Communist jail
by Eugen Hulub
In August 1986 I had an attempt to cross the border (from Romania) to Yugoslavia. I was caught and arrested, but considering the psychic problems which I had from the army I was released and judged in freedom. To be more explicit, I had been a student
of a military officers' school (specialty: anti -aircraft artillery) and the harsh regime in this school caused me a mental illness, so that, after three years of activity as an officer (lieutenant) I have been passed in reserve as inapt.
However, I was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
In June, 1987, when I was still employed (at Synthetic yarn factory), at noon, two militiamen came to me with arrest warrant, they put me the handcuffs, introduced me in a van, then the van went to the Municipal Militia. I entered the arrest of the militia.
(Militia was equivalent to police in the western countries). It should be noted that: before to be introduced into the arrest room, the offenders were "received" by a militiaman (in a neighboring room).
This moment - of my arresting - was as a shock.
I was very affected (by the arresting), with some fear, with small possibilities to appreciate correctly the situation I was in, without the power to express myself coherently, or to react.
The "reception" was made by a militiaman (a Petty Officer) (NCO = non commissioned officer).
In the room which was neighbor to the Arrest Room - according to the legal procedure, he asked me to undress (to take off my clothes) and to remain only with my sports pants on me. I complied with the militiaman's request (and remained only with my sports pants on me).
Surprising thing: this militiaman (NCO) was - at that time - very humane and very kind. He told me that I will stay in the penitentiary only 3 months, then I will be released. In that deplorable and pitiable state in which I was - his words helped me very much. .
My clothes (except the underpants) were placed on a wooden table, in front of the militiaman (NCO): undershirt, shirt, trousers, thin jacket.
He took out of the pockets of the pants and jacket: the identity card, money, job card, a little notebook, a ball-point pen, a handkerchief, a pack of cigarettes without a filter (named: “Bucegi"). At the same time, he took the belt of my trousers and the shoelaces of my shoes, because (he explained to me) - this is the procedure for any detainee, in any arrest room - such that he not to hang himself (with the belt of the trousers or
with the shoelaces of the shoes).
I dressed myself again. Of the objects on the table I received the pack of cigarettes without a filter.
Another militiaman (guardian) led me to the main detention room, which was quite large, about 10 meters by 10 meters, with overlapping beds, a bed on the ground floor, then (above this):the second, and (above the second): the third one. There were about 20 such columns of three beds each.
In the vicinity of the door was a free space, a rectangle: it was 4 meters long and 3 meters wide. In this free space there was a bucket in which the detainees to urinate. No one was allowed to hold a box of matches. One militiaman (guardian) was coming periodically (every two hours, during the day) and "was giving fire"- for smokers.
He was taking out of his pocket a box of matches, then he was setting fire a match and
he was giving it to a smoker (who was having a cigarette prepared for burning).
He "was not giving fire"- to several detainees, but to only one. Later, he was inserting the box with matches in his pocket, leaving the room and closing the heavy door with a bolt and a padlock. I think almost all of those in the room were smokers. The cigarette was a very important object in the jail and – all the time – without filter (with the names: “Bucegi”, “Carpati”, “Marasesti”).
10 o'clock am was the time for physiological needs (shit, urine). Not far from the arrest room there are 4 WCs. Two militiamen (guardians) arrived ... They release the heavy door from bolt and a padlock. They open the heavy door:
- Go to WCs! You have a quarter of an hour for physiological needs! ... This urge (order) is pronounced with strength, firmness and conviction.
Immediately we run to the sanitary group with the intention to get a place in a toilet (WC). It is very important to integrate yourself with the program of going to the WC.
I specify the fact that I keep in a pocket the pack of “Bucegi” cigarettes (without filter). This is a privilege ...! Now I must find a place in a bed. I started looking for… This is a very difficult mission: nobody wants to give a place (in his bed) to a newcomer. I have some experience from the military life regarding the psychological features of various people. I notice that a young man has great appetite for smoking and I give him 5 cigarettes. Thus I obtain a place in his bed (located at "ground floor"). He was alone in bed before my arrival…
I learned that there are “vagabond convicts” and “penal convicts”. If for “penal convicts” the punishments were pronounced by a Law Court of Justice or by a High Court of Justice – for “vagabond convicts” the punishments were given by Militia (by superior officers). The minimum punishment was: one month in the penitentiary, and the maximum punishment was 6 months in the penitentiary. The reasons of the punishment for "vagabond convicts" were: scandal in the restaurant (or in a block of flats) (or in a village) after the consumption of alcohol in large quantities. The scandal was caused by drunk individuals. Other times the reason for the conviction was: a disrespectful attitude (even minor conflicts) towards the authorities. Last but not least - the cause of the conviction was: many absences from the workplace ("absences without a good reason").
For “penal convicts” there is a great privilege: they could leave the penitentiary earlier than the term stipulated in the sentence pronounced by a Law Court of Justice or by a High Court of Justice.
The reduction of the punishment was possible in conditions of disciplined behavior and a lot of work (daily). This reduction was of maximum one third of the punishment (rarely: half of the punishment). (The word "third" comes from cutting one whole into three equal parts. For example: from a melon cut into three equal parts we get three "thirds")
(The adjective "vagabond" refers, of course, to the time before entering the jail. These "vagabonds" individuals were usually very poor - from a material point of view - but also lazy, and they had no their own homes. Often, in the summer, they were sleeping on the grass, in the park or in the forest. Their clothes - in the penitentiary - were different – as shape and color - from the clothes of the “penal convicts”. However, the "vagabond convicts" were obliged to work (most often in the field of construction and agriculture) - in order to obtain money and food…Their imprisonment was hard ...).
The food (which came three times a day) was very poor and was not tasty. As an overview: some ones were small as the stature, others ones were tall and bulky. The portions were equal. This food was insufficient for each detainee, especially for the bulky ones. Anyway, you had no other possibility than to accept this poor food, to resist - from a physical, but also mental point of view - 6 months, or one year, or 7 years, or (incredibly!) 18 years. In the arrest room of the Militia - the biggest existing punishment was only 2 years and 6 months…A feeling of sadness, regret, even despair overwhelms and dominates me for a few moments.
The first thing which amazed me was this: a prisoner - after smoking three quarters of his cigarette - threw the cigarette end on the room mosaic (in that rectangle which was free space), and three very young "vagabond convicts", almost teenagers, rushed to collect it from the ground, as being a great value. "I must take care of cigarettes ... I must keep cigarettes for future smoking!” (I said to myself). Therefore: I was arrested and brought to the arrest room of the militia on June 15, 1987. Now (after a week) is June 22, 1987. On May 1 (which is my birthday) 1987 I started smoking intensely – because of the permanent psychic pressure on me in connection with the possibility of being convicted… It is an irony of fate that at my age of 30 I adopted tobacco as an ally…
(Until the age of 30 I rarely was smoking, only in restaurants or various occasions. The penal trial - according to article 240 of the Penal Code - was very tormenting, with permanent mental pressure, with the fear that I will get to prison, with the exasperation and despair that nothing can be done to escape from the punishment. The prospect of deprivation of freedom and spending a certain time in prison was like a black nightmare. The word "implacably" was as a thorn in my heart).
In the unfavorable conditions in the arrest room of the county militia (or in jail) any small privilege was extremely important. The struggle for survival supposes, under these conditions, a terrible selfishness, without the smallest concession for others. Some ones were exhausting their mental resources pretty quickly and were tackling the question of suicide with great preoccupation for details and with supreme decision. For the time being, in the arrest room of the county militia there was not the slightest reference to suicide, the most prisoners having punishments under one year. There were jokes and jests which circulated in Romania before June 1987. There is also a lot of reproach and many insults for the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceausescu.
5 years ago, the Romanian Communist Party established that certain institutions (of course, state institutions) to have self -financing and self – administration.
This means that the respective institutions, especially the army (having as central entitling: the “Ministry of National Defense”) and Militia (having as central entitling: the “Ministry of Interior”) to provide with food for themselves from their own resources (in a proportion of 25 %).
In this year 1987 Romania is dominated by hunger and serious lack of food (due to the massive export of food products - for the payment of external debt). Strange thing: Vaslui County, as distinction to all other counties of Romania, has succeeded, through his communist leaders, to get a constant and rich supply with meat and meat products, especially salami and sausages, but also dairy products. Some visitors (coming from Transylvania or other areas of the country) look with wonder at the products displayed in refrigerated windows.
In this spirit the military units (of the army and of the militia) have started a vigorous program for food production: vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, eggs and fish.
All these have "annexed households", more precisely: pig farms, bird farms (chickens, turkeys, etc.), a few milk cows, a pond with phytophagus, orchard with fruit trees and vegetable gardens (with: tomatoes, onions, garlic, cucumbers, peppers, melons, etc), some ones have greenhouses of vegetables - heated in winter with hot water from the large thermal power plant of Vaslui city. These greenhouses give fresh vegetables in winter…
Most of the food obtained in AH ("annexed households") is consumed by military personnel (officers and noncommissioned officers) and very little is consumed by the soldiers.
As a general appreciation: the annexed household of the county militia is the richest and most complex in the city of Vaslui. The leaders of the militia were very meticulous. As superlatives: it has a farm with 30 pigs, a farm with many hens, turkeys, ducks and geese, etc. The garden with vegetables was from the beginning designed to obtain large productions, having water supply, fence and personnel for the maintenance of crops: hoeing and weeding out, irrigation, activity to harvest, etc.
To be appointed to work in the garden (as a prisoner) is an extremely high privilege. There are "heavy struggles" for this privilege - inside the arrest room, but also outside - when there are "cells", "relationships", "knowledge". (These three words: "cells", "relationships", "knowledge" are the names in the jargon for the people who have important functions in the Romanian Communist Party and "offers" privileges for various "gifts" received from the applicants - with discretion). The envy is very great on the part of everyone for those chosen to work in the garden.
Two prisoners having small stature, but vigorous and sinewy, with powerful muscles and strong tendons, able to face men taller than them, being extremely naughty and impertinent, arrogating to themselves the title: "little gods" of the arrest room - were working at the garden since the morning until the evening.
As two characters in a play - they are sometimes very visible, other times few visible. We refer now to the moment of birthday.
- Tomorrow is my birthday! said one of them. I think I'll get some brandy. I have a pair of thick socks. I will dip them in the brandy... Then I will enter the arrest room here with the socks in a pocket. I will give you to taste few brandy because you are poor and despair.
To not be believed that this was being the usual tone of his voice! Most of the time he was swearing and address very bad words to the other prisoners, he even was threatening them with beating if they were not respecting him as a leader. A damnable, arrogant, uneducated, rude man. The other prisoner resembles exactly to him (he was the very image of him) not only as stature, but also as manner. When the two ones were entering the arrest room there was being an immediate silence - because each of the prisoners was afraid that they could fall prey to one or other of these two individuals. The collective fear was the sum of the fears of everyone present. No one risked to have a conflict with the two ones. To the harsh conditions in this prison - to add a conflict with any of them was almost unbearable.
Nerves “are defeated" for minor reasons, let alone aggression on the part of the two.
Sometimes they were aggressive with ones of the prisoners for no reason, just as a whim…and those who were enduring the aggression were silent, resigned and peaceful, with no hope of revenge. The anger or indignation or displeasure of the two ones was pressing down on them. This situation will have an end after a few days, or a week or a month. In all this time they were enduring with stoicism the discrimination.
It would be a terrible mistake to lose your temper (your balance) and to react against those two with a minimum of nervousness and revolt. Very rarely does this situation exist - the one attacked with words and with a hostile and mocking attitude to respond with indignation and revolt:
- Why are you always harassing me? What's your problem with me? What do you have against me? What evil have I done to you?... Even more:
- Why do you think you're so great? Do you think you are someone important? Why do you think so?
Then it was following (for the indignant one) a period of discrimination and persecution which was hard for any human being to bear.
What is a “cubic clay”? It is a piece for building a country house, made of clay and parallelepipedal in shape: 30 centimetres long, 20 centimetres wide and 10 centimetres high. Country houses were built only of clay, one method being the planting of vertical poles (clubs) (straight wood between 5 and 10 centimetres in diameter) where the walls will be.
So, some poles (clubs) stuck in the ground, the horizontal distance between two poles (clubs) being approximately 30 centimetres. Between these is put clay thoroughly mixed with straw. The strength of the future walls will be given by these vertical poles (clubs).
When you build the house of cubic clay - there is no need for vertical poles. The pieces of cubic clay are stacked on top of each other - forming the walls of the house. (There is a big difference between bricks and clay parallelepipeds. The bricks are made of fired clay, but black clay parallelepipeds are not fired). The bond between them is made with soft yellow clay (i.e. clay mixed with water). After a few days the yellow clay becomes hard.
The strength of the walls resulting from the building of the black cubic clay is lower than that of the walls built around the vertical poles (made of black clay mixed with straw).
(We may use the expression "dollop clay" instead of "cubic clay").
In the penitentiary (and in the county militia detention rooms), the prisoners receive "boiled corn flour" with a cubic shape. (“mămăligă” = “boiled corn flour”). (In the morning they get a slice of bread and a cup of tea). The traditional name (entered into folklore) of these cubes of “mămăligă” (“boiled corn flour”) is “cubic clay”.
In the arrest room of County militia where I was in - the hunger determined prisoners to eat the entire “cubic clay”. Even more, some ones purchased "cubic clay" for a fee. The cigarettes are the currency of exchange in any transaction. In general, a “cubic clay” is paid with 5 cigarettes.
I don't think I talked (in this room) about my situation, anyway - I don't remember if I talked or not. The fact is that very quickly all the prisoners found out that I wanted to cross the border illegally and that I have mental problems. As an overview: each one knows everything about everyone in the room.
A tall fellow, having 1.85 metres as height, stout, with some baldness, but with hair above the ears approaches me and says:
--When the guardian will come, you will approach him and you will make big eyes and you will distort your face and you will utter: "Uuuu!...Uuuu!...Uuuu!...", then the commander of county militia will send you to the psychiatric hospital as a madman and your penal punishment will be cancelled.
I neither approve nor disapprove him. His idea is not good because the judges do not like the situation: mentally ill as a delinquent. Often they are irritated and nervous when they hear of mental illness and "give" greater punishments than they should give. I had from the psychiatry the diagnosis: "Psychotic mental illness". This diagnosis reveals that the patient is located at the extreme of the staircase of mental illness, i.e. the greatest gravity. Normally judges should not decide any punishment in this case. However I was punished...
Another day: the same tall fellow, stout, with some baldness, but with hair above the ears approaches me and says:
- When we leave the prison we will make a plan to fraudulently cross the border to Yugoslavia. We will steal two horses that run very quickly. We will be riding on our horses very fast during nighttime, we will cross the border strip and we arrive to Yugoslavia. Then we sell the two horses and get money.
Again I do not respond with any reply to what was said by the tall fellow.
The border strip is a tape of 5 meters wide, flat and covered with sand, which stretches along the border between Romania and Yugoslavia.
There is no border strip from Orșova to Turnu Severin because the border with Yugoslavia is marked by the Danube river. From the coast it is not possible to sail to a foreign country because there is a very strict control of all boats sailing in the Black Sea.
On the terrestrial border (which is not marked by the Danube River) the border guard (soldier) is guarding with harshness the border strip because, if there are traces of steps, he will be sentenced to prison.
There is even a <song of the border guard>:
“My God, don’t give anyone
A life like that of the border guard!”
……………………………………………….
"If there are traces of steps on the border strip
Oh, my mother, it is a case of penal trial (and jail).”
Furlough is a soldier's right to go home to his parents for 5 days. Apart from Furlough - the soldier has the right to receive rest leave (15 days).
Often, in some village, we can see border guards (soldiers) drinking wine, then they go on the lane of the village - from one end to another - singing in a loud voice (so that all the villagers to hear):
“My God, don’t give anyone
A life like that of the border guard!”
(Of course, this is about soldiers on rest leave).
Again, the idea of the tall fellow is not good, because near border strip, on the side to Romania (left side), there are some sensors. These detect any unusual movement around them. They are made up of the wire of 50 meters long, having at each end smart sound triggering devices, as well as little bells or ringers. Along the left side of the border strip the most efficient smart devices are installed - on a distance of about 100 kilometers, in the southern part of Timiş county, namely, along the border with Yugoslavia. (Other devices - less efficient - are installed on the rest of the terrestrial border). When a delinquent will touch the wire of the sensor (before to arrive at the border strip) the little bells will ring and will draw the attention of the border guard (soldier). Immediately he will open firing and will shoot any suspected shadow of being a delinquent. He has a total of 120 cartridges (in the machine gun - type AKM - and in the bag with loaders). (A load is a mechanical device in which there are 30 cartridges). (The bag with loaders is made of resistant canvas and is attached to the soldier's leather belt, on the right side of the body). It will be automatic fire, namely: 10 bullets per second will leave the barrel of the machine gun. Often they were killed or wounded some delinquents intending to cross the border (to Yugoslavia). In these cases, the border guard (soldier) had no legal (penal) liability…
The tall fellow was gathering pieces of cubic clay and was putting them in the bosom, namely: under the thin sweater that had the lower part inserted into the pants.
It's evening. The two short men who work in the garden appear. There is silence in the room, those present waiting to see and hear what the two ones will do or say.
One of them finds that it's missing the cubic clay which he left under his pillow this morning. More dumbfounded than nervous, he asks loudly:
- Who did take my cubic clay?
Nobody say something. He repeats the question:
- Who did take my cubic clay? In the morning it was here, and now it is no longer. Who did take my cubic clay?
Not receiving an answer, he begins to search through the room in order to find his cubic clay and to see who has more than one cubic clay. He does not find a suspect (who would have stolen his cubic clay). Finally, he stops in front of the tall fellow.
He sees that the tall fellow is swollen at the front of his body and grabs his sweater to look inside. He sees a lot of pieces of cubic clay:
- Did you think to obtain a cubic clay in addition, you wretch, miserable?
Did you obtain my cubic clay, dear scoundrel? Why did you confiscate my cubic clay?
Then, very angry, he starts punching him in the belly:
- Why did you steal my cubic clay? Why did you steal my cubic clay?
The tall fellow starts to weep, being silent.
- Why didn't you ask for a cubic clay if you are very hungry? Why did you look for a cubic clay under my pillow when I was away?
And suddenly became very nervous because the cubic clay was stolen while he was away at work, hits him harder in the belly. He continues to weep, being more affected by the anger of the aggressor than by the blows received in the belly.
- If you will want again a cubic clay in the future – you should beg me! Do you understand?
The tall fellow nods affirmatively, not being able to speak.
The aggressor goes to his bed, having a face of angry and dissatisfied man.
- If someone else will steal another cubic clay from me, I'll beat him until I will destroy him.
Those in the room followed the scene without reacting in any way ...
In this year 1987 the political, social and economic conditions were bad for the majority of the population in Romania. However, the football was highly appreciated and there were great passions about this sport.
The most valuable football teams are: "Dinamo" Bucharest, which belongs to the Ministry of Interior, with all the militiamen and officers of the communist political police as supporters, "Steaua" Bucharest, representative of the Army, with the majority of officers and non-commissioned officers of the Ministry of National Defense as supporters and "Craiova University", the team of Oltenia, supported by the Oltenian people, but to some extent by the presidential family of Nicolae Ceausescu (discreetly).
("Oltenia" is a province located in the south of Romania, with obvious Latin features - more Latin than the others. In the year 106 AD the territory of the present Romania was conquered by the Roman Empire and Latin language, as well as other ethnic features have decisively changed the physiognomy of the old population. The inhabitants of Oltenia have the name Olteni, or Oltenian People. Nicolae Ceausescu is Oltenian.).
The terrible, long - length rivalry (probably, even since their establishment) was between Steaua and Dinamo. (Steaua was founded in 1947 year, and Dinamo in 1948)…
It is Sunday.The match between Steaua and Dinamo starts at 3pm (15.00h). The stadium is full: about 100 thousand spectators. The fight for victory is fierce. The passions are very large. The spectators sing and emphasize the names of some valuable and important players, or shout, or scream, or roar… The Steaua team will defeat the Dinamo team. Score: 3-1 for Steaua. Score: 3-1 for Steaua. The defeat of Dinamo team produced very much anger, sorrow and annoyance among the supporters of the this team.
It should be mentioned that in 1986, in the summer, the Steaua team won the "European Champions Cup" - the most important European trophy awarded to any football club. The final of this competition was played between the teams FC Barcelona and Steaua (in the town Sevilla of Spain).
The Dinamo team tried to imitate the Steaua team and to win the big trophy. They reached the semi-finals - when they lost the qualifying match for the final…
It should be noted that the large room in which the prisoners were held had a small window, of course, with iron bars.
Some of the families of the prisoners, bolder and more courageous and daring than others – were coming in order to say some words to prisoners, especially to those of their families.
The risk was high for any visitor: if a militiaman saw a person located near the small window, speaking to prisoners - immediately was arresting him and was introducing him into a room for physical torture. (There were militiamen specialized in torture: physical and mental). Two or three militiamen were harsh beating the arrested visitors. In addition, the commander of the county militia behaved like a god.
Sometimes he was in the mood to punish a visitor with imprisonment (as a homeless person) (as vagrant) - between a month and 6 months, most often the punishment (the sentence) was 6 months. He had the right to punish (to imprison) any innocent civilians...
