims to recognize the role played by emigration. The history of
Italy would be certainly incomplete without understanding it.
The National Museum of Italian Emigration, presents the diversity of
experiences at regional and local perspective of national unity, it is an opportunity to
reflect on the history, current events and the future and feeling of being Italian.
Studying the press articles about the National Museum of Italian Emigration,
we found out the emblematic words of the president of the Republic, at the opening
time:
“Today we welcome immigrants and
have become a country of massive
immigration, but we must never forget
that we are a country of emigrants.
Italians went abroad under extremely
hard conditions that they should never
forget”.
“What is today a legacy of affection and
friendship for Italy everywhere I go is
also a sign of what our emigrants did
when they went abroad”.
As a Romanian citizen, but never directly experiencing being an immigrant, this
lesson impacted me much.
Coming from Romania, a country of more than 3 millions of recent
immigrants in the EU states (according to a research made in July 2010 presented
on wikipedia), and number one in legal immigrants in Italy (over half of a million
Romanian people immigrants in Italy in 2010, over 15,1% of the total number of
3. emigrants & workers in Italy, according to the online publication www.brasovultau.ro),
I had a strong feeling of the present sociological phenomena that repeats over the
times and places.
At a moment I thought that there will be a time when Romanian historians will
fell the need of a similar approach upon the Romanian Immigrants. By seeing
human stories of Italian people, families that had left their villages to seek their life
abroad, in the 19-th centuries, instantly came into my mind the picture of Romanian
children having their families abroad to work, and missing their parents, in the
present days.
• Life lesson on immigration in the… Museum of Emigration
Right in the moment of full empathy with Italian immigrants feelings, which I
felt deeper because the present story of Romanian immigrants, I was to receive
another interesting lesson of life.
Tending to compare the Italian immigration in the 19-th centuries and
Romanian immigration at present, I was wrong in a way. The lady from the museum
explained me how.
The young lady who told us the touching story of Italian immigration asked the
group where is everyone from.
I said I was from Romania. All of the sudden she kindly smiled, and she said:
“I am also from Romania!” O!!! I was astounded. She spoke Romanian to me!!!
I was curious about her story and I asked her to a short discussion after
finishing the Museum presentation.
Her name was Alina , 29 years of age, living in Roma along with all her family:
mother, brother and her husband.
In 1998 her mother lived Fagaras, a small city in the middle of the country and
came to Rome to work as a housekeeper to an Italian Family.
Alina finished her Highschool in her birth town and after graduation she went
to her mother to work in Italy also.
He applied and graduated the Faculty of History in Rome and since the museum
was created she applied for a job as a recent graduated and was accepted.
So she works there from the beginning. In the University she met and fall in
love with an Italian student at Arts University. They married and she had a girl of 3
years old.
She told me she feels completely integrated in Italy, her entire life is there, but
every holiday they prefer to go to visit their family and beautiful places in Romania,
to her grandparents.
Her background as an immigrant along with her studies in History helped her
to get this important job to present the short story of Italian immigration.
She also explained me the difference between Italian immigration and
Romanian people that recently emigrated in Italy.
While Italian immigrants felt miserable leaving miles away their country and
terribly missing their birthplaces, Romanians were welcomed in Italy.
She spoke from her experience, she never experienced exclusion of any kind,
mainly she soon learned Italian language and get accepted in The university, now
she is an Italian citizen. Alina told me she benefited of all rights in Roma.
Coming from an expert in history I understood better the phenomena.
4. The lesson I’ve learned is not only that I realized the common routs and how similar
Romanians and Italians are, like the ancient Romans offsprings.
I understood that immigration today has a different approach due to the
globalize world enhanced by rapid and easy flight traveling opportunities and
expanding of the internet with free communication.
NAPOLETANO SUCCESS STORY
On a rainy day in bella Napoli, the HID team attending the project meeting in
Italy in September 2010 went for lunch in a Pizzeria. There we met a nice lady
waitress, Daniela. She is 42 years old, from Botosani, northern Romania. She came
5. smiling to us, and she said she came to us because she heard us speaking
Romanian. Being during her working time she had no time for telling stories but,
after a while, finishing her shift, she could talk to us for a while.
She told us she came to Italy to work after 2 years of being unemployed in
Romania, after her factory in Botosani was demolished. Now she said she is well
and her family is with her, and continued smiling “How are things going there, with
you? And we felt that when she said “you” she delimited herself from us, the
Romanian people. And she continued “Here, with us, the things are not quite good”,
again placing herself amongst the Italians who accepted her and gave her a job.
It was very clear for us that for Daniela and her family the future was there, in
Italy and that she had no thought, at least for that moment, to return back home,
even if she was there only for 5 years. She told us she adapted very easily there,
Italy became her home, people were very kind to her and she never felt
discriminated. She also insisted to tell us that he/she who works hard and is
respectful of laws and people will also be respected and valued.
ROMANIAN ACTRESS BATTLES
RACISM IN ITALY
Ramona Bădescu (born November 29, 1968) is a
Romanian-born Italian actress, singer, model, and politician.
In 2008 Bădescu joined the list of council candidates
6. supporting Gianni Alemanno for Mayor of Rome,
but was not successful. However Alemanno was
elected mayor and subsequently appointed her his
Counsellor for the Romanian Community's
Integration.
As Italy struggles to contain a rising tide of xenophobia and racism, the largest and
most despised minority in the country has acquired a glamorous standard-bearer.
Like 1.2 million other residents of Italy, Ramona Badescu is an immigrant from
Romania. The willowy actress and singer from Bucharest moved to Italy after the fall
of the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 and is the closest thing Italy
possesses to a Romanian household name.
Now Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, has made her his counsellor for the
Romanian community's integration. "I hope to become a bridge between the
Romanians and the mayor," she said. "Romanians here have many problems
connected to work: more Romanians die at work sites than any other nationality."
Her first policy idea is to set up a free phone service in both languages to help
Romanian migrants find information, residence permits and other practical
information.
Ms Badescu, who has a degree in commerce and economics, sustain that
she is the right person for the job. "I'm an emigrant and emigration is never a happy
act. It's full of problems: you leave your family behind. You are hoping and dreaming
of a better life, but when you arrive it's very different from what you imagined."
NORDIC ENVIRONMENT CARE FROM A ROMANIAN EXPERT
Attending a meeting in another international project, the team from The
Teacher Training Center of Bucharest went to Jelling in Denmark at first of
December 2010. On the hotel corridor, hearing us speaking Romanian, a lady come
to us, and told us how interesting thing in such a small town of Denmark, hearing
Romanians.
She told us, she was also romanian and ask about us. Then she invited us to
her office based in the hotel, as she was working there.
7. The lady is CERNAT DANA-LAURA, borne in 1967 in Bucuresti, Romania.
She is a Danish citizen now.
Dana works as a Project manager at her NGO specialized in environment
protection, Grøent Forum- Jelling Denmark.
She promotes a lot of projects involving youngsters and volunteers in
Denmark.
http://www.groentforum.dk/projekter.html
ROMANIA - A PLACE TO STUDY
ROMANIAN SPEAKING PEOPLE IN ARLANDA -
STOCHOLM AIRPORT
Going to Bollnas - Sweden in MASS Leonardo da Vinci project, in September
2010, our team from the Teacher Training Center Bucharest had to take the train
from Stockholm to Gavle than Bollnas.
In the Airport rail station we used to discuss .... in Romanian language.
8. Right when we were watching the green announcement panel next to the
line, a gentleman approached to us and said… Hello! in… Romanian.
We were surprised! A Romanian man on the same line to small Gavle… But,
Mr. Muhhamad Galeh was not… Romanian, we found out after hearing his
short story.
We were curious to see how a foreign citizen speaks so accurate Romanian
language.
He was born in Iran, and 26 years ago he decided to go to study medicine
abroad. At that time, in the 80’s the arabic countries were in a very good relationship
with Romania, a lot of young students from Iran, Iraq and African countries went to
study in our country. At that time our country was leaded by Nicolae Ceausescu,
and our socialist country was good friend to the Arabic countries.
So, Mr. Muhhamad Galeh is a medical doctor, he graduated University of
Medicine in Timisoara, a big town in the west of Romania. He said he loves
Romania and Romanian language, since his student years that is why he still loves
to talk Romanian. He said he knowledge he got in the university was very good and
he is very appreciate in Sweden.
He was twice in Romania as a tourist in the last 20 years and he was happy
to talk to us. He said he use to exchange mails and phone calls to some friends of
his still in Romania, only to practice Romanian language. He lives In Stockholm
since 1990.
Live
Stud
Born
TALLIN... ESTONIA... AN
UNEXPECTED PLACE TO
MEET A ROMANIAN IN
THE STREET...
Tallin... Estonia, we were
there in June 2011 in our last HID
project meeting. Quite improbable to
9. hear Romanian language on the street, so we could talk freely, we thought...
We were wrong again. Going on a narrow sreet full of restorants and small souvenir
shops, we heared: Buna ziua! In our language, with some accent but, romanian.
Another interesting story:
We met Anatolie Priboi who was painting the beautiful city walls of Tallin
and the magnificent landscape around. He is an artist.
He was born in Ungheni, Republic of Moldova, Basarabia, one of the former
member of The Soviet Union like all the Baltic states.
After 1944, the second world war, The Soviet Union took many territories.
Among them, Basarabia, an old part of Ester Romania, a territory inhabited by
Romanian citizens from ancient times.
That is why he said very convincing and very happy: I am Romanian also! of
course in Romanian language.
B He was born in a Romanian family but under the
communists in The Former Soviet republic of Moldova. He
decided to go, to
live in a western
country. So when
he chosen
university he went
to the most
western and most
“democratic” place
in the Soviets. In
the 80 this place
seemed to be
Estonia. He went
to the fine art
University of Tallin.
He told us he was happy living in Tallin, married a Russian
lady. He almost crying confessed he never came to Romania, or
to Bucharest, even though he was born in the nearest city from the border, riverside
Romania. We invited him to visit us at The Training Center.