In connection with the beatings suffered by some people in some room of the Municipal Police or in the cellars of the County Police there is the expression: "beating with shouted words".
The syntagma “shouted words" was used for a long time to name popular lyrics said in the village “hora”. (Hora" is the name of a folk dance - which came to Romania from Bulgaria and is the slowest dance. This word also defines the event which happens every Sunday in the center of the village - with many folk dances, music, consumption of wine, joy, merrymaking, sometimes conflicts between young men). (Of course, there were not only the “Hora”, but also other dances: “Serbian Dance”, “Ship Dance”, “Waltz”, “Tango”, etc.). (Most dances were Romanian).
Such “shouted words" were:
“Basil, basil
It must be a change in the middle”!
The “hora” was a big circle formed by the joining of dancers, who are holding their hands each to other - in the case of the “hora”, or with hands fixed (fastened) on the shoulders, one to the other – in the case of “Serbian Dance” (which is quick). (The members of the circle were not bothering [made not inconvenience] each other because they were very good dancers). In the middle of this circle were pairs, each consisting of a man and a woman. Usually, the pairs were formed on mutual affinities. The duration of a dance was between 3 and 5 minutes. Each pair had the right to dance only for a while, then the man left his partner and another man took his place. After another interval of time the woman left the pair and invited another woman (indicated by her partner) to continue the dance etc. Each member of the living circle will have the opportunity to dance with a partner. If a pair stayed longer in the dance than they have the right, some ones on the edge were warning in a loud voice:
“Basil, basil
It must be a change in the middle”!
The “shouted words” were numerous and very diverse, adapted according to the social condition, the physical appearance, the moral appearance, the age, the good habits or the vices, the events of the dancers, etc.
If you were beaten by the militiamen, there were two simple variants: with “shouted words” or without “shouted words”.
So those who were screaming, roaring in pain were labeled to have endured beatings with “shouted words”.
If there were no screams or roaring of pain - it means that the beating was without “shouted words”…
It is not known exactly how, but the prisoners found out about the defeat suffered by the “Dinamo” football team.
At 10 o'clock am (before lunch) the guardian (extremely upset and angry) came in to "give fire" to the smokers. About 4 or 5 detainees began to blame and to gossip the “Steaua” team, with a loud voice so that the guardian to hear:
- The game of the football team "Steaua" is mediocre and is not spectacular. They do not practice a modern football - as the "Dinamo" team. They were very lucky to win the match.
- They don't fight for the victory, but are waiting for occasions to score goals...as alms. They're only waiting for the alms...to score goals.
- Only "Dinamo" plays a real football - in our championship - and sometimes "Universitatea Craiova". “Steaua” is a group of hooligans, without discipline, without tactics in the game.
The guardian has calmed down somewhat after listening to these words…
The same little window would like to air the room (full of thick cigarette smoke). Many of the prisoners smoke also during the night. Every time when a new detainee arrives, it is assaulted with requests for cigarettes. Sometimes the newcomer gives about 2 or 3 cigarettes. No more. Most of the time the requests for cigarettes are treated with categorical refusal.
Most of the detainees talk about departure (from the arrest room of the militia to the penitentiary). There are many arguments in favor of the penitentiary:
larger space, more light and more air, good hygiene, bathroom with many showers, club for watching movies, walking space (in the shape of a circle, with high side walls), somewhat better food than here, the right to receive a parcel with food every month, the right to talk to a family member or friend, the right to send letters, etc.
In this year 1987 the communist dictatorship is approaching to its acme. Nicolae Ceausescu was so greedy for power that no one and nothing could satiate him. He became the leader of the Romanian Communist Party when the former leader (Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej) died (because of a very serious liver disease). Then he eliminated from the pyramid of the power his main political opponents and became the unique and authoritative "Master" on the Communist Party and on the country. In these conditions he worked (however) very much, started and continued for 12 years the industrialization of Romania. His conviction was that a country which has as main branch of production: the agriculture - cannot be strong; only with a ample, efficient and competitive industry Romania can be situated in the world elite. There was a decade of industrialization and spectacular growth of the Romanian economy, together with firm measures to increase the standard of living (the construction of numerous blocks of flats, the rich supply for all Romanians with various foods, even with some imported products, good salaries, jobs for all citizens, stores [shops] well supplied with various products, free tuition and many facilities for eminent pupils and students, opening for the West culture and attractive television programs, etc.), the involvement with big success in the world politics and diplomacy (having an important role in establishing good relationships between the Soviet Union and China, between Israel and the Arab world etc., but also diplomatic relations between Romania and about 100 countries with diverse political regimes), the unprecedented development of Romanian sport etc. etc. All these propelled him in the position of very popular leader and loved by all. In 1980 Romania had an external debt of 10 billion US dollars, and the International Monetary Fund demanded the payment of this debt. At that moment Nicolae Ceausescu imposed drastic conditions on the economy of Romania - in the sense of exporting a lot of products, especially foods. These conditions have generated: hunger, cold in winter, diseases, dissatisfaction, fear and insecurity, low standard of living - unacceptable for any human being. Thus began the incredible and terrible communist dictatorship of Ceausescu.
(With reference to the years 1965-1979 - when there was no communist dictatorship)
Nicolae Ceausescu was preoccupied with "the formation” of the new man, a conscious builder of communism. In this sense: he organized and carried out a Congress of Socialist Culture and Education. This congress elaborated political and propaganda documents. He wanted all the persons in Romania to work with their own will and own conscience - without urge or obligation from various state or party institutions. On this occasion he discovered a deficiency in the ethical structure of the socialist society: he had a big dilemma when it arose the problem of the way of addressing between the prisoners and those at liberty. Is it correct and normal to say "comrade" to a delinquent?
We will not say “comrades” to some “delinquents”… Someone from those close to him proposed as an address formula: "citizen!". Nicolae Ceausescu agreed to this proposal.
Thus, the word "citizen" was adopted as an address formula: between a prisoner and a guardian, between a guardian and a prisoner, between two prisoners. The word "comrade" is forbidden - in penitentiaries and in Detention Rooms of Militia.
Finally, the armored truck (lorry) of the penitentiary arrives. A long, stately and imposing truck, painstakingly built and with a sense of responsibility, destined to keep and transport some of the most dangerous prisoners. The steel walls isolate the personnel inside from all sides, making an absolutely impenetrable box: to the side, in front, behind, down and up. There is no connection with the outside except a window fitted with thick iron bars. The door behind this "box" has a closing system consisting of an internal latch, an external latch and a lock with a key. The prisoners are introduced into the premises through this door with handcuffs on their hands. On the side walls there are some thick links used to lock the chains from the feet of the most dangerous prisoners. Other iron links are used to connect with the handcuffs of prisoners (those who only have handcuffs on their hands). This is an additional measure of precaution against any escape attempt. There are two long wooden benches. On these benches are placed (one next to another) various delinquents (who are now forced to
endure the rigors of the law): thieves, rapists, brawlers, authors of embezzlement, a homosexual, a speculator, someone who illegally crossed the border between Romania and Yugoslavia, and one who usurped official qualities, i.e. pretended to be a prosecutor. At the door-facing ends of the benches are the specially arranged compartments for the two guardians, who are equipped with machine guns and are ready to shoot (to fire) if anyone tries to escape. No chance! Handcuffs, chains, armored walls, alarm system, machine guns and the watchful eyes of the two guardians (militiamen). There is a space next to the window where two "happy" prisoners look at the outside landscape: they can see what is happening outside, they can follow with their eyes, like in the cinema, the entire route from the Militia to the penitentiary. Every tree, every house, every car, every person have importance for the two viewers watching from the window. They will have what to tell when they will arrive at the penitentiary, they will know how to show off their fresh knowledge, they will even brag to others. The route is not long: after leaving the city we go on the road: Vaslui - Crasna, then, after one kilometer, turning to the left on a paved road, among orchards and pastures. At the end of the road is the penitentiary: a somewhat new building, with two rows of high stone fences (a high outer fence, built of concrete and another concrete fence, located 5 meters away towards the interior, parallel to the outer fence), with solid metal gates and alarm systems. At the entrance, near the metal gate, a sentry is posted. The whole construction is in the shape of a square. Probably: the side of this square is 100 meters. In the four corners of the square there are four pavilions (watchtowers) in which there are four other sentinels, each equipped with infantry
weapons, corded (landline) phone and binoculars. In the middle part is the courtyard - paved with a thick and resistant layer of concrete on the entire surface. This is visible from the windows of some detention cells. There is a pavilion building for men and another for women. (Each pavilion building has small or big detention cells). The exterior fence has a large metal gate, and the inner fence has a smaller metal gate...
There is much precaution and attention when we go out from the armored truck (lorry). We have no longer handcuffs on our hands. Crossing through the two gates involves a real ritual:
“attach (stick) you face on the wall!”, "change you position and attach (stick) your back on the wall!", “go to the left position!”, “go to the right position!”, “lie down on the ground!”, “crawl on the ground!”, "Stand up straight!", “lie down on the ground!”, “crawl on the ground!”, "Stand up straight!", "Go in column - one by one!",etc.
We are inside the penitentiary. A few militiamen (equipped with infantry weapons) are watching the movement of the newcomers. One by one we enter a room where two guardians will "take the fingerprints" of each detainee: we dip all 10 fingers of our hands in China ink, then we leave our fingerprints on some cardboard forms... Another guardian will photograph each detainee: from the front and from the profile. A militia major lieutenant has records of all convicts, by category of punishment. Several guardians watch our group carefully. We are introduced into a large room. Sandu Ivas is a medical assistant. He will check each prisoner if he has lice. After about half an hour, the check is finished: no one has lice. We are getting ready for the bath. We are completely naked. Our clothes are taken to the penitentiary warehouse, with labels with the names of the owners... The barber comes and cuts the hair of each prisoner. With an electric clipper he completely removes the hair from the head. It seems that we are bald-headed… Then we are directed to the bathroom. A large room with many showers where we use "Key" soap as a detergent. We leave the bathroom at the command of the guardian and dress ourselves in the clothes of the jail. It is a hard and difficult moment – which press as a burden on the souls of all prisoners – especially of those who were not, in the past, in the jail…All the clothes in the jail have white and black stripes (they are striped) and they prove to you that you are a prisoner (not a free man).
You can't forget that you're a convict...These clothes humble and humiliate you. They say: "You lost the game with the authorities! You have been definitively defeated!"… Then the barber comes again to shave us. He uses a cutting razor. He will come every week in the future to shave the prisoners...
In the penitentiary there are few large rooms and many small rooms - called cells. The newcomers will be introduced in cells with 9 beds. We can see three groups of three beds overlapped on top of each other: ground floor, first floor and second floor. (This phrase is in English UK). These are arranged in their extension. The cell is narrow – about 2.50 metres. Therefore: the width (breadth) of a bed is 1.20 metres, and the distance to opposite wall is 1.30 metres, on the whole – 2,50 metres. As length: the cell is about 8 metres.
There is a Turkish WC, without a “pot” to sit on, arranged in a small room without a door, so that the person going to the WC not to can stay hidden behind the door and to be visible all the time. (The "pot" is an object made of plastic or metal, somewhat cylindrical in shape). The dimensions of this enclosure are: 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, that is an area of 3 square meters. There is here also a sink that provides only cold water.
Eight of the nine beds will be occupied by newcomers. There is a bed which is situated on the ground floor, not far off the door. It is already occupied by a prisoner with some "age" in the jail. He is "nominated" as "chief of the room". (Each cell has a "chief of the room"). In the cell you have a great privilege: you sit alone in a bed. In the large or medium rooms of the penitentiary, there is often the situation: two prisoners in one bed.
The "chief of the room" will "give the report" when the guardian will arrive and will open the door, usually around 8 in the morning and around 8 in the evening:
- Citizen guardian! In the cell did not happen any remarkable. All the prisoners are present. I am the "chief of the room" - prisoner Padurescu Vasile.
The cell door is a "sandwich" type: between two metal plates there is a wooden plate. Each metal plate is 1 centimeter thick, and the wooden plate is 5 centimeters thick. If we make arithmetic addition - of the two metal thicknesses - (one centimeter each), we get a thickness of 2 centimeters (metal plates). There are light tanks (in the army) which have thinner armor than a cell door in penitentiary.
In its exterior there is a big and resistant to any pressure fastener (latch) - which has an horizontal motion (for closing and opening firmly the door). Above and below there are two big padlocks which can be locked and unlocked with the help of two keys. The guardian has (on the leather belt) several keys for several cells. Each guardian has responsibility for 7 or 8 cells, especially for the doors of these.
When he wants to enter the cell - the guardian performs a movement of the the latch: from left to right, then unlock the two padlocks with the help of two keys.
At a height of 1.50 metres there is a "sight hole" - a orifice which pierces through the door, from the outside to the inside, in the shape of a cylinder. The diameter of this cylinder is 3 centimetres and its height is 7 centimetres, that is the thickness of the door (metal plus wood). Through this orifice the guardian can look inside the cell. It is forbidden for the prisoners to look from interior of the room to the outside. In this sense there is a sheet metal lid in the shape of a circle. This lid can cover the entire "sight hole", or cover half of it, or leave it completely uncovered.
Almost all the guardians have a kind of "laziness" and do not open the doors of the small cells (9-bed cells) daily, but very rarely. However, they look through "sight holes" into the inside of the cells. According to the regulations of the penitentiary - the guardians are obliged to enter the cells daily (three times a day) and to check the situation of the prisoners (if they are discipline problems or other kind of problems). Against the stipulations of the regulation, they avoid to open the doors of the cells. They have routine and experience in the matter of the behavior of the prisoners and skillfully they observe if there is something wrong in the cell. That is, they "have trained eyes" for observing any irregularity...
There are cases of violence in cells, especially suicide attempts or homosexual rape attempts. In such situations, most often one or more prisoners hit the iron door with their fists and shout in a loud voice: "Citizen guardian!...Citizen guardian!" The guardian on duty arrives immediately. If the conflict situation in the cell is serious he presses on the electric "Alarm" button. Very quickly two or three guardians armed with folding machine guns and rubber batons will arrive. They are very solid and strong and thoroughly
trained for hand-to-hand combat. They will enter the cell and restore order and discipline...
There are (in the penitentiary) narrations about many suicides or suicide attempts. Some colleagues have tried to stop these dramatic gestures, but they did not always succeed. The "folklore" of the penitentiary is full of details about the various methods used, about the desperate situation of those who started, eventually continued to do this thing (often in a way unlikely to be true). Of course, the passion for telling stories with exaggerations is very present in prisons.
So, I am one of the 9 inmates in the cell.
From the very first day, the head of the cell asks us to pay attention to his words and shows us a leaflet (which he holds in one hand), consisting of 16 pages and with typewritten letters on it:
- You can see the Regulations of the Penitentiary. You are all required to read it in its entirety and remember its contents at all times while in prison. If you will not respect it - you will be punished: with sending to hard prison, or with the cancellation of the right to a food package, and of other rights: to talk with a member of your family (once per month), to send a letter to your family (once per month) or the right to be released from prison earlier than the term set by the court. Do you understand?
Those in the cell do not answer immediately and loudly, because of this the chief of cell repeats the question?
- Do you understand?
The answer is unanimous and loud:
- Yes!
Then again the cell chief speaks in a loud voice:
- Read it!
Don't say later that you didn't know!
What does the regulation include? First let's specify its title on the front cover:
"The Socialist Republic of Romania
Ministry of Interior
General Directorate of Penitentiaries".
Mainly this document foresees rights, obligations and restrictions.
Each detainee has the right to receive a package of food and cigarettes once a month, usually canned food (meat, fish, beans and other vegetables), salted or smoked fish, smoked ham, onions and hot peppers, garlic, biscuits, jars of jam, and cigarettes without a filter, at the moment the most widespread cigarette being "Bucegi". The package must not weigh more than 5 kilograms.
Another right of those in prison is to speak once a month with a family member, or with some other less close relative, or with a friend.
This right is called in the penitentiary: "speaker", so the right to "speaker".
When a family member arrives at the prison gate, the prisoner will be notified about this, then he will be taken out of the room and will be escorted by a guard armed with a gun and a rubber baton until he reaches the room for the "speaker" located near the gate of the penitentiary, an extremely small room in which there is only one chair. He will enter this room and sit on the chair. In front of him is a small window, measuring 40 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. The window has several bars through which the person who came to visit will be seen - however. A dialogue follows in which it is forbidden to say certain things about the penitentiary (the number of detainees, their living conditions, events that took place in the cells or in the larger rooms, etc.) or to ask for help to escape. A guard specially placed to supervise the dialogue will judge whether it was legal (and the right to "speaker" will still remain) or it was not legal (and the right to "speaker" will be suspended for one month, or three months, or six months). The duration of the dialogue between the detainee and the person visiting him is 15 minutes. The prisoner's third right is to receive a postcard from the penitentiary on which to write a few lines and then to send it to his family. Such a postcard has on one side: columns for recipient and sender, a printed stamp that is the cost of the postal service to send the book to the family and a black and white photo, usually representing buildings or facades of important institutions in Romania - Athenaeum, Opera, National Bank of Romania, National Theater , the House of Savings and Deposits, the Military Academy, the Central House of the Army, the North Station, etc. The other side is white and the convict will write on it a message for his family, of course, respecting certain requirements, the same that are imposed on the "speaker".
But the most important right for those in prison is that of conditional release. As the name implies, the release from prison can be made earlier than the term stipulated in the law court decision, but with an extremely important condition: for the rest of his life the prisoner must not commit any other delinquency, no matter how small it may be. If you will commit a new delinquency - you will return to prison, but with an additional punishment: those years that represented the reduction of the first sentence (which will be added to the new punishment).
Hristache Vasile is now in the penitentiary. A few years ago he committed the delinquency of "attempted murder" and received as a criminal punishment 7 years of imprisonment. He was fair and disciplined in the penitentiary, he went to work and worked hard (i.e. he exceeded the daily norm provided for a prisoner) and the prison management decided to release him 3 years and 6 months earlier than the term stipulated in the sentence given by the court (according to the "conditional release" procedure). So Mr. Hristache Vasile served only half of the sentence (ie 3 years and 6 months instead of 7 years). He went home very happy to have received a reduced sentence. He is a gypsy and lives in the city of Bucharest. Mr. Hristache Vasile has a small, dilapidated and dirty house in the Ferentari district. Here he will have parties with other gypsies, with alcoholic drinks, music and dancing. After drinking alcohol, gypsies often become very aggressive. In one of the scandals caused by alcohol, verbal violence appeared, then physical violence, including the use of knives. Very quickly they ended up inflicting injuries with knives. Some of them had robbery attempts, that is, to forcibly take valuable objects from others: gold coins (arranged in necklace ), chains, bracelets and wedding rings made of gold, earrings and rings made of gold and precious stones. Finally, the Militia arrived and put many scandalous gypsies into vans, including Mr. Hristache Vasile. After a two-week penal investigation, the Police drew up penal files that were handed over to some prosecutors. The court decided to punish Mr. Hristache Vasile with 2 years in prison. Because he had a backlog of 3 and a half years (from the conditional release of the first sentence) the court decided to add them to the new punishment, i.e. to accumulate 5 years and 6 months of punishment. Having no money to pay a lawyer, he did not appeal to the high court. Moreover, the high court very rarely reduces the punishment given by the first instance. There were many cases in which the high court increased the punishment given by the court considering that the elements of the indictment drawn up by the prosecutor were not sufficiently "valued".
Mr. Hristache Vasile is extremely affected by the situation he has arrived himself in:
how was he able he commit a new delinquency? Even though he knew he has 3 years and 6 months as backlog - he was not prudent... How was he able to "mix" with the other gypsies (who had no arrears to atone in the penitentiary)? Because of them, he now has a sentence of 5 years and 6 months in prison. How well was for me to be at home! Now he must go to jail.
It should be mentioned that there are two "conditional release" regimes:
- one for those who go to work, outside the penitentiary, in which release can come after at least half of the sentence has been served;
- another for those who do not go to work (for various reasons), in which release may come after at least two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
In the case of those convicted of attempted fraudulent border crossing or (successful) fraudulent border crossing - they do not benefit from conditional release in any way. Why this?
Those in the leadership of the Romanian communist party considered that this type of delinquency is particularly serious, and the punishment provided in the penal code is small: between 6 months and 3 years. But why is the punishment small (if the delinquency is so serious)? Because communist Romania signed (through its political representatives) the Helsinki Agreement concerning Human Rights. This agreement (or treaty) is of Western conception, in direct connection with the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights, issued and legislated in the United States of America (then imposed also in the capitalist countries of Western Europe). In this book, great attention is paid to the individuals' right to walk anywhere in the world they wish (therefore, the right to choose the country in which they want to live, or the country which they want to visit as tourists). For this reason, Nicolae Ceausescu was not able to promote (in Romania) a law which to punish much harsher the delinquencies of fraudulent border crossing and attempted fraudulent border crossing. So, relatively small punishment for this type of delinquency is determined by the signing of the Helsinki Agreement concerning Human Rights by the communist leadership of Romania. A new question appears: why did Nicolae Ceausescu allow the signing of the Helsinki Agreement by the political representatives of Romania? Not because this Helsinki Agreement was highly valued by Nicolae Ceausescu, or because he loved the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights very much. On the contrary, he detested the Western notion of human rights. The explanation of the signing of the Helsinki Agreement is related to granting the Most Favored Nation Clause by the USA to the political regime in Bucharest. If Romania did not sign this agreement, the USA would no longer give it the Most Favored Nation Clause. What is this clause? It is the favoring of a country (in this case, Romania) by the USA concerning the trade and economic relations. In fact, it is a great privilege granted by the USA to a certain country. Our country benefited for 10 years from the Most Favored Nation Clause granted by the USA. Under this clause, Romania could send goods for sale in the USA without paying any kind of customs and consequently could charge lower prices than all the other countries of the world and was able to sell his goods easily and quickly, then bringing other new quantities of goods to sell them in the USA. The communist political regime in Bucharest made good money from this type of trade with the USA (ie many millions of US dollars). At the same time, the products of the American industry coming to Romania were exempted from US customs duties and their prices were the lowest among all those practiced in various countries of the world. So, the Romanian state bought cheap (cheaper than other countries of the world were buying) US industrial products (mainly: computer technology, industrial machines for equipping newly built factories, cars, etc.). Nicolae Ceausescu's interest (as leader of Romania) for obtaining the Most Favored Nation Clause was immense. For this reason he decided to allow the signing of the Helsinki Agreement (by the political representatives of our country, who were in fact the humble subjects of Nicolae Ceauşescu).
How did the whole story with the Most Favored Nation Clause begin?
Since his arrival at the head of the Romanian Communist Party (and implicitly - at the head of Romania) Nicolae Ceauşescu declared himself independent from the great leader from the East: The Soviet Union, even if the two countries (Romania and the Soviet Union) had the same political conception: communist regime in the spirit of the doctrines of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Nicolae Ceausescu often criticized the foreign policy of the Soviet Union (then led by Leonid Brezhnev) without fear or restraint. The Americans were delighted with Nicolae Ceausescu's attitude and as a result they granted Romania the Most Favored Nation Clause. In 1980, the Summer Olympics in Moscow (in the Soviet Union) took place without the participation of capitalist countries (which boycotted the Olympics at the firm request of the USA), so there were only socialist (communist) countries. In 1984, the Summer Olympics took place in Los Angeles (in the USA). This time the Soviet Union and (at its request) the other communist countries boycotted the US Olympics, so they refused to participate in the competition, invoking the boycott practiced by the USA and other capitalist countries at the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980. The only exception was Romania, which sent its Olympic delegation to Los Angeles, ignoring the threats of all kinds from the Soviet Union. Spectators from the USA (and from other capitalist countries) enthusiastically applauded the arrival of the Romanian Olympic delegation to Los Angeles.
When the signing of the Helsinki Agreement was discussed, the Americans threatened to stop granting the clause (if Romania does not sign the agreement), even if in 1984 he participated in the Los Angeles Olympics.
In the penitentiary, they were talking about the punishment provided in the penal code of Albania for attempting to cross the border fraudulently (or for the initial successful crossing, but ended with the arrest of the delinquent): life imprisonment for those who are married and the death penalty for those who are not married. There are probably exaggerations in these words about Albania, but Romania certainly had some of the lowest penalties for delinquencies of fraudulent border crossing.
Prisoners have not only rights, but also obligations: to respect the prison schedule (sleep, three meals a day, haircut, shave, bath), to be fair and disciplined and not to verbally or physically assault other detainees or guards, to address the guards with the formula: "citizen platoon officer!", to maintain their bodily hygiene, to listen daily to the words of the one who reads out loud the brochures of the General Directorate of Penitentiaries (brochures that have an informative and educational purpose, presenting many cases of delinquencies, as well as their causes, their consequences and how they were punished by the law court and the tribunal).
As restrictions for detainees we can list:
not to have sharp objects (needles, nails, sharp iron rods, etc.) or sharp objects (knives of any kind, razor blades, pieces of sheet metal with a sharp edge, pieces of glass with a sharp edge, etc.). Escape, including attempted escape, is strictly prohibited. Additional penal penalties are applied to the existing ones for the preparation of the escape (between one and two years), for escape attempt (between one year and 6 months and two years and 6 months) and for successful escape (which ends with the capture and arrest of those who escaped) (between 2 and 3 years in prison).
Also, they are punished with the extension of the length of stay in prison: attempted rape, rape, including homosexual relations that take place with the consent of both partners. They are forbidden: gambling, possession of dice or playing cards, religious manifestations (of any faith), possession of religious books or various religious objects. For illiterate detainees or those with very modest reading and writing skills, there is a classroom where a lady schoolmistress teaches lessons to detainees (selected according to certain criteria by a specialist in didactic and pedagogical sciences).
It should also be mentioned that the food is very low in calories and insufficient: in the morning they give a very thin slice of bread and a cup of tea, for lunch there is only one dish, i.e. potato soup, or boiled beans or other soups (with cabbage, rice, various vegetables), and in the evening they give as food the indispensable boiled wheat. We must admit, however, that beans cooked in a large cauldron are very tasty. Once a week, more precisely, on Saturday, the potato soup contains small pieces of boiled fish. Those who go to work receive richer food.
After reading the rules, we each receive a rectangular piece of cloth, 80 centimeters long and 40 centimeters wide. This will be used to make a bag (wallet). The chief of the cell has a needle and enough sewing thread for everyone in the cell. The needle is given to each inmate in the cell in turn, with great attention and vigilance so that not to be some accident caused by the needle. The cell chief supervises each detainee when he manufactures his bag. It's my turn and I carefully sew the piece of cloth, after I have torn a narrow strip for the string.
Two detainees near me catch my attention:
one from the "Stave" village (a village located near the Vaslui-Bacău highway, about halfway between the two cities) who stole cows from Vaslui county and sold them in the fairs of Bacău county. He is young, he really looks like a teenager, but he is very talkative and voluble. He seems to have a solution for any problem, he considers himself clever and resourceful, he will work to be released faster than the term set by the law court, he received three years and six months as punishment, but if he goes to work he will be released after two years. While he is talking, he is building a bag from the piece of cloth which he received. He works hard (for the bag) and is optimistic. An old man from the city of Huşi comments excitedly about the "kid":
- The boy is clever! His mind is working!
The old man was in the war, his left hand was amputated by shrapnel, and his right eye is cut and furrowed by a scar. It was 1944 when he was mutilated, somewhere near the city of Odesa. At that time he was 22 years old and an infantry soldier. Now he is 65 years old. The legislation provides that those who are over 65 years of age serve a quarter of the sentence. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but will serve only one year (ie a quarter of the sentence). He brags himself about his feats at Huşi town. He was an accountant at a craft cooperative that made shoes (of leather, cloth, plastic, etc.), he "juggled" a lot of money and tricked many "suckers", including some members of the cooperative. In those days, shoes, boots and any kind of quality footwear were in great demand in Romania. He managed for several years to keep a double accounting record, one for the economic and political authorities, another for himself and his clients.
Basically he stole large quantities of shoes and sold them to regular customers, of course, without a financial or accounting record in the cooperative's documents of those sales. He often played poker, sometimes betting large sums of money.
- I played poker for a lot of money, sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. Sometimes I even was leaving an entire salary on the poker table, but don't you think I'm a beginner or mediocre, I am a master at playing cards, especially poker. They caught him as a delinquent because a poker buddy denounced him.
- That one was an envious person, a coward, an immature person, a sucker...
He looked at the "kid" again with the uninjured eye and made another jokes: about young ladies, about some dudes, about cleverness, about life in general.
- I ate pheasant steak and drank Ivesti wine, which is Nicolae Ceauşescu's favorite wine, the best wine from Romania! boasted the crippled man. Indeed, the most appreciated wine by Nicolae Ceauşescu was produced in the famous vineyards near the town of Huşi. It is certain that Nicolae Ceauşescu sometimes came (with the white presidential helicopter) to Huşi to drink such wine, probably 7-8 times a year. Every time he stayed in Huşi for a few days, there was also a forest with wild mammals (boars, deer, rabbits) and wild birds (mainly: pheasants and quails), and Nicolae Ceauşescu, a passionate hunter, entered this forest to hunt…
After two weeks an important event takes place: the meeting in the club. Those recently incarcerated will be sorted and then assigned to cells or bigger rooms than cells. The club is - surprisingly for a penitentiary - a very large room, arranged lengthwise in the north-south direction and widthwise in the east-west direction. In the room there are many wooden tables and at each table there are two small wooden stool-type chairs.
The arrangement of tables and chairs is similar to a classroom for students. In the southern part of the room there is a big desk and two comfortable chairs. One or two officials of the prison will sit on these two chairs: the commander of the penitentiary, or the deputy commander, or prison staff officers assigned to maintain order and discipline in the prison, or the penitentiary prosecutor - the one who approves applications for conditional release, or the person in charge of "communist ethics and morals" in the penitentiary (who is usually a Political Police officer), rarely the person in charge of the domain: clothing and food for prisoners. On the wall behind the big desk is a large white canvas screen on which films will be projected. Movies are usually given to inmates once a month, sometimes every two or three months. These are rigorously selected so that they do not contain violence, hand-to-hand combat, escape, manufacture of artisanal weapons, immigration to capitalist countries and never describe the capitalist society - which is "a corrupt and dirty one, with many social inequities and political, without proper education in the spirit of communist ethics and equity". Most often films are shown from socialist countries: Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany (German Democratic Republic), of course, and from Romania, also from: China, Vietnam, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic Korean), Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and from some countries in Africa or Asia that have a somewhat communist regime (even if they do not have names of "people's republic", or "socialist republic"). The film I watched in this room was "The Girl Without a Dowry", a successful and valuable Soviet film. It must be mentioned the immense joy of the inmates when
they are coming to the club to see a movie...
Of course, on one wall of the room is the portrait of Nicolae Ceaușescu, which is black and white, placed in a simple wooden frame. This portrait was made when he was about 40 years old, so in 1958, now being 1987, and Nicolae Ceaușescu being 69 years old, so 29 years older than the one in the portrait. Therefore, the communist dictator does not want to appear as an old man in the portraits arranged in the rooms and the halls of all institutions in Romania (including in student classrooms in all comprehensive schools, vocational schools and high schools). He also doesn't want to appear short, Nicolae Ceaușescu's loyal communists making arrangements (at official meetings, speeches or conferences, visits to various companies, etc.) with short men around him. Including important positions in the Romanian Communist Party, or in the government, or other important institutions are mainly occupied by men of small stature (with small physical stature). Therefore, the men who often sit around him, holding important positions in the Communist Party, must necessarily be small in stature. How long he was the leader of the Romanian communist party, including the leader of socialist Romania, on no official occasion was there any person taller than 1.70 meters around him (with the exception of visits by foreign officials to Romania, leaders of parties, countries or governments). If Nicolae Ceaușescu was 1.65 meters tall, the others around him could not be taller than 1.65 meters, rarely reaching 1.70 meters. The preference for short men was widespread in most important institutions in Romania.
For example, in the army, many small officers held important positions and they advanced in rank much faster than others who were over 1.70 meters tall. Those short statured officers were extremely demanding of their subordinates and very exacting, establishing themselves as undisputed leaders - authoritarian and at the same time very power-hungry. One such officer of small stature was Constantin Olteanu.
The dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu (and his wife, Elena Ceaușescu) reached its peak between 1986 and 1987. In 1987, supporters of Nicolae Ceaușescu from the so-called "cultural domain" devised a large book: physically (having a length of 35 centimeters and a width of 25 centimeters), but also in terms of literary and propagandistic content (having 650 pages - of a very good quality paper). Of these 650 pages: 300 pages are text (in which Nicolae Ceaușescu is highly praised and glorified for "his exceptional merits in building communism in Romania") and 350 pages are entirely images - which have in the center the figure of Nicolae Ceaușescu (and often Elena Ceaușescu as well). The photographers of the communist regime in Romania were not mediocre, on the contrary, they were very good image specialists. There are documentary films about Nicolae Ceaușescu - with very good, even exceptional images, and there are many books with very good quality pictures about Nicolae Ceaușescu. This 650 page book is called: "Homage to the great hero of socialist Romania - Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu". The main author of this book (who led a large team of journalists, prominent politicians, so-called "cultured people", image specialists, historians and military officers), Constantin Olteanu, in 1981 he was only a colonel (at the "Army History Institute"). Nicolae Ceaușescu promoted him to the rank of major general and, at the same time, he appointed him head of the army (that is, according to the title of those times, "the minister of national defense"). He was Nicolae Ceaușescu's confidant, most appreciated by the dictator for his loyalty. After only two years, Nicolae Ceaușescu advanced him again: from the rank of major general to the rank of lieutenant general. Since 1986, Constantin Olteanu left his military career and became a civilian, with a very high position in the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. So, Constantin Olteanu conceived and produced the book titled "Homage to the great hero of socialist Romania - Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu". This book was printed in many copies, and it could be seen not only in bookstores, but in any store that had a large number of visitors (customers). Because no one bought a copy of this book, it sat on the shelves for several years, being visible to anyone passing by the window or for any customer of any store. We remind you that Constantin Olteanu was small in stature (with a height of 1.65 meters, comparable to Nicolae Ceaușescu, who was approximately 1.63 meters tall).
We also mention the fact that in this year 1987 in Romania there is corruption, at a small or medium level. Thus, if you have a problem to solve, i.e.: to get a good job, or, to advance in your position (if you are a civil servant), or, to obtain a higher professional category (these categories being set from 1 to 7) - if you are a worker, or, to get a methane gas cylinder, or, in very important case, to get an apartment - you need a person who held an important position in the hierarchy of functions in the Romanian Communist Party and who accepts a gift, of course, with utmost discretion. After taking the gift, that person will solve your problem. We cannot know why such people are called "electric battery" (or "cell"), sometimes "acquaintances", and sometimes "relationships". Without such "electric battery", "acquaintances", or "relationships" - you are condemned to live for years in a small and uncomfortable home, with a low salary and no possibility to advance in position or professional category.
On one chair at the big desk sit a captain in uniform who appears important and authoritative: he is the deputy commander. Each detainee sitting on the chair is asked about his health by the deputy commander. Some ones are fit for work. They will occupy the small cells and leave every morning for the work fronts: digging ditches, weeding, masonry. They will receive a slightly larger portion of food than others who stay in the rooms during the day. Those convicted of killing and those who wanted to cross the border illegally are considered dangerous and to prevent any attempt to escape they will be kept in room 32. In the same room 32 will stay the disabled (some who have amputated hands or feet, or physical defects in different parts of the body or in the head, eyes, etc.). When it's my turn to answer questions, the deputy commander says: "With you, things are clear: you will stay in room 32. You wanted to leave the country illegally, so you cannot go out to work."
This room 32 is the largest in the penitentiary. The beds are stacked in three floors. There are 10 groups of 3 bunk beds each, so a total of 30 beds. At the north end of the room is the toilet, equipped with a handle for pulling water, having a door frame format at the entrance, but without a door. If there is no door - no one can hide (behind the door), for example: a prisoner who intends to commit suicide, or two inmates who want to have sex as homosexuals (one to be active, the other one to be passive).( In 1987, homosexual relationships are prohibited in Romania). On the same side of the room there is a kind of storeroom for the prisoners' personal belongings, also without a door, called a "shack". (The definition of the word "shack" is: a storeroom on a ship, usually located below deck). In the east wall there is a large window fitted with iron bars. Here you can look towards the prison yard and you can see the cadres, that is, those militiamen belonging to the General Directorate of Penitentiaries, who come to work in the morning. In the space between the beds and the "shack" is a table with a box of chess pieces on it. On the table are inlaid the 64 squares of the chess game. Next to it are two small chairs on which the two partners who face each other in a game of chess will sit. There is also a shelf on the wall near "shack" with some books: one about the geography of America, another about beekeeping and several brochures intended to re-educate those who have broken the law and now they are serving their sentence. In the place of honor among these brochures it can be seen one about the delinquency of fraudulent border crossing. Leaving the homeland is seen as treason and irresponsible thinking, a kind of aggressive naivety devoid of any trace of patriotism. The name of the brochure is: "Vain illusions". When I first enter this room, I try to find a bed for me. It is so crowded that you can even see three inmates in one bed. In the 30 beds there will be - after the newcomers enter the room - about 45 inmates. A certain Andrei Condurache takes pity on me and invites me to his bed, on the top level (that is, from the second floor). He is convicted of self-mutilation, more precisely, he shot the index finger of his right hand while serving in the military service - for to "get away" from compulsory military service. The military court considered that his gesture was with the intention of self-mutilation and sentenced him to two years in prison. He admitted (in this room 32) his act of self-mutilation. He said that compulsory military service is very hard and tough - harder and tougher than the prison. He has two clubbed fingers, but is active and hardworking, he works all the day in the kitchen where food is prepared for all the inmates. They are many smokers in the room and there is dense smoke. The air is difficult to breathe and there is sweat (perspiration). It's hot outside - with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius (or 95 degrees Farenheit).
1 Artenie Daniel was born and raised in the village of Crasna, located 10 kilometers away from the city of Vaslui. When he turned 5, his father (Grigore) announced that he wanted to divorce his wife (Nicoleta) (Daniel's mother). What would have been the reason for the divorce (which at the time was difficult for Daniel to understand)? Grigore found a woman more beautiful, more attractive than Nicoleta. Besides, that woman had no children and had a small wealth (which left over from her ex-husband, whom she divorced a year ago). Left without his father, Daniel will have some trouble for a while with the other boys of his age in the village, who were malicious and ironic with him or they threw nasty words at him about his fatherless situation. Later the other children got used to this fatherless Daniel. However, Daniel was always a good and shy child, a little talkative and careful not to be offended by someone naughty and impertinent. His mother worked hard to give him good food, to buy him clothes and to make him to forget about his father, Grigore. A woman from the village, Smaranda, also without husband and with a son (Adrian) a year younger than Daniel is Nicoleta's best friend. She advised her to save money and to buy a sewing machine. Nicoleta made great efforts to collect this money, working as day laborer for some of the wealthier people, weeding, collecting hay or lucerne, picking apples for brandy, whitewashing the walls of houses, picking grapes, etc. After three months of hard work she bought an "Ileana" sewing machine, mechanical and not electric. At the bottom of this machine is the pedal (a kind of metal grill, a rectangle equipped with bars that has on the sides, in the middle, a horizontal axis fixed, of course, in some bearings). The movement of this pedal causes the two spindles to rotate around them and further they will rotate a drum (the rotor of sewing machine) - which is an important part in the mechanical gear of the sewing machine – setting all the machine parts in motion). With the sole of her right foot placed on the grill (pedal), she alternately presses the pedal, sometimes with the toes, sometimes with the heel, causing a movement of lowering and raising the pedal. It's kind of swinging the pedal around the axles in the middle: the front part of the pedal rises and falls in opposition to the rear part of the pedal; when the front is up, the back is down and vice versa, when the front goes down, then the back goes up. In this way the rotor of the sewing machine is set in motion, which then activates all its mechanisms and realizes the sewing (with needles of various sizes and threads of various colors and thicknesses). It is not very difficult to concentrate: once on the pedal (which you actuate with your right foot) and once per piece of cloth (or other textile material) which you pass under the sewing needle (needle that pierces the fabric very often, going in and out of it, getting quality sewing). Pretty quickly the villagers of Crasna found out about Nicoleta's sewing machine and they started coming - one by one - to ask him to sew or repair various textile items: bags, tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases, aprons, shirts, pants, etc. Later the range of requests for the sewing machine expanded and Nicoleta had more work to do and she was making more money than at the beginning, of course, gaining more skill and qualification for working on her machine.
When he turned 6, Daniel entered school, in the first grade. He was not a very good pupil, not a mediocre one, but an average one.
After finishing 8th grade (i.e. general school) his mother thought of sending him to an industrial high school (where he will enter after taking an exam). Among the 4 existing industrial high schools in the city of Vaslui (mechanical, textile, chemical and for construction), Daniel and his mother chose the textile high school. The entrance exam took place in July and Daniel entered this high school without any problems. Asked by his mother if he would like to live in a rented room in the city of Vaslui (with another boy) or to move daily: Crasna village to Vaslui or from Vaslui to Crasna village - that is, to go by train every day, in the morning from Crasna to Vaslui, and at around 2 p.m. from Vaslui to Crasna - Daniel said he doesn't want to stay in a rented room at all, but prefers to travel daily by train: Crasna-Vaslui and Vaslui-Crasna, but to eat at home, sleep at home, bath at home, and study for the next day and do homework at home too. All high schools and comprehensive schools open their doors on September 15. With little fear, Daniel will enter the 9th grade B. There are 15 boys and 12 girls in this class. The geography teacher, Cocuz Andrei, is the form master of their class. As a school subject: there are known subjects (Romanian language, mathematics, French, physics, chemistry, geography, history, etc.), but many subjects are industrially specific (organic textile technology, industrial sewing machines, industrial looms, technical drawing , labor protection in textile enterprises, stretching of synthetic yarns, etc.). He will find out that on October 20 they will have the "Adolescence Ball", with music, dance, raffle, small contests with prizes, the designation of a girl as "Miss Adolescence".
The first two weeks passed quickly.
Daniel is thinking of "Adolescence Ball", how to dress himself. He tells his mother about the ball (dance) and the clothing:
- I would want a suit! says Daniel.
- But the suit is expensive, we have to keep the money for food and other expenses! his mother answers him.
It is late in the evening. Daniel is thoughtful. He goes to bed. Before falling asleep, he imagines a gorgeous suit which to wear to the ball.
The next day, Smaranda, his mother's friend, learns about Daniel's problem: with the ball (dance) and the clothes.
Smaranda's son, Adrian, is the same height as Daniel, even if he is a year younger than him. Without much prompting, Adrian gives Daniel his duck egg-colored suit, as well as a blue tie and a pair of very good quality leather shoes. On October 20, Daniel is dressed in that beautiful suit, with a blue tie around his neck and wearing those leather shoes - all things being received from Adrian. The dance hall (ballroom) is full of first-year textile high school pupils. The music is of all genres, especially rock, coming from an audio-amplification station that receives a signal from a "Philips" tape recorder. They dance casually and in a good mood, moving their hands, feet, body and head in all kinds of ways. It's only the beginning of the ball, later "the spirits will heat up". Daniel enters the group of dancers and begins to move to the rhythm of the music. After dancing for two songs, Daniel looks beyond the group of dancers - where there is the west wall of this room, with a large door that is currently open. Some ones go in, other ones go out...
Next to the south wall of the dance room are two couches: on the one next to the door there are three girls. Maybe he should take a look over there. Daniel starts for the door with the intention of going outside and getting some air. One of the young ladies on the couch catches his eye. She is thin, with small breasts, wearing a yellow blouse and a brown skirt that reaches above her knees. She has brown hair and is beautiful. Her physique is pleasing, her legs are superb. He walks towards the door, but with his eyes fixed on the girl in yellow and brown. She is talking something to a friend of hers. Suddenly she turns her face to the group of dancers and sees Daniel looking at her. He suddenly changes the direction of his gaze and walks out of the dance room without haste. He has a desire to know that girl, to befriend her.
How would it be better he to proceed? He to be direct and hasty (but at the risk of being considered rude) or to be slow, to try to approach her little by little (at the risk that she to say: “he is not a real man”)?
There is a small shop near the dance room. Daniel goes and buys candies. Then he heads towards the couch with the three girl pupils. "Maybe they won't refuse me, especially the she one in yellow and brown!" Daniel says to himself. He reached the couch.
- Please don't refuse me! I invite you to serve candies!...
The girls looked at each other, then at Daniel, then at the paper bag full of candy.
- We don't refuse you, says one of them, and takes a candy.
The other two female pupils each take a piece of candy from the paper bag.
- My name is Daniel, he dares to say, looking only at the "sweet girl" in yellow and brown.
- My name is Elvira! she says.
Without waiting for the other two friends to introduce themselves, Daniel extends his right hand to Elvira.
She offers her right hand. The two ones shake hands with excitement and joy.
As if he had forgotten that he was presented to her a little while ago, he speaks out loud:
- Daniel! and she answers immediately:
- Elvira!
The other two girls, realizing that Daniel only wants Elvira, leave for the middle of the room and start dancing.
- Take a seat, please! Elvira says to Daniel. He sits on the sofa, happy, full of emotion and full of hope.
There's a moment of silence coming up. Then Daniel addresses her with tact:
- If the music will be slow, meaning "blues", will you agree to go dancing?
- Yes, of course! But I don't know how to dance as well as other girls.
- I don't know either, because I haven't had the opportunity to go to the disco often. I come from the village of Crasna where there are rare balls or discos.
- I am from the village of Munteni, says Elvira. So I don't live far from Crasna.
- Poate vei veni vreodată la Crasna să vezi unde e casa mea. My father divorced my mother when I was only five. I have no brothers or sisters...
- I'm sorry that you remained without father. My parents are together and I have more two younger sisters. Maybe it would be better that you to come visit us in the Munteni.
- Yes, I'd gladly to come, just you to tell me when...
There are moments of silence again. Not long after a slow melody (in the "blues" genre) urges the dancing pairs to move gently, swaying, in the slow pace of the music. As a duty gentleman elegant, Daniel does not hesitate to ask:
- Dear miss, do you want to dance?
- Yes, of course, she answers.
He grabs her hand and takes her to a place where it is not crowded. And then, with vry much emotion, he takes positions in front of her, approaches her, and grabs her hands around her. She responds to his gesture by putting her hands on his shoulders. The music is wonderful. It would be better that the music never stop. Elvira is also full of emotion, but excited, about this dance and the proximity to Daniel. But the music stopped... "
- Let's go and sit on the couch! says Elvira, after she dropped her hands off Daniel's shoulders...
Until the end of the ball, there is a contest with questions of general culture and small prizes, then drawing winning raffle tickets and just some musical pieces for dancing. The biology teacher is the deputy director of the textile high school. In a loud voice, he announces:
- Dear pupils, the dance ball is over!
Everyone will leave the hall, each heading to his home. Daniel found out that Elvira lives in a rented single room here in town together her friend Helen.
Tomorrow is Sunday. Daniel and Elvira set a meeting at 11.00 a.m. in the front of Racova Hotel.
The two ones are very close, they understand each other well in every respect, they are very joyful to be together, even happy. Their meetings, which will last during all high school, were frequent and included walks and bench stays in Copou Park, going to the cinema when there were good movies, sometimes serving cakes at a confectionery and not rarely at Elvira's parents' house. Daniel introduced Elvira to his mother, but the two ones were not coming often to Crasna.
In 1982, they were both became 16 years old. Daniel was already 16 when Elvira invited him to her parents' house to celebrate her birthday: June 2. Both parents were happy to see Daniel around Elvira. This time, more than usual, Elvira's parents did their best to make Daniel become Elvira's permanent friend, of course, with the perspective of their marriage in the not too distant future. It should be mentioned that Elvira's father (named Dumitru) was very well located in the group of rich men from the city of Vaslui. He had relationships with wealthy people. With their help, he made some fortune in the village of Munteni: a very large house with many rooms, beautiful and well furnished, a little pond where there were phytophagous fish and where Dumitru was fishing when he wanted to have fresh fish for his guests, a nutria farm (about a hundred specimens) which brought him an excellent income, by their fur and their flesh, a garden with vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, chili peppers, onions, parsley, dill, thyme, radishes, spinach, salad, etc.) of which, they consume about half of the production, the rest being sold in the town Vaslui or made gift to some important people with high positions in the communist party. Also for the gifts he had a portion of the garden cultivated with strawberries (which were extremely requested in the city), as well as melons, cabbage, potatoes, etc. Elvira's mother (Roxana) worked daily, especially in the warm season, in this wealthy household. The family of Elvira also had fruit trees (rich in fruit), a fountain for daily water requirements, a cow with a calf giving milk for consumption, two pigs, cut at Christmas. Some of the pigs' flesh reached the tables of those people with high positions in the Romanian communist party. Mr. Dumitru was always very concerned to make big fortune, even illegally, considering that he has three daughters that he must help in their marriage.
Late in the evening, Elvira invited Daniel to her room. It was her act of courage to offer her body to a boy she loves and trusts: Daniel. So, Elvira invited Daniel to her family's beautiful home to celebrate her birthday. Elvira's parents gladly accepted Daniel into their home, and the party was a very successful, rich and pleasant one. The relationship between Daniel and Elvira, started in the first year of the high school (at the "Adolescents Ball") was and will be a durable, sincere, full of love one. During his four years of high school, Daniel had no girlfriend other than Elvira, and she had no other friend than Daniel. Late in the evening, Elvira invited Daniel to her room. It was her act of courage to offer her body to a boy she loves and trusts: Daniel. The next morning founds the two ones in the bed, completely naked, tired after the happy moments of the night... Both Elvira and Daniel will keep in the memory for a long time that wonderful night from 2 to 3 June 1982. They will meet again to make love, either in Elvira's rented room in the city or at Elvira's parents' house in Munteni. Daniel was always liked by Elvira's family and he will do his best to maintain a devoutly loving and respectful attitude towards all of this family, including Elvira's two younger sisters (who looked delightfully at Elvira's good relationship with Daniel).
In the summer of 1984, Daniel and Elvira will graduate from the industrial textile high school and successfully pass the baccalaureate exam. Elvira took a course in steno-typing and was employed as a secretary at the Synthetic Thread Plant in Vaslui, more specifically, at the electrical section of this plant. Daniel had the opportunity to enter as a skilled worker at the textile company in the city, but his salary was small, and his working hours were often tiring: second shift - from 15.00 to 23.00 and especially third shift - from 23.00 in the evening to 7.00 in the morning. In these conditions he preferred to learn the profession of electric welder (in about a month); then he will be employed by the County Enterprise of Industrial Processing and Providing Services, where he will have to do a lot of welding and will be paid according to the work done. He was working from morning till evening and received a high salary of about 7,000 lei per month, that is, the salary of two engineers. This enterprise was cooperative one, allowing for high (sometimes very high) salaries, even though the vast majority of enterprises in Romania (over 95%) were "socialist state enterprises". With this much money, Daniel will rent a "single room" (in the town Vaslui) in which he will stay alone, he will buy electro-household items, he will buy good clothes for him and will make gifts to Elvira (small objects of gold, silver and precious stones).
During the year 1985 - military service was compulsory for all men over the age of 18 and able (physically and psychologically) to do so. The official name was "military service" and "execution of military service". Its duration was 1 year and 4 months. The popular name (as folklore) was: "to make the army". The marriage asked you to have your "army made." So, you first "to make the army" and then to get married. The military specialties were: infantry, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft missiles, tanks, military automobiles, genius (who handled roads and bridges, was also responsible for explosive material in the army), radiolocation, chemistry, broadcasting, railroads, military navy, border guards, mountain hunters, etc.
In May 1985 Daniel went "to do the army" in an infantry unit in the town of Câmpulung Muscel, but being sent to specialization (in the city of Ploiesti) as a future radio operator on mobile military transmission stations. So, he will return from Ploiesti to the Campulung Muscel unit as a radio operator. The liberation from the Army was to take place in September 1986. Until then, however, he will sometimes have to endure heavy moments of military training. He is physically fragile and must wear on him (at infantry tactical instruction classes): a haversack (on the back), fitted with two wide straps that pass over the shoulders. Thus, its weight is distributed on the shoulders and the back. The haversack is made of a thick and very resistant canvas. Inside it there are: water can (half liter, covered with a layer of heat-insulating material), the dixie (to serve food, at noon and evening) (it is a kind of bowl made of aluminum sheet, but square shaped), pencil-holder (for machine gun cleaning) (has short cylindrical brushes, but with an inner hole of the same diameter as the pole used to remove dirt from the machine gun barrel inside. These brushes are made of thin steel wire. So, to remove dirt from the inside of the pipe, especially after the execution of some bullet fires, the soldier will remove the metal rod arranged along the pipe, at the bottom of it, then it will fix one of the brushes on the incisor end of the metal rod and he'll put these in the machine gun barrel, moving them back and forth until the inside of the pipe is released from smoke and slag debris, it will be glossy and will shine like a mirror. There are in this cylinder: thin rags or some slightly thicker ones, special oil for the metal of the pipe, special grease for the interior of the pipe, etc.), anti-chemical protective suit (intended to protect a soldier when he walks on chemically infected land - with toxic substances - or from a nuclear point of view - i.e. with radioactive ash resulted from a nuclear explosion. This suit is made of elastic rubber, in the shape of a suit-type overalls to which the boots are bonded. After dressing it, the protection of the soldier is ensured, from head to toe, with a very good tightness), tent sheet (is used for the construction of the group tent. Generally, in many armies in the world, as well as in the Romanian army - the group consists of 8 soldiers, and these eight sheets of tent shall together constitute a military camp tent), chemical degassing and detoxification complete equipment (and for nuclear neutralization) of the clothing and armament (consists of a plastic box inside which there are six small containers - about the size of the index finger - containing various chemical substances, each of them having a well-established chemical composition and a precise destination for the neutralization of traces of infection by toxic chemicals or harmful substances resulting from a nuclear explosion).
The mantle is wrapped "in the bandulier", that is, having a similar shape to the fancy cakes - thicker in the middle and thinner towards the ends (a variable diameter roll). The name “bandulier” defines: a strip of leather or of cloth passed over the back or chest. Even if the name given in the Army to this way to wear on the back the cloak made roll - it's not entirely correct - it has been kept for decades (coming from the French word "bandouliere"). If we have a triangle on the table (made from dough) and we put on it ground walnut kernels, or quince jam, or pear jam, etc. and we begin to rotate the base of this triangle toward the opposite of the base - we will get a "body" which is little thickness on the outside and a little more thickness on the middle of it - similar to the shape obtained from the mantle. In this form, the mantle is arranged around the backpack, at the top and the two sides.
The string is defined as the narrow or wide strip sewn or attached to an object for transportation, hanging, tightening, etc. With a cloth band (used as a string), the gas mask is located on the left side of the body, above the hip, being, of course, supported by that cloth band arranged over the right shoulder. The gas mask has a hood of a kind of elastic material – very similar to rubber (i.e., a kind of mask that can be put on the face, glued to the top of the head and temples and reaching under the chin). This ensures total tightness between the soldier and the outside environment, being connected a rubber hose in the front of the hood which has on its upper part (adjacent to the mouth) a valve - which allows the air to be removed outwards (by exhalation), but does not allow the entry of chemically or radiologically infected air in the soldier's airways. (On the inspiration the valve will be closed for the tainted air from the outside, but another valve will open through which the clean air from the filter will enter). At the bottom of this hose, in the bag situated over the left hip, there is a special material (a filter) - in a box - which annihilates toxic substances, providing clean air to the one who uses this mask.
In some models of gas masks, the hose is missing, and the filter box is fixed directly to the hood, in the region of the nose.
The gas mask is extremely necessary if toxic chemicals or various other harmful substances appear (without the gas mask - the inspired tainted air is lethal).
On the leather belt there are:
- on the right side, a very strong canvas bag. We have to mention the fact that there are warehouses with cartridges, one such warehouse has 30 cartridges. The canvas bag has three "dwellings" - for three warehouses with cartridges. (A fourth warehouse is fixed in the dwelling of the machine gun.) In total there are 4 warehouses with cartridges, so120 cartridges.
- at the back is a purse made of durable cloth with the "small infantry shovel" (this shovel is shaped like a spade, but much smaller and with a very short wooden tail). With this the soldier can dig in the field a "firing site", a kind of pit in which he will find shelter. Three types of “firing sites” have been designed: for the "lying down" position, for the "kneeling" position and for the "standing" position. It is extremely difficult to dig into the ground to achieve a firing site for the "standing" position (slightly easier for the "kneeling" position and acceptable for the "lying down" position);
- on the left side of the body is found the sheath of the bayonet. It should be noted that the bayonet can be placed on the machine gun (at its top, near the outlet of the pipe), or inserted into the sheath. Of course, it was built specifically to insert the bayonet into it; has a side with jagged (sharp and very resistant) and can be used to cut wood, thin trees, etc. There is also the possibility to form a mechanism (a scissors): from bayonet and from sheath - so that they can cut wire up to 4 millimeters thick.
In the right hand, the soldier has the machine gun.
Tactical infantry training exercises are compulsory for all soldiers of Romanian Army, regardless of the soldier's specialty (so, not only for infantry soldiers). The duration of such an exercise can be between one hour and four hours. Daniel will be forced to participate (as any soldier) in the infantry tactical training (having the backpack on the back and the other pieces of military equipment on the leather belt) with difficulty, being sometimes exhausted and powerless and drawing the platoon commander's nervousness (a lieutenant) (or of the company sergeant, or of some corporal).
So he had a very hard life sometimes...
Throughout his military service (one year and four months) Daniel was visited by his friend Elvira three times and once by his mother.
On September 20, 1986 the military service of those who came to the army in May 1985 ended. The shouts of "Come liberation! " were present not only in the military unit in the town of Campulung Muscel, but in many other military units throughout Romania, in trains, buses, bars and restaurants, as well as in native villages of those who "fulfilled the military service" for one year and four months, and now they're coming home.
Daniel, dressed as a civilian, comes to his loved ones (from Crasna and Muntenia villages). Other young people in Romania will replace their civilian clothes with military clothes, which they will receive in various military units. They are "perches" and will be trained by soldiers who spent about 8 months in the army, some of them being sergeants, some corporals - an instruction with roughness and hardness, with an incomprehensible sense of revenge (after all that they have suffered from the soldiers and graded soldiers who have now gone home and which at the moment are civilian), sometimes with the intent of humiliating newcomers, generically called "perches".
So in the army of those years there were two categories of soldiers: some who had already spent 8 months in the army, that is, "soldiers of the second cycle"; other ones (newcomers), considered "perches", being "soldiers of the first cycle". The old soldiers in the army (i.e., "second-cycle soldiers") called themselves "veterans".
There is a small song with the text:
"The veteran is a veteran
He is not military cadre
He is neither a perch!"
The military officers and the military non-commissioned officers were considered military cadres, and the newly arrived soldiers were called "first-cycle soldiers," or "perches" (until they completed half of the term [one year and four months], that is, until they reached the age of 8 months in the military unit. Then the "veterans" went home, and the remaining ones advanced in the "second cycle" category, receiving into the military unit young civilians, of course called "perches"). The meeting with his friends and relatives was very emotional and joyful, especially the meeting again with his mother and his fiancée: Elvira.
The last days of September are sunny and warm. It's evening, not very late, and Daniel lies lying in bed, dressed almost completely, just took off his shoes and took off his gray coat, which he hung in a nail. He remembers the army, how he was sitting in the sleep room, lying in bed like now, just barefoot. So, three hours of service as a sentinel (for example, at the fuel depot, at night, from zero to three o'clock), then three hours in the waking room (where you are not allowed to sleep, but only to play backgammon, chess, rummy game or cards, from 3 to 6 o'clock) and then sleep, from 6 to 9 o'clock. How to regain physical vigor with such a program? In the three hours intended for sleep you barely have time to fall asleep...
Many moments of joy and happiness Elvira gave him. He almost doesn't believe that Elvira will be his, as girlfriend and then as wife...
"What good apples! ..." he says, savoring a well-baked, red, aromatic, sweet-sour, very tasty apple. "Where from does my mother get apples like this?" he asks himself. The next day she found out that the apples were brought by her friend Smaranda, who took them from the large orchard on the hill of Costești village. She, Smaranda, was with her son, Adrian, with some big bags and brought many apples...
In the army, Daniel met a Hungarian boy named Santa Csaba who knew Romanian very little. He was from Sălaj County, from a village entirely inhabited by Hungarians. He learned the profession of auto mechanic (being very good in this qualification), but did not want to learn Romanian (which he does not need there in the village, not even in the town of Zalău, the residence of Sălaj County, where he has many Hungarian friends). In the army, he encountered great problems of adaptation in that military unit in the town of Campulung Muscel. Soldiers with ages (at least 8 months old) and the graded soldiers (corporals, sergeants) instead of helping him (to learn Romanian) swore him terribly, blamed him, offended him in every way. No one dared try to beat Santa Csaba, because he was vigorous and brave, able to face anyone without fear or hesitation. Among the few soldiers who helped Santa Csaba (of the newcomers) was Daniel. It was not only about learning the Romanian language, but about other issues, related to the good coexistence. From the frequent collaborations between Daniel and Santa Csaba a kind of sincere friendship was born, based on mutual trust. Perhaps they both had the same kind of weaknesses - which unite two friends more than strength and display of personal qualities. The certain fact is that the Hungarian man greatly appreciated Daniel for his fairness and for his way of being agreeable to him. In Hungarian "Santa" means "lame”, and Daniel sometimes called him Timur Lenk (this being the name of the great military commander of the Tatars - who defeated even the terrible Sultan of the Turks, Bayezid the Lightning. In Tatar language "Lenk" means "lame" - like "Santa" in Hungarian language). On leaving the army, Daniel received from Santa Csaba a stainless knife, with a bone handle and a 15-centimeter long blade, sharp on both sides, especially at the top.
- If an enemy would come to you, you must hit with the knife! Santa Csaba tells to Daniel.
October comes with cold, mist and hoarfrost. The leaves fall in turn from the trees, covering the cold soil with successive layers - yellow, rust and brown. Now the watchman at the apple orchard is more vigilant than in the past. The orchard belongs to the State Agricultural Farm of Costesti. The Agricultural Production Cooperatives are largely Romanian state property, even though communist propaganda claims they belong to the peasants of cooperative. Referring to the State Agricultural Farms - they are entirely the property of the Romanian state. There's a hill called "Costești Hill." On it lies an orchard with apple trees. The picking season is approaching...Until the harvesting will begin, the watchman Andone Aurel (a young of 24-year-old, very naughty and arrogant with those approaching the orchard to take apples), paid by the State (i.e. by the State Agricultural Farm of Costesti) take a tour around the orchard to control and inspect any intruders. He has long hair on his neck and shoulders, he's not shaved, he has some kind of a thick stick in his hand. Alongside him are 5 boys aged between 16 and 21. All these six young people usually go daily to the pub in the village of Crasna to drink brandy or wine, rarely beer. Then they go to the orchard to find some delinquent, to scare him or to ask for money from him, possibly to hit him with the wooden stick (as punishment of the watchman for some delinquents). No one dares to face with the group led by Andone Aurel.
It's Saturday afternoon. Being cold compared to September, Daniel get dressed with those clothes which he bought before to go to the military unit, when he was working as a welder, some clothes suitable for the autumn. He has a gray jacket with green insignia, a kind of clothing for camouflage. The pants have several pockets, in the back and side, and near the right knee has a narrow, vertically disposed “dwelling”. In this place Daniel inserts his knife with bone handle. The whole blade of the knife entered. (The bone handle of the knife remained outside). He likes to walk through the courtyard in such clothing, having the knife in the “dwelling” of the pant. He asks his mother what is her occupation at that moment and asks her to go to the orchard.
- Do you want we to go to the orchard now when it's Saturday? she asks.
- Now being Saturday, there will be no watchmen at the orchard, Daniel replies.
Somewhere in the corner of a room is a big, blue bag that could hold 20 kilos of apples. This will be his bag. For his mother, he finds a small brown with green bag, about half the volume of the blue one.
- Let's go, Mom! Daniel says and leaves for the courtyard gate without even looking back to see if his mother is going. There she is, coming in a hurry...
At the edge of the orchard the trees have little or no fruit. Daniel and his mother go somewhere in the middle of the orchard and pick large, well-baked, red and aromatic apples. Each will fill his bag about three-quarters, Daniel having about 15 kilos of apples, and his mother about 10 kilos.
- Let's go home! says Daniel, lifting his bag on his right shoulder, then changing its position to make it easier for him to carry it.
They barely got out of the orchard and appear in front of them (about 500 meters away) Andone Aurel and his five supporters. Daniel wants to change the direction of walking so as not to meet the six ones, but he has no chance to avoid them. Soon after, Daniel and his mother are stopped with swearing and dirty words and threats by Andone Aurel and his "comrades". Andone Aurel laughs like an idiot. He has in his right hand a short, thick stick which resembles with a mace on one end, and he does his thing by turning that stick around his index finger of the right hand, a sort of right-hand juggling.
- You little kids will be in trouble with me, you found trouble and nuisance with me!
He then quits the jugglery and moves decisively and menacingly (with the stick in his right hand) towards Daniel and his mother.
The five supporters of Andone Aurel start shouting:
- Hit them! Hit them! Aurel: hit them!
- Break their teeth with the mace! Hit them in the muzzle! ...
- Take their money, Aurel! Take their wallets with money!
- Hit them! Hit them! Aurel: hit them!
- They not to forget you in the future! Hit them! ...
The cries of the five - which encouraged Aurel and urged him to be violent - begin to become a mixture of angry, mocking and horrible voices, with many ugly words and heavy swearing, often many onomatopoeia.
Aurel also sends a cuss to the two ones:
- Fuck the cross of your mothers! You are desecration, uncleanliness, defilement.
Daniel quickly takes out the knife from its dwelling on the right thigh of his trousers, holds it tightly by the bone handle with his right hand, and positions it horizontally, with the tip forward, at the height of his chest.
- If you come closer to me, I'll hit you with the knife! ... Daniel tells to Andone Aurel.
He has red, harsh and threatening eyes, almost unnatural for its fragile physique, jerky, fast and deep breath...
- If you come closer to me, I'll hit you with the knife! ... Daniel rehearses.
- What are you talking about, you precocious kid? Do you think you're brave? And he picks up the stick (as a mace on one end), trying to hit Daniel over the face. But Daniel - through a quick movement - avoided the blow and also thrust the knife into Aurel's belly, just below the navel (in its vicinity).
- Oh! you...desecration, uncleanliness, defilement. Fuck the cross of your mothers! You...untoward, miserable, paltry, pig, pitiable!... You hit me in the belly!
The other five individuals, surprisingly, do not jump to Aurel's aid and do not try to annihilate Daniel. On the contrary, they become quiet and silent.Daniel thrust the blade of the knife up to the bone handle, that is, about 15 centimeters deep, then he quickly pulled him out of the wound. Blood's pouring out of Aurel's wound. Instinctively, he puts his hand on the wound to stop the blood. For a few moments, they all stand motionless, like statues, as if they can not believe what happened. Aurel strips his coat, then lifts - above the navel - the sweater and the shirt and the undershirt, thus discovering the wound. One of the five individuals broke a long and not very wide strip of his shirt. Then he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and puts it on the wound, passes the strip of cloth over the handkerchief and surrounds Aurel's body, knotting the ends of it. The blood stopped. Aurel stays with his look on the handkerchief. Yes, the blood stopped!
He then lowers the undershirt and the shirt and the sweater over the handkerchief.
- Go home, Aurel, so you can put another dressing to your wound!
- Yes, I'm going home, first to see what to do with this wound, and then I'll take care of these two delinquents...
In an almost unnatural silence for this event: Aurel and the five his "comrades" leave for the village. Remaining alone, Daniel and his mother leave for home with their empty bags after throwing away all the apples.The group of six ones arrived at the edge of the village, but not far from this place there is a pub, open daily until late in the evening.
- Let's drink each a brandy! says Aurel. Such that not more to feel my pain!
Soon each of the six gets a glass of brandy, aromatic, tasty and not very loud. After the first glass of brandy they feel need of another one. An hour later they go to their homes, and Aurel tells his parents he is injured in the belly.
- How? Where from? Who did hit you? ask her mother upset and puzzled, even scared. Aurel doesn't want to answer. He lies in the bed and soon falls asleep. During the night, the wound infected by the dirty handkerchief fills with pus, which spreads inside the belly over a large area. In this way it appears at Aurel the fatal peritonitis. The next day, after he wakes up, he sees that he has serious problems with his wound. He can't move. His parents are in the garden or in the courtyard. He's not calling for help. A terrible pain grips him when he wants to get out of bed. He is lying down on his back, dizzy and troubled. His eyes see a spider net and are fade, his look is weak, he sees fog around. Soon he'll die because of peritonitis, that is: because of extensive infection within the belly, infection which has become septicemia (in medical terms: "generalized infectious state caused by the spread of a pathogen throughout the body via blood"). The news of Andone Aurel's death spread throughout the village of Crasna and neighboring villages. The militia appears at the house of Andone Aurel, then comes to Daniel and arrests him for the murder. He is taken to the arrest room of the Vaslui County Militia. He will stay here for two weeks, being investigated every day by Militia and by prosecutors. They will draw up him a penal file, he will be sent to trial and will be sentenced, by the Vaslui County Law Court, to 12 years in prison. He will have the right to appeal to the High Court of Vaslui County. In Crasna village there are some who support Daniel - as innocent - but many others blame him and disregard him for the fact that he hit with the knife. Mrs. Smaranda, Daniel's mother's best friend, hastily comes to tell her that they must hire a lawyer.
- Why didn't you hire a lawyer when he was in Law Court? You saw that he received a big punishment! A lawyer was needed for Daniel! ...
Daniel's mother will borrow money to pay a lawyer. She will hire the best lawyer in the Vaslui Bar, Mr. Marian Enache. In fact, he lives in city of Iasi, but comes daily by train to Vaslui city (except on Saturdays and Sundays, when there are no penal trials at the Law Court or Tribunal) to defend delinquents in Vaslui County. He is considered by all to be the best "defender" (for those who violated the law). With great experience in the field of penal trials, very well trained from a professional point of view, Marian Enache will do everything best to help Daniel:
- will take him to the Psychiatric Hospital where the psychiatrist will give him a diagnosis which should help him in the penal appeal process which will be done at the High Court, namely: "Reactive depressive mood". If in the case of alcohol consumption: no attenuating circumstances are given to the defendant, that is, he is not exculpate in a certain proportion for the penal offense committed, in the case of mental disorders, the law provides granting of mitigating circumstances and reduction of the punishment;
- Mr. Marian Enache will go to the five boys who always accompanied Andone Aurel, too, and will convince them to make statements against Aurel, that is, to blame him and to accuse him. These written testimonies of the five boys will weigh heavily in the legal balance of the penal trial;
- at the same time, being skilled at the legal subtleties of any penal offense, he will decide to appeal to the Central High Court (in Bucharest) and not to the High Court of Vaslui County.
Later, it will prove that this decision was a very good one.
(Specifically: he will have his sentence reduced from 12 years to 10 years in prison. After 3 months - when Nicolae Ceausescu will give the grand decree of amnesty and reprieve - Daniel will be amnestied and will go home with the penal record permanently erased by convictions, as if he had never committed a delinquency).
2. Another inmate who arrived to the room 32 is Kovacs Remus. He was sentenced by the Timiş County Law Court to one year in prison for crossing the border illegally (between Romania and Yugoslavia). (This year 1987 Yugoslavia is made up of 6 republics, making up a federation: Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro. Of them, only Serbia was neighbors to Romania, so the border crossing was made always between Romania and Serbia).
Some considerations about the history of Transylvania and Hungary must be made:
- for a time the Hungarians were masters of Romanian Ardeal. They owned many lands, forests, mountain peaks, rivers, etc. Among the ways of domination practiced by Hungarians was that to oblige Romanians to have Hungarian names, possibly, to change the Romanian names to Hungarian names. Thus: Stephen (from Romanian) became Istvan (in Hungarian), Ion became Janos, Mihai became Mihaly, Gheorghe became Gyorgy etc. To avoid this manner to distort the names - Romanians gave their children Latin names (of those used in ancient Rome): Remus, Sergiu, Valeriu, Iulius, Flavius, Marius, Cezar, Traian etc. for boys and fewer for girls: Lucretia, Letizia, Valeria, Felicia, Iuliana, Lucia etc.
After the union of 1 December 1918 of Ardeal with the motherland (i.e. with the Kingdom of Romania) and especially after the establishment of communism in Eastern Europe (including Hungary and Romania) the Hungarians lost any form of domination of the Romanians in Ardeal. Many Hungarians (from Ardeal) left for Hungary, and the remaining ones (about two million people) settled compactly in the counties of Harghita, Covasna and Mures (there are also many Hungarians in the city of Bucharest). It can be said that there was discrimination against Hungarians in Ardeal by the majority Romanians, especially during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. As a gesture of respect towards the Romanians (or, better said, as a gesture of humble submission), the Hungarians began to give their children Latin names: Remus, Sergiu, Valeriu, Iulius, Flavius, Marius, Cezar, Traian etc. for boys and Lucretia, Letizia, Valeria, Felicia, Iuliana, Lucia etc. for girls. So, the Hungarians "borrowed" from the Romanians the habit of using Latin names...
Kovacs Remus is the only son of a family near the town of Targu Mures. There is a certain difference between the Hungarians in Harghita and Covasna counties (on the one hand) and Mureș county (on the other), in the sense that the people of this county (Mureș) were more emancipated and also more accustomed to a good living, firmly rejecting the restrictions and deprivations imposed by Romania's communist regime. Those people in Covasna and Harghita counties bear with stoicism the restrictions and deprivations of Romania's communist regime - unlike those from Mureș County.
In these years, military service is compulsory for all boys over the age of 18 (who are healthy and fit for military service). The popular name for performing military service was: "doing the army." Usually for marriage, you had to have completed military service. After "doing the army," Kovacs Remus came to watch with much reticence, disgust, even contempt the way of life imposed by the Romanian communists. He talked with his friends and his parents about his intention to fraudulently cross the border between Romania and Yugoslavia, then to arrive to Austria or another country in Western Europe (or the USA) etc. As a way of crossing the border - Kovacs Remus and his friends determined it would be to cross the Danube by swimming. Remus Kovacs had a very good physical constitution. In addition, he trained thoroughly during the summer - swimming in the large pool of water in the city center or in the Mureș River. A year later, in July, he climbed up a personal train that was traveling at night on the route Craiova - Turnu Severin - Timișoara. Somewhere near Turnu Severin (before reaching this city), when the train stopped in a station (in a village on the Danube bank) Kovacs Remus descended of the train, took off his clothes and put them in a bag that he tied to his shoulders and back, then jumped into the Danube and swam across to the other bank. He wiped his wet body and then put on his the clothes. The rule imposed by the Serbia was that - for every Romanian who arrived fraudulently in Yugoslavia to be granted the right to interview, that is, the right to present his troubles which he has in Romania to a UN representative. (UN representatives for Yugoslavia were based in the cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Vrsec, as UN officials).
As reasons for immigration to a Western country, the following were established:
- religious discrimination, in the sense that you are a member of a sect banned in Romania and you were persecuted by the communist regime.
There were six religious sects considered - formally - as legal and permitted in Romania, but in fact, members of these religious sects were discriminated against in various ways, in order to make them abandon these religious sects. Discrimination was often intense, even violent, direct, unrestrained. The six religious sects were: Christian Cult by Gospel, Seventh-day Adventists, Cult of the Lord's Host, Pentecostal Cult, Baptist Church, and Yehova's Witnesses Cult. If you wanted to gain the right to immigrate to a Western country on the basis of religious discrimination - you had to have a thorough knowledge of the religion of such a sect, religious nuances and various details, the organization and functioning and the way of life of that religious sect. Remus Kovacs was a Catholic Christian and had no knowledge of any religious sect. Therefore, he did not have the chance to be accepted by the UN representative as discriminated against, because the Catholic Christian Church was not discriminated against at all in Romania;
- ethnic or racial discrimination. This point suited as an enunciation for Hungarians in Romania (as well for other ethnicities in Romania: Germans, Serbians, Turks, Tatars, Lipovan Russians, Greeks, etc.). It was necessary to be enrolled in the identity card your nationality: Hungarian, German etc. Some documents proving this discrimination were also needed: about the termination of the employment contract, about the refusal of some enterprises to hire you, etc. A special situation was that of Gypsies:
- they were an ethnicity that was spread throughout Europe, including Romania. Romanian authorities have not agreed to enroll such an ethnicity in the ID card, considering this word: Gypsy - a very shameful one and that Romania has no gypsies (only Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, etc). In other words, their collectivity was not recognized in Romania, being incompatible with the dignity and the pride of the communist authorities.
- political discrimination. This was the most important reason for immigration to the West. If someone had political beliefs different from those of the Communist Party and for this reason he was discriminated against in various ways, i.e. he was not entitled to be employed according to his qualification, he had not the right to hold a important function or to be promoted, etc.- he was considered politically discriminated. However, he must possess (and submit to the UN representative) some documents which to prove his situation of political discrimination. The most convincing way (in relation to the UN representatives) was to present copies of a prison sentence because you blamed, criticized the communist regime and had a inappropriate attitude towards the leaders of this regime.
Remus Kovacs was not sufficiently prepared for an interview with the UN envoy (held in the town of Vrsec), presenting as a reason for immigration (to a Western country) the bad living in Romania.
This is not a reason for emigration from your country and immigration to another country (unlike the three important reasons: religious discrimination, ethnic discrimination and political discrimination).The opinion: The West helps you to make a very good living — it's false. The preoccupation of some (as officials) in the West is to help the discriminated ones (by no means the people who are only materially poor). It also exists in Western Europe and in the United States and other countries considered rich: poor people, homeless, unemployed, without adequate social protection.
So, the decision of the UN representative in Vrsec for Kovacs Remus was: "rejected". A month of imprisonment followed in Yugoslavia. (This was the punishment given by the political regime of Yugoslavia to anyone who fraudulently crossed the border between Romania and Yugoslavia.) (The conditions of detention in the prisons of Yugoslavia were very good, almost as in the hotel.) Sent to Romania (as arrested), he was sentenced by the Timișoara Law Court to one year in prison.
He then followed the unfortunate path of the accused who became prisoner. Thus he arrived in Oradea penitentiary, the toughest and most inhumane penitentiary in Romania in this year 1987. The commander of this prison often said: "I don't care if you die at all!" In addition, he had methods of torture for detainees, imposing an extremely harsh and severe regime, and applying very bad and diverse moments of ordeal. Any detainee who entered this prison wondered at some point whether he would die or survive from this prison. Usually, in the Romanian prisons there was cleaning (this year 1987), and prisoners took weekly baths and received clean linen every two weeks. In the Oradea prison, at the request of its commander, the inmates were kept in dirt conditions (i.e., lack of hygiene) and bathed only once a month. Kovacs Remus has got a skin infection, something like boils, so, some bubbles the size of cherries, very many, very painful, full of pus. Unable to take the pain anymore - Kovacs Remus knocked on the door with power several times, asking for help.
- What do you want?" the guardian asked him
- I have an infection and I want some pills so that to make the infection to disappear!
- What pills, you cheeky! Why did you disturb me? Let me give you some pills!...And he hit Kovacs Remus 7or 8 times with the rubber baton, on his back, shoulders and belly.
After this "treatment" Kovacs Remus fell into a state of lethargy and helplessness, enduring the pain very hard and losing all hope of healing and escaping alive from this penitentiary.
Only 4 days after this incident (with the guardian) Kovacs Remus is sent to the penitentiary in Vaslui (in the room 32) where he will receive appropriate treatment (antibiotics) by the decision of Miss Physician Major Lieutenant (a beautiful and friendly young lady who graduated from the Military Medical Academy and was then assigned - it is not known for what reason - at the Militia, more precisely at the General Directorate of Penitentiaries). Kovacs Remus is now healthy and has 9 months of his punishment left.
3. Grădinaru Vladimir was born and raised in the village of Orofteana in Botoșani County, not far from the town Botoșani. In a family of 5 boys and 3 girls, Vladimir was knowing poverty, material shortages of all kinds, vicissitudes, suffering, troubles.
Botosani is the poorest county in Romania. Communist governments tried to raise poor counties to a medium economic level, but long historical poverty could not be alleviated in several decades. In fact, Botosani County has known material poverty for several centuries.
In Botosani county there is a village called "Fămânzi" ("Hungry Ones"). In the March month of 1907, the peasants in this village could no longer endure hunger, cold, deprivation of all kinds, injustices and started a rebellion against the rich boyars. They took from the boyars by force: corn, wheat, barley, corn flour, wheat flour, sunflower oil, sugar, alcoholic beverages that were kept in large cellars, birds (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys), sheep and lambs, cows and calves, goats, as well as fodder for them (from large stocks, made of grass or alfalfa - that were in the yards of the boyars). News of the uprising in the Flamânzi village spread quickly. They started uprisings one by one against rich boyars all peasants from Moldovan counties: Suceava, Iași, Neamț, Bacău, Vaslui, Vrancea și Galați, then the wave of the uprising went out of Moldavia and spread throughout Muntenia. Large quantities of grain, poultry, fodder, all sorts of food, as well as alcoholic beverages were forcibly taken away by peasants from wealthy boyars. The rebellion spread throughout Moldavia and Muntenia. The rich boyars were desperate. Many of them were beaten, humiliated, even killed. The Romanian government of that year 1907 was made up of representatives of the National Peasants' Party. Here it comes an irony:
- at the end of the nineteenth century in Romania there were four major parties: the National Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the National Romanian Party (which had many supporters in Transylvania - because it strongly enunciated the idea of national justice) and the Romanian Peasants' Party (which had supporters in the main in Ardeal. It promised peasants help, consisting of cheap agricultural machinery, seeds from good varieties of agricultural plants, birds and domestic mammals of the best breeds, help in getting money loan from banks, professional schools for peasant children, etc.). Through the union between the Romanian National Party and the Romanian Peasants' Party, the National Peasants' Party was formed, a very powerful party, but one that "forgot" the promises made to the peasants. Moreover, this party will suppress - with cruelty and cynicism - the peasant uprising of 1907. This party ordered the army to use the rifles to kill the rebellious peasants. The armed soldiers did not hesitate to execute the order they received from the Government and fired on the peasants: one thousand dead, two thousand dead, five thousand dead,…eleven thousand dead. Yes, this is the result of the suppression of the uprising in 1907: eleven thousand peasants killed by the army commanded by the National Peasants' Party. Never in history, in the past or in the future (compared to 1907) has there been a worse blow to the peasants, a blow with brutality, cruelty and cynicism. The year 1907 is the "darkest" year in the history of peasants in Romania.
These people eternally wronged, poor, yet diligent, humiliated in every way, but obeying and fulfilling the commandments of the rich ones - have not had good and happy days in their entire existence.
Impressed by their unfortunate fate and the cruel repression of the rebellion, the great Romanian playwright Ion Luca Caragiale left for a time the territory where his usual characters were performing their actions and he approached the village and the villagers to get to know their lives better. He wrote the work entitled "1907 - from spring to autumn", in fact, a faithful description of the uprising of 1907. Even though it was very poor for centuries, Botosani County gave the universal culture two brilliant artists: the poet Mihai Eminescu (considered to be similar to Lord Byron, both in terms of writing style, romantic and deep, and in terms of his height as an artistic genius) and the musician George Enescu (composer and performer, close in artistic value and creative field to the famous American violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin). Because he was not a very good pupil at school (that is, eminent), after completing the 10 compulsory classes, Vladimir enrolled in a professional school with the profile of arranging roads, bridges and watercourses.
He has been initiated into driving and operating vehicles with specific characteristics in this field: bulldozers, scrapers, excavators, draglines, compressors. So, during a year and six months Vladimir managed to obtain a certificate attesting the main profession in which he is qualified: worker on bulldozer. At the age of 18, it was very difficult to find a job, especially in Botoșani County, where the job applications were much higher than the offers of the various companies in this county. In addition, the wages offered to the employees were low. Someone advised him to go to Caraș Severin County to the bitumen shale exploitation near Anina (a small town), at 10 kilometers distance from the residence of this county, the town Reșița. Other localities known in this area were: Caransebeș (east of Reșița), Oravița (between Anina and the Romanian border with Yugoslavia), as well as the exploitation of ferrous ores from Dognecea (at 10 kilometers distance from Reșița, in the west, towards the border with Yugoslavia).
Vladimir prefers to settle in the village of Oravița (in fact, this locality aspires to the title of town, being now a large village, with many houses, with shops, a medical dispensary, a gymnasium school of 8 classes, a kindergarten for children, a pharmacy, a post office, a small bank of the type "home for mutual help", a football stadium where the local football team "Unirea Oraviţa" is playing its matches in the championship, a small bread factory, a church, etc.). He will pay rent to an old and lonely woman to receive a furnished room and the right to use the stove with methane gas installed in the kitchen. The amount paid as rent is small, but Vladimir will help that old woman to various household activities: to bring wood from the forest (for the winter, to heat the rooms) and place them in the yard, to remove water from the well (a few buckets a day), to harvest vegetables from the garden (used to prepare food or put in jars and preserved for the winter), to make various purchases from the village shop etc. Oraviţa village is located 15 kilometers away from the Romanian border with Yugoslavia, about the same geographical latitude as Vrsec town in Serbia. Bitumen is a very precious organic substance and is used, among other things, to asphalt roads. There are many hundreds of kilometers of bitumen-paved road in Romania. (Asphalt consists of a layer of bituminized organic substances - mainly: cellulose mixed with lower bitumen components - then over it is deposited a sedimentary rock - a kind of gravel brought by the flowing waters - mixed also with lower bitumen components - and only on the surface is poured viscous bitumen of very good quality, so that the roads remain flat, without holes or other damage for long time).
Bitumen is processed immediately after unloading from tipping machines (being hot and sticky). Mainly, a motor compressor - having cylindrical wheels and very heavy - presses the bitumen layer to get a flat surface.
The wheels of this motor compressor are continuously watered with cold water so that the bitumen does not stick to them. A group of workers with utensils specific to this work participates in the correction and ordering of the bitumen layer - so that the surface obtained to be perfectly flat. The bitumen is then left to cool, becoming stiff, solid and resistant to the wheels of various vehicles.
Of course, the price of this bitumen is high, and road pavement is very expensive.
There were various sources of bitumen, including from oil, but most often it was obtained through difficult processing of bituminous shale, in this case in a specially intended enterprise - located in the town of Resita (the residence city of this county).
From crude oil (often referred to as: "crude oil"), the following are obtained by refining: propane (in gaseous form), gasoline for airplanes, gasoline for cars, diesel fuel, lamp oil, industrial oils (for the lubrication system), fuel oil (fuel for thermal power plants), tar.
Oil shale produces products with various calorific strengths and various physical and chemical properties, including high-quality, high-temperature viscous bitumen, but rigid, solid and very resistant to mechanical stress when it has low temperatures; it is mainly used for road paving.
There are various other bituminous components, ending with solid shale used to heat water in small thermal plants that feed radiators in city homes, but also to run the huge steam engines that produce electricity from thermal plants. Such a thermal power plant existed and operated right near the small town of Anina, being called New Anina.
The interest in the neighboring country, Serbia (as a component country of the Yugoslav federation, along with five other republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro) was high, because there were stores supplied (often from companies from Western Europe, especially from Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, etc.) with various products (from electronics and household appliances to quality clothes and shoes). There was "small border traffic", a legislative provision according to which citizens from Serbia could come to Romania, once a month, up to a distance of 25 kilometers to the interior of Romania, carrying various products for small trade. At the same time, some of the Romanians who lived near the border with Yugoslavia had about the same rights for "small traffic" as the Serbians: so they sold Romanian products in the towns of Vrsec or Pancevo (which were located close to the border) and bought various products from Serbia. The vast majority of Romanian homes near the border had antennas installed for the reception of programs from Serbia, of course, much more attractive and interesting and pleasant than the pitiful broadcasts from the Romanian Television...
As a historical detail: during centuries there existed in western Romania a territory called Banat, inhabited in its great majority by Romanians. Around the nineteenth century this territory was "broken" into two parts: one called the Serbian Banat (with a majority Romanian speaking population and an important city: Novi Sad, also Romanian speaking) and the other part called the Romanian Banat (consisting of the Romanian counties of Caraș-Severin, Timiș and Arad). From the TV studios in Novi Sad come many broadcasts in Romanian, however, more than those in Serbian. Vladimir's work was not very hard. He had to dislodge - using the bulldozer blade - blocks of oil shale, which were then loaded into large trucks (with the help of an excavator). The work in the energy field was very well paid. Even though the thermal power plant at Anina was not a cost-effective one, Romania's communist government paid high salaries to those working in the thermal power plant, as well as to those working in the oil shale and to the drivers of those large trucks carrying shale. Vladimir was very satisfied with his life. He had enough money for a good living and sometimes sent money to his parents amounting to a quarter of his salary or even more.But, at his 18 years and six months a very important event appeared in his life: the institution of the Romanian army called him to perform his military service of one year and four months. The news that he will go to perform the military service saddened Vladimir. The military service is heavy and lasts a year and four months. Many young men cursed the army. From a neighboring village came to Vladimir a boy of the same age as him (Tiberius), that is almost 19 years old - who told him that he will go "to make his army" about two weeks from now, so at the same time with Vladimir. Tiberius curses and swears at the army. He had a one-liter bottle of hard brandy with him. He also gave Vladimir a drink. Then he continued to curse and to swear at the army. Vladimir accompanied him, using his own swearing and curses. The two ones sit on the grass, continuing to drink brandy and talking about the army…To his great joy, Vladimir was sent "to make his army" to the Otopeni Airport (north of Bucharest), which had four anti-aircraft artillery batteries in the four corners of the asphalt rectangle (which constituted the airstrips for takeoff and landing)…
Such a battery has six or eight guns, electrically connected with a central electrical device (so called "Central Distribution Box"), so that the guns are synchronized in direction, their movement in the horizontal or vertical plane being made automatically, with electric motors and electronic control from a "Firing Computer" (a computer with electronic tubes, so not very modern, having the abbreviated name: ACT-6-60), which in turn is connected to a radar, with the name "Radiolocation Station for Firing" (also built on the basis of electronic lamps, not transistors or integrated circuits) with short name SRT-6-60). Vladimir will have the function of distance operator in the SRT-6-60, more precisely, it will have the task to maintain the coincidence between a SRT-6-60's own electronic device and the signal received from the aircraft, used for determining the distance to it. A second operator will have the task of determining the airplane's horizontal angle (azimuth), and a third operator will determine the airplane's vertical angle (uplift angle). All this data will be sent to the ACT-6-60 computer for processing. Vladimir will not have problems with the work in SRT-6-60, but will even be greatly appreciated for the reaction speed, visual acuity and sense of observation. There is a screen in the SRT-6-60 that is technically similar to a TV screen, except that it is shaped like a circle - about 50 centimeters in diameter - and it is yellow to orange. Airplanes in the airspace observed by the SRT 6-60 have as equivalences on circular screen some light points, larger or smaller, depending on the size of the airplane (or helicopter, etc.), of course, in motion. From the middle of the screen to the edge of the screen appears a light line, representing the beam of electromagnetic waves emitted through the antenna of the SRT 6-60. In a circular search mode — so if no airplane has been discovered yet — the antenna rotates horizontally, and that light line also rotates around the center point of the screen, synchronous with the rotation of the antenna (which is outside the cab). The work of soldiers in such a military unit is easy, not only during training, but also during combat shots in the range for anti-aircraft artillery (and anti-aircraft rockets) located on the Black Sea coast, north of the city of Constanta (in the territory called "Cape of Mussel"). The first eight months were a little difficult for Vladimir (that is, the first half of his military service as a first-cycle soldier), but the next eight months were pleasant, interesting, without heavy moments (as a second-cycle soldier). This is the specific of the Romanian anti-aircraft defense: very little physical effort, but solid and serious technical knowledge and proper training, always acceptable as difficulty.
It is the beginning of December 1983. Soldiers shout loudly: "Let's come on, liberation!" The khaki-colored army uniform will be replaced with civilian clothing. Vladimir has thick fabric pants with black plaid over the dark green background. He has brown leather boots. Over the sweater he dressed a green coat, and over it he has a dark green jacket, caught in the middle with a string. There's a rabbit hat on his head. It's not cold, but he dressed like for the winter. "Let's come on, liberation!" he cries too, but not in a loud voice. He doesn't think you should blame or boo the army...
He spent the first three days after his release from the army in his native village of Orofteana, with his parents, brothers and sisters. Then he will leave by train to Caras-Severin County, more precisely, to the village of Oravița. When he arrives in Oraviţa, he goes directly to the house of that old woman who hosted him before his departure to the army. His rented room remained almost unchanged, as it was a year and four months ago. The meeting with her was full of emotion. She was sick from time to time, and she couldn't take care of the household. How much Vladimir was missing in those moments! Nobody came to help her, and Vladimir was away in the army. Here he is now entering the yard. She gladly looks at him and tears come from her eyes.
- Good thing you came from the army. I've had a hard time without you! How'd you do with the army?
- It wasn't hard, as I expected. It's been a year and four months fast. Besides, I'm healthy and good for work.
Then the discussion goes on: about jobs, about money, about housing, about food. Finally, Vladimir sets up again in his rented room, just like at first...
With some of the papers from the army, Vladimir will go to the offices in the town of Anina to get a new job as a worker on the bulldozer. There he learns with dismay that "his place was occupied" by another qualified worker on the bulldozer.
- What am I doing now? asks Vladimir dismayed. Am I going to starve? If the law forced me to go to the army, it means that the law gives me the right to work in the old job.
The Mrs. clerk in the office "Personal" (i.e. the office where the records of persons employed in a company are kept) does not know what to say, she has a moment of confusion, then tells Vladimir that she will go to the office of the chief of the staff (a Mr. economist, graduate of a faculty in Timisoara, with the name: Panaite Andrei). When she arrives at his office, the Mrs. official from the "Personal" office tells him directly:
- Mr. Panaite, there's a young man who came from the army and he wants a job as a worker on bulldozer. What do we do now?
- All jobs are currently occupied. Next year, in January, 4 or 5 jobs will be freed. At present, these jobs belong to some young people who have not made their army. So after two months that man to come to the office "Personal" to get a job as a worker on the bulldozer.
Without any chance to change the situation that exists in the exploitation of bitumen shale, without being able to persuade Mr. Panaite to give him a job - Vladimir leaves very angry to Oraviţa. What can he do? Luckily he's got some money saved.
It is the end of December 1983. Vladimir is 20 years old. He doesn't like to stay in his rented room without going to work. This is not only about money, but also about the tonic, optimistic and cheerful atmosphere at work. The village is preparing for New Year's Eve 1984. An old year (1983) is chased out of the village and a new year (1984) comes with hopes and joys. It's the long night between 1983 and 1984. Children go through the village (from one house to another): the boys have plow and say words (in lyrics) about the new year, about plowing and sowing, about Emperor Trajan, and the girls sing carols (about Christians, about the mother of Jesus, etc.). It is 11 o'clock at night and many of the young go to the restaurant in the center of the village. Vladimir does not intend to stay home on this long night between the years and goes to the restaurant. There is music played by an orchestra and two vocalists, plates with food, demijohns with wine, bottles with brandy and a lot of beer. Some talk, others eat and others dance. Vladimir meets Tiberiu, who has recently come home after being released from the army. He's cheerful and joyful, but he still has the intention to swear at the army. He introduces Vladimir to his sister Emilia, a thin, not too tall girl with small breasts. He has black hair and brown eyes. She is wearing a navy blue dress. This dress covers her knees.
Vladimir is trying to talk to Emilia:
- I thought it would be better for me after leaving the army and entering civilian life, but it's not better...I lost my job and I'm sitting in my rented room for nothing...
- Maybe you will find a job! ...dares Emilia to give him a reply.
Tiberiu approaches the two ones:
- Invite her to the dance, Vladimir!
Emilia is a little ashamed of her situation. She just got to know Vladimir and is asked to dance with him...
The new year's eve1984, will be remembered for a long time - as the beginning of a sweet and long idyll...
After six months they will be married: first will take place the "civil marriage" - at the Town Hall of Oraviţa, then the "religious marriage" (also called by many "religious wedding") in Vladimir's home village, Orofteana, not far from the town of Botoșani.
Here will be the wedding, having in the middle the bride Emilia (dressed in wedding dress) and the groom Vladimir (dressed in an elegant beige suit). As a component of the wedding was the "religious wedding" ceremony at the Orthodox Christian church in the village, in which the priest put crowns on their heads and united them forever through the "holy mystery of the Christian wedding". It should be remembered that in January of that year 1984 Vladimir obtained the post of worker on the bulldozer at the exploitation of bituminous shale - even if it was a heavy winter with a lot of snow, with snowdrifts of two meters high or more. In March 1985, Emilia gave birth to their first child, a little girl whom they named Christina. After another two years (in 1987) will be born a second girl whom they will call Madalina...
One day in April 1987, Vladimir was in the village restaurant, sitting at the table to drink brandy - together with a comrade, a colleague working on the bitumen shale exploitation. He tells his comrade that he has two daughters...and he does not have a son who later to bear the family name: Gradinaru. Because of this reason he is upset.
- And what's the problem? asks his comrade (who was just sipping from the brandy glass). Girls are more sticky, sweeter and caring with their parents than the boys. Do you think it's better to have a son?
Vladimir does not answer and sits thoughtfully at the table, tasting from time to time some brandy. He takes into account the words of his colleague and becomes more careful, more concerned and thoughtful with his daughters. They respond to his attitude with love and good words. Vladimir feels connected to these wonderful beings: Cristina and Mădălina (his daughters). He often talks with his wife, Emilia, about the daughters, about their condition, about their future. What could he offer them as father? He has an acceptable salary for his work on the bulldozer, but not high enough..., so maybe it would be better to go to Austria or another country in Western Europe to get a lot of money, to buy their daughters good clothes, and a color TV, even a car for each one when they will turn 18 each. At that time, the only cars which could be bought in Romania were Dacia 1100 and Dacia 1300 - made in Pitești, Oltcit made in Craiova and Lada and Skoda imported from Czechoslovakia.
A day in July 1987, early morning. Knowing in detail the relief near the border - a kind of plain with large grass and small peaks of land of small height, there is no tree in that territory - Vladimir does not linger near the strip, but passes quickly, almost running, on the other side of the border, that is, the territory of Yugoslavia. The border guard soldier is annoyed, outraged, looking with hatred at Vladimir - who arrived in Serbia, he (the border guard soldier) remaining to be responsible in penal mode for not stopping the offender, existing the risk of going to prison. His mind is troubled, he cannot control himself, and he fires in Vladimir's direction. The cartridge tank has 30 cartridges. The cadence of fire of the machine gun is 10 bullets per second. So: 10 bullets, 20 bullets, 30 bullets — they left from the barrel of the machine gun. Then the soldier ceased the fire. He had intended to wound Vladimir (even to kill him)...but the law forbids shooting an offender who crossed the border and is in Yugoslavia. With a strident whizz and high air pressure, a bullet passed near Vladimir's head…Then he went to the town of Vrsec for questionnaire. The result of the examination (conducted by a United Nations representative) was: “rejected”. A month later, the Serbian authorities sent Vladimir to Romania. When he entered Romania (coming from Serbia) he regretted not being killed by a bullet…
- It was better for me to be killed by a bullet than to be convicted by the Law Court of Timisoara...a year in jail...then sent to the prison in Oradea. That is a hell, not penitentiary… My heart was broken by this event: arrested and convicted and sent to hell in Oradea...That's hell, not prison. It was better for me to be killed by a bullet than to be convicted by the Law Court of Timisoara...a year in jail...then sent to the prison in Oradea.
4. Păsărică Ștefan was born in 1923 in the village of Codăieşti in Vaslui County, now being 64 years old. Before the establishment of communism in Romania he was a gendarme in a military unit in Bucharest . The role of this gendarmes unit was to suppress and stop any workers' rally, strike or demonstration against the then political regime - which was dominated by the historical parties: the National Liberal Party, the National Peasants' Party and the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He became gendarme at the age of 20, that is, in 1943. Even if it was war (Romania being allied with Nazi Germany and carrying out armed actions on the Eastern Front against Soviet Russia), its Government had several gendarme units and subunits at its disposal. After the end of the war (on May 9, 1945), the instauration of the communism began in the Eastern European countries, including Romania. In 1947, on the 6th of March, a fully communist government came to Romania's leadership, led by doctor Petru Groza. Under pressure from the communist leaders King Mihai I abdicated and left the country - on December 30, 1947. The communist regime did not keep the gendarme profession. So, during several years Păsărică Ștefan had the duties of a gendarme, with a good salary and without much work. He was just doing physical training and exercises specific to the gendarme activity. Mr. Păsărică Ştefan had a very good physical condition, that is, strong pectoral muscles and high force in his arms, as well as long-term physical resistance. From his profession as a gendarme he acquired a certain aggression towards other men of his age. When he came home to his parents in Codăiesti commune, Vaslui county, he "looked for a fray" at some young men, so that he could show off and highlight his qualities as a gendarme: great physical strength and resistance to prolonged exertion. He had many conflicts with various individuals (from the village of Codăiesti, or from the city of Vaslui, sometimes from the city of Bucharest) and each time he came out victorious. He acquired a certain arrogance and some contempt for those with weak physiques, no strength and no endurance. He was proud as a rooster when he went for a walk - sometimes alone, other times with a girl. He had a good living - that is, high salary, pleasant work, good social position, as well as other privileges for his profession. This good living ended in 1948, when the communists abolished the gendarme profession. Mr. Păsărică Ștefan was very disappointed when he learned that the gendarme profession was abolished. He looked for a job in Bucharest. He was employed as a worker in a tannery. Animal skins (of calves, cows, oxen, pigs, goats, etc.) were processed here. After a while he is forced to leave the tannery. He will work on the maintenance of the Herăstrău park (having to water, to cut weeds and to weed the flowers and shrubs, etc.). Not long after, he will leave his job at Herăstrău Park and receive a job as an unskilled laborer from the Capital City Hall, with the task of sweeping streets and alleys near Obor Square. He will sweep the streets very early in the morning, usually around 5.00am. The collected garbage will be deposited in some containers that will be picked up and taken outside the city by machines specialized in such activities. During the winter, he will participate in snow removal together with other city hall employees - when the snow layer is not very thick. In other situations, when there are high and bulky snow - specialized city cars will come to remove the snow from the streets and alleys, load it into the trucks and transport it somewhere outside the city. At the age of 30 years old (in 1953) he married Smaranda, a 23-year-old girl, poor but hardworking and a very good housewife. From a physical point of view, she is quite presentable, being slim and not too tall. He will continue to be aggressive, taking part in the battles among clans: the Tanners' Clan, the Florists' Clan, the Sweepers' Clan, the Railway Workers' Clan, the Painters' Clan, the Goldsmiths' Clan, and the Merchants' Clan. In the beginning, he was member of the Tanners' Clan and participated in battles between this clan and other clans. At present he is a member of the Sweepers’ Clan. Each time he comes home victorious and tells Smaranda about the fight and his clan's victory, and she must appreciate and praise him. This is the only way in which he feels good and is satisfied with his wife's behavior: if she says him words of praise. It should be noted that Mr. Ştefan was neither diligent nor respectful with his colleagues and his bosses. After several years of activity as an unskilled worker in the Bucharest City Hall he loses his job and remains without occupation and without salary. He will persistently seek an acceptable job throughout Bucharest, but he will not find it. There is a surplus of unemployed people face of the number of jobs. Because he was pretentious regarding the conditions of employment, he had no chance of finding a job. It was the year 1965 and he took the decision to return to his native village, Codaiești, in Vaslui County, (together with his wife). The leader of the village was called "brigadier". This brigadier gave him the position of watchman of the Collective Agricultural Household (popularly called: "collective"). The payment for his work was very modest compared to his gendarme salary. On the duration of one year, he received the equivalent of a two-month gendarme salary. However, he received agricultural produce: wheat, corn and barley, sunflower oil and sugar in fairly large quantities. It is the summer of 1965 and Mr. Ştefan becomes authoritarian and very legalistic towards the people of the village. It is the summer of 1965 and Mr. Ştefan becomes authoritarian and very follower of legality towards the people of the village. He had the possibility to punish those who violated the law (that is, they caused damage to agricultural crops or stole agri-food products) by drawing up a kind of minutes in which he was reporting the illegal act committed and which he was submitting to the brigadier - so that he to may decide the appropriate punishment for delinquents. Even though he didn't like the life in the village very much, Mr. Păsărică Ștefan started to make wealth. He built a house - similar to the other houses as size and shape - and enclosed the yard with a board fence. In the southern part of the yard he raised a storehouse for corn of wooden slats - in which he keeps corn cobs, and next to it he built a small stable in which there are six sheep and a ram. Near the stable he has a coop in which he keeps a pig - of a breed with a little bacon on it. In the yard there are many hens and turkeys. Of course, it also has cellar in the basement of the secondary stable room. In this cellar he keeps two barrels of 250 liters each. He also has a large tub with a capacity of about 1000 liters - for processing the grapes and obtaining the must that will become wine. He managed to get a large vineyard for which he paid a sum of money (a small amount compared to the real value of this vineyard). Of course, he takes care of it from spring to autumn: in March, the work begins to cut some segments from the stem of grape vines, and in autumn, in October, the grapes are picked. His vineyard has a variety of light-colored, almost white, large-berry grapes - from which it will be produced the "white wine." In fact, Mr. Păsărică Ștefan's biggest preoccupation since he came to the village consists of agricultural work done on the vineyard.
A wagon (chariot) is a vehicle that has two oxen (for movement, by their strength). A chariot can transport the merchandise with a maximum weight of 1000 kilograms. There is a place where goods are stored and where several people can stay. This place is improperly called "basket". We will continue to use this word "basket" which defines a component of the chariot. In October of 1986 Păsărică picked - together with his wife and five neighbors - all the grapes from the vineyard - and put them in the "basket" of a chariot. The "basket" of the chariot is made of planks and has the shape of a parallelepiped. There are two iron axles: one for the two small wheels and one for the two large wheels. The "basket" of the chariot is 3.5 to 4.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. So the "basket" of the chariot is a container with a capacity of approximately 800 kilograms of grapes. The chariot with grapes came from vineyard to the yard of Mr. Ștefan. From the "basket" of the chariot Mr. Păsărică will take grapes with a basin (with a capacity of 8 liters) and put them, one by one, into the crusher - to obtain must. That crusher is operated with the help of a crank - with which its main shaft is rotated. The grapes are crushed one by one, then they fall into the large tub - which has the capacity of about 1000 liters, larger than the total volume of grapes picked from the vineyard. On the lower side of the tub there is a hole into which a wooden bung is inserted. After the must has acquired an alcohol content that gives it the title of wine: the bung will be removed, and the wine "will go" to the two barrels of 250 liters each. In the tub will remain only the husks of grapes…
Mr. Păsărică now wants to take the husks of grapes - with the pitchfork - out of the tub and to put them in the “basket” of the chariot (which is now empty). Later, after two weeks, the husks of grapes will arrive to the alembic of a Jew in the village in order to obtain brandy. It is late in the evening. The dim light of a bulb does not satisfy Mr. Ştefan at all. He searched around the village for a stronger light bulb, but he did not find it. He is helped by his wife Smaranda. He's drunk and his wife annoys him because she is not moving fast enough. At one moment he gets very nervous and sticks the pitchfork in her. He then continues to to take out the husks of grapes from the tub and to throw them into the basket of the chariot, while she writhes and dies without any help from her husband. She died late in the evening, but he paid no attention to her and continued his work with the husks of grapes. The Law Court of Vaslui city sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
5. Nigel Andrei is 40 years old and lives in a village near Bârlad together with his wife. He has a 20-year-old daughter named Otilia who is ill from a psychic point of view. Her illness is not very serious and she works in a furniture factory in the finishing section. She has rented a small house (with a single room) in the city - where she lives with another girl of same age with her.
What is a band? It is an organized group that includes boys with common concerns and affinities, with similar physical and mental traits. A band has a leader - with moral authority and sometimes with intellectual authority. We have as an example such a band in the city of Barlad that studies the girls thoroughly: if the girls are beautiful or ugly, whether they are sexually attractive or not, whether they are intelligent and cultured or stupid and illiterate, etc. A few boys have shown interest in Otilia after finding that she is easy to be fooled (because of her mental problems). Four boys (actually men, aged between 20 and 26) allied with the intention to lure her to a certain place and to rape her. On her way from the furniture factory to her rented small house, Otilia crosses a large bridge, which currently has no water under it because the river which was passing through here has dried up. One of the four men comes out to meet her and asks her if she wants to buy foreign cigarettes or good coffee at an acceptable price. He has a large, zippered bag. Of course, it is closed so that the goods inside cannot be seen by any passerby.
In 1987, cigarettes on the Romanian market were of very poor quality. There were cigarettes without a filter ("Carpați" and "Bucegi") and cigarettes with a filter ("Top" and "Snagov"). The tobacco contained in Romanian cigarettes was not well processed, having a bad smell and releasing a thick and suffocating smoke. Foreign cigarettes sold illegally were "Kent" and "Marlboro" and to a lesser extent: "Camel", "Dunhill", "Rothmans", "L&M" and "Saint Moritz". Regarding the coffee on the Romanian market: this was found in paper bags mixed with roasted barley flour. The proportion was: half ground natural coffee and half roasted barley flour, but there were also mixtures of one-quarter natural coffee and three-quarters roasted barley flour. Where from the foreign cigarettes and good quality natural coffee did come? Every big city in Romania have a western-looking store, with the English name: "shop". This is full of goods coming from the West. Payment for purchases from this "shop" is made in Western currency: US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, British pounds, French francs, Italian pounds, German marks, Swedish kroner, Austrian Schillings, Swiss Francs, etc. What kind of products do exist in these "shops"? In these "shops there are (besides foreign cigarettes and quality natural coffee): cassette players and audio cassettes, tape recorders and magnetic tapes, video players and video cassettes, jeans and jeans shirts, foreign beer and whiskey "johnnie walker" and "jack daniels" etc. The buyers are mainly students: Negros from Africa, or Arabs from the Near East and Middle East, sometimes Greeks, Turks, Cypriots, etc. Other persons who legally hold West currency: all Romanian sailors who receive as per diem (when sailing on distant seas or oceans) foreign currency, especially US dollars (so they have the right to hold Western currency); some Romanian persons who work abroad (in civil and industrial construction) and also receive Western currency..
- Miss, I sell at a low price. Most people in the city sell the pack of Kent for 60 lei, I sell it for only 50 lei, others sell the bag of natural coffee for 50 lei, I sell it for only 40 lei. Let me show you the "goods", here I can't open the bag because I'm not allowed to hold foreign "goods". Come on down there on the grass!... Otilia hesitates at first, then accepts the man's invitation and goes under the bridge where she is raped by the four men. After the rape, she will go to the Militia and will denounce the rapists. Surprisingly quickly, the Militia finds the four men, arrests them and draws up penal files for rape. The Law Court of the city of Barlad will sentence them to 8 years in prison each. The four rapists are now in the same penitentiary as Nigel Andrei.
Why is Nigel Andrei in the penitentiary? Because he stole corn cobs from the field belonging to S.A.E. These initials mean the State Agricultural Enterprise. In this year 1987, Romanian agriculture is practiced in two forms of ownership: Agricultural Production Cooperatives - where peasants work as members of these cooperatives and are paid for their work (with little money and some agricultural products), but also receive a share of agricultural production for free. This share is about 2% of the total harvested production (wheat, sugar beet, hemp, flax and barley - in summer, corn, sunflower, grapes and fruits - in autumn). For example, an amount of 200 kilograms of wheat for each family, no matter if you worked for this production or not, can be given to the peasants (as 2% share). They also receive for free: sugar, vegetable oil, corn cobs, etc., of course, in the proportion of 2%.
In the case of State Agricultural Enterprises, those who are working on their fields receive money, and all the agricultural production obtained is going to various state enterprises (with a profile close to agriculture): farms for raising pigs, dairy cows, sheep, poultry, etc., various factories in the food industry: footwear, leather and furs, canned meat or canned fish or canned vegetables or fruits, textile companies ( for hemp and flax), sugar factories, vegetable oil factories, breweries, milling and bakery enterprises - where a large amount of wheat is used to obtain flour and then bread for the millions of inhabitants of Romania's cities, even of villages - to a small extent.
Nigel Andrei went in the night to steal corn cobs. He had a bag with him. In the moment he entered the cornfield he was seen by the watchman of the S.A.E. , who did not go to him to warn him not to steal corn cobs, but went to the headquarters of the Militia in the village of Vutcani. Two militiamen, accompanied by a wolf dog, carrying flashlights, rubber batons and handcuffs, went into the corn field and found Nigel who had 20 corn cobs in his bag. They arrested him and then took him to the headquarters of the Bârlad City Militia. There he was interrogated and investigated, then they drew up a penal case against him and sent him to the prosecutor's office. The Law Court sentenced him to 4 years in prison. The penalties for "theft from private property" (that is: theft from individuals) were between 2 years and 5 years in prison, and for "theft from public property" (that is: theft from state enterprises) the penalties were between 3 years and 7 years in prison. If the theft was committed during the night - the law provided an additional punishment - compared to the same delinquency committed during the day. When he arrived to the penitentiary, Nigel Andrei found out about the presence of the 4 rapists of his daughter. Some impertinent inmates address him with bad words:
- Because of your daughter, the four boys received as punishment each 8 years in the prison, that is a total of 32 years in the prison.
- Your daughter brought misfortune on the four boys. They each received 8 years in prison.
- Why didn't you keep your daughter at home? Why did you leave her in the town... she to lure some good boys? Because of her they received a total of 32 years in prison...as punishment.
- Are you satisfied now that you put 4 men in the prison? They each received 8 years in the prison as punishment. Your daughter has brought misfortune into their lives.
Nigel does not react in any way to these words...
6. Vintila Filip was born and raised in the city of Bucharest. He will become the Romanian citizen with the most years of punishment with imprisonment. At the same time, among all Romanian prisoners - Vintila Filip will have the longest stay in various penitentiaries: Jilava (near Bucharest), Craiova, Oradea, Dej, Galați, Constanța, etc. This will be recorded in the magazine "For Homeland" of the Ministry of the Interior. During the communism the prisons are led by militiamen (from the Ministry of the Interior). In the penitentiary he declares - without anyone asking him - that he is a gypsy man and that he lives in the "Colentina" neighborhood of Bucharest. At the age of 14 he learns about a very profitable "business": theft of expensive icons from churches and their sale to collectors, who pay good money for them. There is a group of gypsy men specialized in theft and sale of icons, but Vintila does not want to go with them to steal and receive a small percentage of the money obtained by selling icons, but will go alone to steal, then to sell…During two weeks he will be present at religious services in various churches to see what kind of icons exist there and especially to study the possibilities of entering these churches at night. He chooses for his "attack" a small church located on the edge of the "Colentina" neighborhood. There are five icons inside that have gold and silver frames. Around the church there are several tall linden trees with rich branches. From such a lime tree you can descend to the roof of the church which is made of tiles (arranged on narrow wooden slats). It is not difficult to remove a few tiles from the roof to make a hole in which to enter (of course, after you have detached two or three tile plates from the - thicker - wooden support) then to reach the attic of the church, then to go down to the nave and the pronaos - that is, to the places where there are icons. His plan is good.
At night, having with him a flashlight, a bag, a rope ladder, a knife and an axe - Vintilă goes to the churchyard, climbs a linden tree, descends on the roof of the church, removes several tiles from their places, enters - through the hole made - in the attic of the church, then descend with the help of the rope ladder and take the 5 icons, which he puts in the bag. With the help of the rope ladder he goes up to the attic... then he goes on the roof to the branches of the linden tree… then he gets down from the tree and goes home. The theft of icons succeeded very well. He will sell the five icons to a collector for the sum of 10 thousand lei, which is three months' salary of an engineer in a well-profitable factory.
Vintilă is satisfied and proud of his deed. He congratulates himself - how clever and skillful he is.
After he finishes the 8th grade of gymnasium he will not go to high school or to any vocational school (to qualify as a worker in a trade). He wants to make money from stealing icons. Vintila Filip very quickly learns many details about the theft of icons from churches and the theft of gold from homes (apartments, houses, villas), as well as the names and addresses of rich people from Bucharest who have significant amounts of gold at their homes. To succeed in stealing from homes - he takes an interest in which people (or families) go on vacation and let the home with no one person inside, but only with the front door closed with yala.
A neurosurgeon doctor lives in a luxurious villa near Herăstrău Park. He goes to the seaside in mid-July together with his wife and their minor son. Vintilă will manage to enter their house and to steal about 100 grams of gold, a color TV and an expensive fur that belonged to the doctor's wife. He will sell all this for a large amount of money, approximately 20 thousand lei. He knows who are the best buyers in town. So he got the equivalent of an engineer's salary for 6 months.
Byzantine icons are more expensive than any other kind of icon - not only because they are plated and framed with gold, but also because they are very old, from the time of the Byzantine Empire. There are few churches in Bucharest (or in other cities) which have Byzantine icons. One such church is Saint Friday. For more than a month Vintilă Filip will study every possibility to enter the church at night and steal the three Byzantine icons. He will succeed (in a nighttime attempt). A true treasure - these three Byzantine icons...
He didn't think the Militia would track him down and find him. One day some militiamen came to the door of his house and summoned him to open it. He is not alone, but together with his father, his mother and a younger sister (about 12 years old). His mother opens the door and the militiamen search and find some stolen items that have not yet been sold. He is arrested, taken to the headquarters of the Militia sector 3, interrogated, beaten with a rubber stick and forced to recognize all the delinquencies committed. Even if he is a minor, he will receive a prison sentence of 3 years.
After reaching the age of 18, he will commit other offences (theft of gold or theft of icons) and he will be caught and arrested, then beaten very hard with a rubber stick, interrogated in every way, tortured and finally convicted by the Law Court of Sector 3 in Bucharest. As a leitmotif, his penal deeds and the convictions succeeded each other for years...
Vintila Filip's life oscillates among:
- days of freedom;
- days of planning and preparation of a new penal deed;
- days when he is arrested by Militia and receives a punishment from the Law Court of Bucharest;
- long days of stay in the penitentiary. Being absolutely recidivist and considered a social danger - he will not have the right to go to work (somewhere outside the penitentiary) in order to benefit from a reduced sentence and to receive better food...
He is now 54 years old and has the title of "receiver" of the most years in prison (as punishment), compared to any other inmate in Romania.
At the same time, he has the "reputation" of holder of the longest stay in the penitentiary - a stay constituted by the accumulation of many situations of recidivist inmate and "subscriber" of the penitentiaries.
So, he was not able to "shorten" the length of his stay in the penitentiary. Others ones atoned only a third of the sentence (for example: of a 6-year prison sentence an individual atoned only two years and was then released). He is a very good chess player, a psychologist and an outstanding orator with the language of a recidivist. After we watched the movie "The Girl Without a Dowry" at the club, Vintilă proves to be a master of film analysis and commentary. A real psychologist, a connoisseur of the most subtle manifestations of the human psyche. No one contradicts him, everyone lets him speak, express his opinions and points of view. After a week, Vintilă falls into his usual state of nervousness, aggressive dissatisfaction, lack of wish to live and sometimes outburst of fluster, with hard swear word. After a week he will have a suicide attempt. When a major general from the General Directorate of Penitentiaries came to inspect the penitentiary, Vintilă ridiculed him with a mocking behavior (toward that general).
7. Vasile Şahân is from the village of Soleşti, located 15 kilometers away from the city of Vaslui. He was born in 1920. He was taken to the front in 1940, so at the age of 20, in the campaign to the East, against Soviet Russia. He was wounded in the right leg in the great battle at the Elbow of Don in 1942: a shrapnel resulting from the explosion of a artillery projectile cut off his leg above the right knee. He has two wooden devices to support his body. The upper part of such a device is located under the arm (between the body and the forearm, somewhere under the shoulder). It has the shape of an isosceles triangle. Its lower part consists of a vertical (wooden) stick. With the amputated right leg - movement is difficult, even using the two wooden devices. Their name is: crutches or protheses. (Next we will use the word: “crutches”).
At present he is 67 years old. His wife died 6 months ago. There being suspicions about the death of his wife, the militiamen from the village, then those from the Center, from the Vaslui County Militia, thoroughly investigated the case of the suspicious death and drew up a criminal case against Mr. Vasile Şahân. The Law Court of the city of Vaslui sentenced him to 13 years in prison (as punishment). He says he's innocent, but he was convicted because he would have killed his wife with a crutch. He appealed to the Tribunal and hopes that he will escape the punishment. He believes that if he fought on the front - he will be exempt from penal punishment...
- I was in the war, I fought, I was decorated...he says.
- It doesn't matter that you were on the front! says Vintila Filip. The penal law is the same for all citizens... It doesn't matter that you were on the front!...
Mr. Şahân is disappointed. He was hoping that he will soon be released from prison… Because he is older than 65 years - he will atone only a quarter of the sentence: instead of 13 years, he will atone 4 years and 3 months...
Vasile Şahân often tells the other detainees about war scenes, which took place on the Eastern front, against Soviet Russia.
8. Viorel Catană was born in the city of Bârlad in 1947. He graduated from a theoretical high school, then, in 1965, he passed the entrance exam to the school of the active officers (with the name "Nicolae Bălcescu") in the city of Sibiu. He was admitted as a student of this school. In that year (1965) the duration of this school was only two years (later its duration was extended to 3 years). He graduated from the officer school in 1967 with the rank of lieutenant. He was a good officer, but after 10 years of activity he was transferred to the reserve for reasons of indiscipline. From his stories (said by him in the penitentiary) it appears the fact that in that year 1977 (when he was rejected from the army and transferred to the reserve) he used the infantry weapon (machine gun AKM 75) for personal purposes, more precisely, to hunt wild pigs in the forest near the military unit in which he worked as an officer - this thing being forbidden, of course, by the communist regime. He greatly regretted being expelled from the army. He got a job at a craft cooperative in the town of Bârlad. Initially, he was tasked with supplying the cooperative with raw materials and various machines. He was later promoted to vice president of the cooperative. In 1986 he committed the offences: embezzlement and forgery in the cooperative's documents. What is embezzlement? It is the use of some money of the company for personal purposes. (The classic name of embezzlement is: "the change of destination of funds"). Even if you intend to return to the enterprise the money taken from it - if you are discovered while using this money (by the Economic Militia) - you will be punished very badly, generally between 5 and 10 years in prison, depending on the amount of money used for personal purposes. He was convicted to 10 years in the prison for embezzlement. For the forgery in the cooperative's documents, he was convicted to two years in prison, but because a decree of legal reprieve and amnesty had been given - including forgery and use of forgery - he was "exempted" from these two years in prison. (He committed the delinquency of falsification of documents before the issuance of the respective decree).
In the penitentiary he regains some traits of a former army officer. He addresses the guardian aggressively and rudely:
- I am a captain, you're a sergeant. In case of war I will be your commander. I will do hard military training with you...I “will get butter out of you”, I will prove to you that I am "somebody" and you are "nobody"...
The guardian does not react to Catană's frequent verbal aggressions, which are increasingly impertinent and mocking. However, he is warned to stop this aggressive behavior (against the guardians). Instead of becoming obedient and quiet, he becomes more ardent, more refractory and more recalcitrant... The guardians are the target of his aggression. In the end he will be put into the "lock-up" for 7 days. What is the "lock-up"?
It is a small room with concrete walls, an iron door with a peephole and a small barred window. In one corner of the room there is a Turkish WC. The only "furniture" is a folding board bed, no mattress, no blanket, no pillow. In one of the sides, this "bed" is fixed with two hinges to the concrete wall. On the opposite side of the hinges there are two wooden "stops" (locking devices) that make possible the horizontal position of the "bed"(so it not to can descend with the side opposite to the wall below the horizontal position). On this side, somewhere in the middle, there is an iron link (iron circle) fixed rigidly to the "bed". When the "bed" is folded and its lateral side is raised to the vertical wall, this link meets another link (iron circle) - fixed rigidly in the concrete wall. Through these two links (iron circles) is inserted the movable part of a large padlock, which will be closed with a key. In this way the "bed" will remain stuck to the wall (in a vertical position), so that the prisoner not to can use it (to lie on it). Every morning the prisoner will be taken out of the "bed" and the "bed" will be folded down (brought to a vertical position) and then fixed with a padlock. The prisoner will have the right to 6 hours of sleep per night (so no mattress, no pillow, no blanket). During the day the prisoner will stand (in vertical position) - if it is winter and the lower mosaic will be very cold, or he will sit on the mosaic (in the summer). When Catană Viorel was put into the "lock-up" - it was August and it was hot…
He will be fed only with one slice of bread a day and two cups of water. Two guardians will beat Catană with rubber batons - for the first three days, then leave him alone. These beatings were very bad, but Catană continued to shout and to swear the guardians. After 7 days in the "lock-up", he will be released, being somewhat obedient and quiet.
9. Mereuță Ștefan is from the town of Bârlad. He is the only child of the family Vlad and Elena Mereuță. His father, Vlad, worked as a school-master in a school located near the Meruță family's house, and his mother, Elena, was the secretary (in an office) of the manager of a craft cooperative. The son Ștefan was not an eminent pupil, but he graduated from a driving school. He will work for many years as a truck driver. At the age of 19, he will go to carry out the military internship ("to do the army") at a military land artillery unit in the city of Slobozia. After a year and four months he will come home and continue to work as a driver, of course, as civilian driver. Not long after, he will marry Ortansa (she being a worker at garment factory). They will never have children and this will make Stefan often unhappy and nervous... (The policy of the Romanian Communist Party in those years was to increase the birth rate. In this sense, families that had children were favored from a material point of view and from a moral point of view). However, they will remain together until Stefan will reach the age of 48 years old. At this moment, their marriage is 25 years old.
Ștefan is thinking of a way to get abroad... somewhere in Austria, then in another country in the West. He will study maps, he will go to Timisoara (city located in the west of Romania, near the border with Yugoslavia) and around the city (having a document issued by the enterprise where he was employee which certified that Mereuță Ștefan was a delegate for a company in Timișoara), he will ask various people about the situation of illegal border crossings, he will find out what roads exist between Timișoara and the border, etc. Then he prepared for departure… He had a chance to find a place through which he passed smoothly across the border (he will pass through this place again sometime later). He went to the town of Vrsec, but was arrested by the Serbian authorities. He was questioned by a representative of the United Nations Organization about the reasons which lead him to immigrate to the West:
- religious discrimination;
- ethnic discrimination;
- political discrimination.
Stefan did not meet the conditions for any discrimination and the decision of the UN representative was: "rejected".
The duration of the stay in the police custody in the city of Vrsec was: one month. Then, he "was handed over" (as arrested) to the Romanian authorities. The Law Court from the city Timisoara sentenced him to one year in prison. (His wish was: to cross Serbia and Slovenia, to reach Austria, then another country in the West - but he ended up in the penitentiary in the city of Oradea). He expiated only 4 months (instead of one year), being released through an amnesty and pardon decree issued by Nicolae Ceaușescu.
He did not abandon his intention to emigrate from Romania and prepared for a new attempt to reach Austria. (This second attempt was very different from the first...).
- he bought 20 chocolates and filled a bag with 2 liters of walnut kernels. He also bought 20 canned fish and 10 cans of liver pate. All this - and a bottle of mineral water - were introduced in a leather bag with a handle. He calculated this amount of food for two weeks (time needed to reach Austria). He bought an important amount of dinars (money that circulated in Yugoslavia). He went to the old place for crossing the border - and without problems he reached Serbia. He did not stop in the town of Vrsec - where the Police were very frequent. Walking on foot he started towards Austria. He slept in the hay, in some abandoned house or in the forest, he walked on side paths and never on the main road, he stopped to fill his water bottle, and sometimes he dared to enter some stores to buy food. He was dressed in jeans and a sport shirt, he had a Serbian figure, he knew very well the geography of Yugoslavia, especially the larger rivers and the railways, he went for a while on the freight train and thus ended up near the border with Austria. There is a place with three neighbors: Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. He arrived at this place, but instead of entering Austria, he entered Hungary (where he was arrested by the Police...). Then he was "delivered" to Romanian authorities. Arriving in the Law Court of Timișoara - in a penal trial - Mereuță will not docilely listen to the words of the prosecutor (who had drawn up an indictment against him), but will systematically give sharp and aggressive retorts...
- Why don't you stay in Romania to work? a judge from the panel of judges asks him.
- I worked for 30 years in Romania as a driver! Mereuță answers.
For his unruly behavior, Mereuță will receive the maximum punishment - that is, three years in prison.
10. Andrei Condurache was recruited for the army at the beginning of this year. He went to fulfill his military internship ("to make his army") at a military infantry unit in the city of Găiesti (Dâmbovița county). Very severe military training began even from the first day. The military training program takes place between 8 am and 1 pm, being led by military officers (lieutenants, major lieutenants or captains). Then the soldiers served lunch. After lunch, the military officers left for their homes, and the leaders for the newly arrived soldiers were two sergeants and 10 corporals. These 10 corporals were very naughty and very severe with the newly arrived soldiers (who had the attribute: "cycle one"). A military instruction much more severe and much more mischievous than the one in the morning started at 2 pm. The physical effort was being much more intense than in the morning. The platoon commander, lieutenant Iorga Vasile, was not knowing about the hardness of the corporals exercised after 2 pm. The nickname for these tortured soldiers was "perches". The corporals were commanding to the "perches":
1-" laid down ": at this command the soldier should lie down on the ground, having his chest and belly stuck to the ground, legs outstretched (right) with some distance between the heels (equal to the distance between the shoulders) and the boots also stuck to the ground (with their inner part), holding an AKM machine gun in his hands;
2-"crawling on elbows and knees": from the position “laid down” the soldier must move forward using as support for his body the elbows and knees. He advances - looking ahead - with great care: he to keep the small distance between the chest and the ground (and between belly and ground), and the head must also be close to the ground (so that the enemy not to can hit the head of this soldier with a bullet);
3-“ jump forward”: at this command the soldier stands up and runs at high speed: forward. The running is zigzag or in a straight line;
4-" jump to the right ": from the position “laid down” the soldier stands up and runs at high speed: to the right, similar to "jump forward";
5-" jump to the left ": the jump is performed at high speed to the left, similar to the "jump forward" or "jump to the right";
6- "gases": is the command that warns the soldiers that there are toxic gases around them. Each soldier will place a "gas mask" on the figure (on the face). This determines the breathing of the soldiers through the "anti-toxicity filter". (It is considered that breathing without a "gas mask" or with a defective "gas mask" is lethal and causes the death of the soldier);
7- "enemy aviation at low altitude" - this is also a warning: that there are planes (or helicopters) which fly at low altitude (or very low altitude) - with the possibility of killing any soldier. In these conditions, the soldiers must sit with their backs stuck to the ground and to execute fire (to shoot at) (in "automatic" mode) with the machine gun. Even if the (imaginary) plane has armor - it can be annihilated, even destroyed by a bullet from an AKM type machine gun.
These commands can be repeated often, randomly or programmed by the platoon commander (Lieutenant Iorga Vasile) or by rude and severe corporals. It is very difficult to endure military instruction when the commanders are impudent corporals, tough and very severe. They (the corporals) show a strange feeling of revenge towards the "perches" (because they - the corporals - were once "perches" and endured very severe military instruction). This infantry tactical training was extremely grueling and the soldiers were completely physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the hourly schedule.
The numerous physical and psychic solicitations "knocked down" Andrei. "What should he do - in order to escape from the terrible military training and the aggression of the corporals?" He will make the decision to hurt his one finger with a bullet which will come out of the barrel of his machine gun (AKM 75 M).
On Tuesday of next week there will be the qualification shooting with the machine gun (type: AKM 75 M) in the "high running target", located 250 meters away from the firing line. There are 5 such targets and the firing will take place with series of 5 soldiers each.
If a bullet hits this target, it will fall to the ground (through the operation of an automatic mechanism which senses the impact of the bullet). A target which has fallen to the ground is the proof that the soldier who fired managed to bring it down (and he will be graded with: "VERY WELL"). It is the Tuesday - when was planned the machine gun shooting. A bulky, moustached sergeant commands the series of soldiers (each series having 5 soldiers). One of them is Andrei.
- Series, on the firing line, FORWARD! orders the sergeant.
The five soldiers move to the 5 firing points (each having a kind of pit)..
- Series, for the fight, LAY DOWN! commands the sergeant again.
The 5 soldiers take the position LAID DOWN, each with a machine gun and 7 cartridges intended to hit the target.
- Series, LOAD THE GUN! At this command, the soldiers load the machine gun with the first cartridge, after which the other 6 cartridges will automatically come.
- Series, on the "high target which runs", FIRE!
This is the command to shoot the target.
Andrei fits the index finger of his left hand in front of the barrel of the machine gun and then presses the trigger. (Trigger is a mechanical device. When you press the trigger - a bullet will come out of the barrel).
The bullet which came out of the barrel shattered the top of his finger. Andrei howls because of the pain.
- What happened? asks the sergeant. Then, when he sees Andrei's broken finger, he commands in a very loud voice:
- Stop shooting!
A lieutenant, a captain and a major come to see the incident.
- Self-mutilation! says the major with conviction and firmness.
The other two officers approve him.
Andrei is now bandaged on the finger by a medical sergeant.
All soldiers will leave the firing range and arrive at the barracks.
Andrei will be investigated for several days in a row, then he will be sent (as arrested) to the Military Law Court in Bucharest, which will convict him to 1 year and 8 months in prison for the delinquency of "Self-mutilation".
11. Ignat Dan (called "Dănuț") was born and raised in the city of Ploiesti. His father was a tailor at a craft cooperative and his mother was a saleswoman in a grocery store. Dan wandered through the city of Ploiesti from south to north, from east to west. He found out that there are: a swimming place, a skating rink, a racecourse (for horses), a football stadium, a large park, large shops, a watch (clock) museum, several huge refineries that process crude oil in order to obtain superior gasoline, diesel, lamp oil, fuel oil, etc. From the age of 10, Dănuț often goes to the swimming place during the big holiday, that is, between June 15 and September 15. He is always accompanied by his cousin Vlad who is 13 years old (three years older than Dănuț). This Vlad taught Dănuț to swim. The swimming place is 50 meters long and 25 meters wide. There is competition among boys: who swims better and faster. Dănuț and other boys of the same age as him often have swimming competitions... Dănuț was never a champion. His physical condition is good, but not very good. He has a feeling of frustration when he sees that other boys can become champions, and he can never become champion... At the racecourse (hippodrome): the competition among horses is fierce, relentless, rough, aggressive, caustic. Dănuț follows the horse races with great interest and passion. He rarely had money to bet on a horse, but he never won any large sums of money.
The city of Ploiești is called the "oil city" because it has the largest and most important oil refineries in Romania. Not far from the city of Ploiesti there is land with many oil wells that extract crude oil from the basement. The city's football team is called "Petrolul Ploiești", it is now in division B (second division), in a big fight with Football Club Brăila for promotion to division A (first division). Dănuț was at the stadium to see the football match between Petrolul Ploiesti and Fotbal Club Brăila. Being the host of the match - "Petrolul Ploiesti" and its supporters hoped to win, but the match ended in a equality: 1 - 1, to the great disappointment of the supporters from the city of Ploiesti. Because of too much nervousness, some of them started hitting the supporters from Brăila. A terrible fight began between those from Ploieşti and those from Brăila. The militia managed with great difficulty to restore order in stadium and around the stadium...
Dănuț graduated from a vocational school (for the maintenance and repair of refrigerators). He is the only son of the Ignat family and often receives money from his parents. When Dănuț turned 18 years old, he obtained a driving license (category C), then he bought a car type "Dacia 1300", somewhat old, but in good working condition. From the age of 19 years old he began to satisfy the military internship ("to make his army"), then he married Camelia. He started working as a technician in the field of refrigeration, meaning a person who maintains and repairs refrigerators. One day he consumed a quarter of a liter of brandy and then he started with his car (at high speed) towards the city of Sinaia. He had a terrible accident: he hit a stone bridge and his right leg was crushed. The doctors (in the hospital) amputated his right leg (somewhere below the knee). However, he kept his driver's license. He continued to use his car for movement around the city and outside the city of Ploiești. When he reaches the age of 25 years old, his wife Camelia gives birth to a child (a boy) whom they name Sebastian.
Very happy, Dănuț drinks brandy again, as if he has forgotten the car accident from the past. He is driving his car at high speed on the boulevard in the city center. A team of militiamen, noticing his high speed, stop him, then ask him to blow into the ampoule to determine the concentration of alcohol in his blood. He is arrested for driving a car under the influence of alcohol. The Law Court of the city of Ploiesti sentences him to two years in prison…
Now he is in the penitentiary, in the room with number 32. He is happy that he will be released from prison soon. He would have to atone another year, but he is sure that will be released on parole because he repaired the prison's refrigerators. He is a refrigeration technician by trade, he has an amputated leg, but he got component parts and repaired the refrigerators. It has a weighted and calculated tone in speech, as a disciplined pupil who has done his homework. He smiles indulgently at the nervous outbursts of some around him, he considers them as good guys and wants them to be released as soon as possible. He tries a word game with Cornel, a recidivist who experienced the regime in the restrictive prison in Galați. It's the well-known "pheasant" game, in which you must form a word which starts with the last two letters of another word given to you by your opponent…
Finally, the day arrives when the commission for conditional release, headed by a prosecutor, will decide who leaves and who stays. The militiaman Doroftei comes to announce: "Pantaze Ion, conditionally freed; Bratu Vasile, conditionally freed; Dobromir George, conditionally freed; Ignat Dănuț, postponed for six months..." etc. Dănuț looks dismayed at the militiaman; he is probably joking. How to postpone him for six months if he repaired the refrigerators? Such a thing is not possible! He can't believe it. He looks around perplexedly. What kind of people are these who promised him release? Why didn't they keep their word? He will make appeal to the High Court! Why didn't they approve the conditional release? He will make appeal to the High Court! Nay! ... He will go on hunger strike! Yes, yes! He will go on hunger strike, to show the prosecutors who Ignat Dănuț is!
During two weeks Dănuț did not eat anything, he only drank water when he was thirsty.
Even if some inmates offered him food, he categorically refused. The commander of the penitentiary showed concern and worry for Dănuț's attitude:
- Why don't you eat? he asked. What do you want to demonstrate with this refusal to eat? Where did you hear about this type of behavior: the refusal to eat?
Dănuț does not want to listen to advice and exhortations, he will endure hunger, he will stay hungry until he will die. No one to disregard him, all people should respect him as a dignified and fair man.
- The law protects you if you know it and respect it! he cried with much reproach in his voice. What protection? ... and starts yelling and accusing and whining. If you're stupid, you respect the law! he exclaims with intemperance and great dissatisfaction.
In every penitentiary there is an officer (in this case: a captain) from the Political Police. He is attentive to the manifestations of some prisoners against the Romanian Communist Party and in general against the political regime in Romania. He came to room 32 for a discussion with Ignat Dănuț. He has a kind tone and is careful with the words which he utters. He expresses his concern for the condition of the inmate who does not want to eat, he wants to appear humanistic and understanding of the situation, asks Dănuț to think about his life and his family, but he receives a categorical refusal and a lot of nervousness. This captain feels somewhat offended and finally leaves, grumbling that he was not understood by a recalcitrant and absurd inmate. After all, Ignat Dănuţ will start eating and will enter the normal unfolding of the life in the penitentiary...
12. The engineer Tănăsuc Romeo graduated from the "Gheorghe Asachi" Polytechnic Institute in Iași with a specialization in "machine construction technology" and works at the Enterprise of Measuring and Control Devices in the Industrial Zone of the city of Vaslui.
He was married to Letitia, also an engineer (in the field: industrial mechanics), employed by the "Mecanica" Company in the same industrial area. A year after the marriage, Letitia gave birth to a boy whom they named Octavian. In the beginning their marriage went well. The first problems appear when the engineer Tănăsuc begins to consume alcohol more than usual. He often comes home drunk. Nervous and troubled, engineer Tănăsuc sometimes hits with his fists Letitia in the chest. She is very angry because the attitude of her husband and tries to calm him down and to determine him not to consume more alcohol. Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to change him at all. She will bring an action against her husband (for divorce) at the Court. The Court of the city of Vaslui will pass the divorce sentence, with the following details:
- the engineer Tănăsuc Romeo will leave the apartment in which he was living together Letiția and their son Octavian;
- Tănăsuc Romeo loses the legal right to be the father of the minor child (Sebastian);
- Tănăsuc Letiția, the wife of Tănăsuc Romeo, will have all the rights and duties as the mother of the minor child and will provide him with protection and maintenance until he will reach the age of 18;
- Tănăsuc Romeo will have the right to visit and see his son Octavian twice a month (half a day each time);
- Tănăsuc Romeo is obliged to give Letiția - as a allowance for the maintenance of the child - every month the amount of 1000 lei (about a third of his salary). This allowance is called "alimony".
In the beginning, the engineer Tănăsuc will give 1000 lei every month for the minor child Octavian. After about a year, he will stop paying the amount of 1000 lei.
In these conditions, Letitia addresses herself to the Law Court, which will convict Tănăsuc Romeo to 1 year and 6 months in prison - as punishment for the delinquency of "family abandonment". There are many cases of "family abandonment" in Romania - that is: situations in which the father does not give money anymore to his ex-wife for the maintenance of the child - of course, all of which being punished by prison terms (usually between 1 and 2 years).
I don’t know how the engineer Tănăsuc arrived to the room number 32! This room is intended for dangerous prisoners or for those with physical disabilities: amputated legs or hands.
Mereuță approaches him with tact and maturity.
" If you will wash the mosaic on the floor, three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening, you will receive the biscuits. You must not have any reservations or doubts... that you're an engineer and you have to wash the floor! This is the situation!” He agrees to wash the mosaic daily.
Each prisoner has the right to receive one biscuit per day. We are almost fifty prisoners in the room, so the happy engineer Tănăsuc will have fifty biscuits every day. He is diligent and does his duty every day... I talk to him sometimes and find that he still has some soul and some tolerance in him. Probably because he is new in the jail and had not known the real prison life yet. After few days he says:
"These inmates are dehumanized! … They are children of the prison... inveterate recidivists!"
13. Ciubotaru Viorel is a foreman in the field: civil and industrial constructions. He was an employee of the "The Builder" cooperative from the city of Vaslui. Its offices are located near the city center. It has several subsidiaries called lots, thus:
- the Vaslui lot, located on the Delea hill;
- the Bârlad lot, located near the bearing factory;
- the Huși lot, located in the vicinity of the "Huşana" shoe factory;
- the Negresti lot, located outside the city, very close to it, in the northern part;
- the Murgeni lot, located in the center of the village, near the town hall. The village has about 500 houses and aspires to the title of the town.
The Vaslui lot is led by the foreman Chitic Octavian, who is 35 years old and has extensive experience in the field of civil and industrial construction. They are under his command:
- the engineer Radu Alexandru;
- this foreman, Ciubotaru Viorel;
- Miss engineer Anghelescu Cristina;
- the foreman Enășescu Ștefan.
Under the subordination of the foreman Ciubotaru Viorel they are two teams for civil and industrial constructions (masons, painters, workers qualified in working with tiles and faience, plumbers, concrete ironsmiths, carpenters, etc.) and a team of 12 electricians.
The delinquency of foreman Ciubotaru began in March in connection with the team of electricians.
At the end of each month, Ciubotaru Viorel draws up a documentation in which is presented the work performed by electricians, as well as the materials used (which went into the possession of the receiving enterprise).
In this month March the electricians performed work for supply the electricity for an agricultural machinery company (A.M.C.) (machines which perform agricultural work - from plowing and sowing to harvesting) in the village of "Gura Idrici", located 12 kilometers south of the city of Vaslui.
In drafting the documentation, Ciubotaru Viorel used false data, as follows:
- instead of 30 electrical plugs installed he wrote in the documentation 60 plugs (that is: double);
- instead of 40 electric bulbs installed (having sockets and power cables) he wrote in the documentation 80 bulbs installed;
- instead of 30 simple switches installed he wrote in the documentation 60 simple switches;
- instead of 6 large electric motors repaired he wrote 12 electric motors repaired etc.
The amount of money received from the Agricultural Machinery Enterprise from "Gura Idrici" was approximately double compared to what was due. The foreman Ciubotaru took a part of the extra money, and the rest he shared with a few electricians who had a higher professional category than the others, i.e. categories IV and V. (At the same time they being older than others: between 25 and 32 years old).
The electrician Croitoru Marian is very young, he graduated from the professional school of electricians 6 months ago. He believes that he deserves some money from the amount obtained illegally by foreman Ciubotaru. He asks for some money, but is categorically refused. In April, foreman Ciubotaru proceeds in the same way as in March, obtaining, of course, an important extra money - which he shares with the same older electricians (after he has retained a significant amount for himself). Croitoru Marian comes again to the foreman Ciubotaru and asks him for a small amount from that illegal extra money, but he receives nothing. The same situation will be also in May and June. Croitoru Marian is extremely dissatisfied because he does not receive money from the undue surplus. In a fit of rage, he goes to the County Militia and denounces the delinquency of foreman Ciubotaru. Immediately a team of militiamen begin (secretly) penal investigations and draw up a voluminous file attesting to the offense of foreman Ciubotaru. Then he is arrested and investigated. The penal file is finalized by a prosecutor. The Law Court of the city of Vaslui sentenced foreman Ciubotaru to 4 years in prison.
He will arrive to the room 32. Here he will stay only two months without work. The commander of the penitentiary asks him to form a team of workers for civil and industrial constructions (which will be executed for various enterprises and will be paid consistency). Very quickly the foreman Ciubotaru gathers about 25 prisoners specialized in civil and industrial construction (masons, painters, workers qualified in working with tiles and faience, plumbers, concrete ironsmiths, carpenters, etc.) with which he will go to build houses, sheds, shelters for animals and other types of construction. He will receive a badge which he will pin on his chest on the left side. He warns the other inmates in room 32 about his importance as the leader of a construction team.
- This badge was given to me because I am the most important prisoner in this penitentiary. Be careful not to upset me!
14. Gologan Vasile is 33 years old (compared to Vintilă Filip who is 54 years old), but he followed a road similar to that of Vintilă: from the age of 14 he started stealing from homes (various objects or money). He was caught and sent to prison as a minor. The prison for minors was named a "correctional school".
When he returned to freedom he continued to steal from rich people: from a neurosurgeon, from a military major general, from the president of the craft cooperative named "Unirea", even from a seller in a store with sausage and meat. Gologan Vasile was caught by the Militia of Iași County, sent to the Law Court and sentenced to 3 years in prison (as an adult, when he was 19 years old).
The engineer Gologan Andrei is originally from the city of Iași, but at present (being the general director of the enterprise "Mecanica" in the industrial area of the city of Vaslui) he lives in an apartment in the center of the city of Vaslui. Gologan Vasile is boasting that he is relation of the general manager: Gologan Andrei.
He atoned only two years of the 3-year prison sentence. He benefited from conditional release (from the penitentiary located on the southern edge of the city of Pascani). He was not able to abstain from a new theft from homes. He intends to commit a new theft together with Vlad (aged 18) and Dumitru (aged 19). These three "boys" research various areas of the city of Braila in order to find out who are the rich or very rich people, who of them have vacations and where they will spend this vacation, what kind of neighbors they have and what are their relationships with them, etc. During 3 years, Gologan Vasile (together with Vlad and Dumitru) managed very well to steal from dwellings (from houses, apartments, villas) and to sell the stolen goods at a good price.
But Gologan Vasile is again caught in "glaring infringement of the law" and sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Law Court of city Iași , then sent to the penitentiary near the city of Vaslui, named "Avicola" Penitentiary - because it is located near the poultry farm - known to the public as "Avicola" farm. Here he will be appointed as the head of the room (for room 32).
When I first entered the room 32 Gologan Vasile was the head of the room. Two months later