TURKISH IMIGRANTS BRING
EXCELENCE IN ROMANIAN EDUCATION
Started from a Turkish investment in
Romania, a network of educational institutions were
developed since 1995 under the name LUMINA
Educational Institutions. There are a group of private
educational institutions which has continuously
10. developed in different cities of Romania, and expanded to all educational levels,
from kindergarten to High school and University.
The educational institutes flourished to a prestigious network of high
standards education in Romania. The high school is known as an incubator of gifted
students, Olympics in different subjects.
Some passionate teachers and head managers are
the promoters of this success.
One them is Mustafa OZ. He graduated the Faculty
of Chemistry at University of Ankara, and applied for
a job as a teacher in Romania when he hared that a
Turkish school was recently opened.
He get the job as a teacher of chemistry and step by
step settled here first In Constanta then in Bucharest.
He married a Turkish lady and now they have two
children. They applied for Romanian citizenship and
are completely devoted to promote education and the institution.
Step by step he was promoted Head of Primary school and now, head of The
International Computer High School of Bucharest - General Coordinator Director. He
is the leader of a team of professionals in education, both Romanian and Turkish,
which promote a high quality education in Bucharest, and coordinate an intercultural
educational environment.
From Mr. Mustafa OZ our learners and the entire HID team (He hosted at Lumina
International School one day of the HID project meeting in Romania, Bucharest)
learned a lot.
We were impressed by his personality, his strong will to promote education,
based on excellence standards and intercultural values.
As Romanians we were impacted by his strong feelings and commitment to his
adoptive country, Romania, determined to leave a trace here.
The Teacher Training team is pleased and honored to work together with
such valuable people.
http://www.ichb.ro
11. International Computer High school
of Bucharest
DR. RAED ARAFAT, OUR ROMANIAN HERO
Dr. Raed Arafat was born in Damask but was raised in Nablus (Palestine). At
the age of 16 he arrived in Romania in Pitesti after a few attempts to study medicine
in various foreign countries. Romania was the only country that allowed him to stay
on her territory. Dr. Raed Arafat started medicine at Cluj but after a year he dropped
school because of his father died. After this he moved to Mures to study intensive
care. At Targu Mures not everything went smoothly but he found people who helped
him from the beginning.
12. In 1990 Dr. Raed Arafat was the
initiator of the first The Mobile Services of
Emergency, Resuscitation and
Descarceration in Romania where lots of
problems of the emergency medical system
made it inefficient.
Dr. Raed Arafat
In 2003 received the National Order “For Merit” in rank of Knight the whole scientific
and research activity, for outstanding contribution to the development and promotion
of Integrated Emergency Services in Romania.
Raed Arafat is decorated by the President, with the National Order “For Merit” in
rank of Officer for efforts made in rescuing people from floods and daily efforts to
save the lives of many Romanian.
Raed Arafat earned a doctorate degree in medicine at the University of Medicine
and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, after which he performed during residency in
anesthesiology – intensive care at UMF Cluj and U.M.F. Targu Mures.
He graduated a large number of courses in emergency medicine and disaster
management, both in Romania and abroad, such as rates of Rescue Commander
(COS), the Paris Fire Brigade, Emergency Nuclear Civilian, U.S. Army National
Guard, Maryland, chief emergency physician, Copenhagen, Denmark or Air Medical
Transport – Air Ambulance Service Norway.
Raed Arafat is also an instructor in emergency medicine issues and was a member
of the group of instructors of international courses for emergency medical chief in
Athens in 2002 and in Graz in 2003. Recently, the European Master’s graduate
program in disaster medicine at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. It is
student of the UMF Cluj.
14. • The sociological approach tends to change concepts from immigration to different
3
kinds of mobility for work or study , enhanced by the EU politics of promoting
mobility of European citizens.
• The international migration contributes to the economic progress and to promoting
cultural awareness. 4
COMMON APPROACH OF ROMANIAN EMIGRANTS ABROAD
From discussing and interviewing different persons in different countries, their
common approach was that:
• They proved to be were happy to talk about Romania, in Romanian language.
• They were interested to learn what is going on at their home country.
• They pointed out a complete and even smooth inclusion in their “adoptive”
country, stressing upon opportunities that they benefited from.
• They all keep strong relationships with the rest of the family in Romania, some of
them invested in houses or land or even in business in Romania.
• Still, because of the difficult conditions, the majority don’t plan to return in the near
future, nor in the far future, but in holidays.
LESSON WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE
• By interviewing and talking to people, the project team, along with our learners
learned a lot of things about different countries and history at personal level.
• We understood better the complex feelings of immigrant people, in an applied
psychology approach.
• By meeting Romanian people almost everywhere we could better understand
through a common cultural psychology realities of different places and different
societies.
• The fact that they are immigrants they could compare different communities and
societies.
• We found out the patriotic feelings to be Romanian of some immigrants from
Easter countries: Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, and we raise awareness upon our
cultural identity.
3
MOBILITY vs MIGRATION Project ; http://www.mobility-migration.net
4
Migration and Mobility in the European Union, Andrew Geddes , Virginie Guiraudon , Christina Boswell ,
January 18, 2011 Palgrave Macmillan.
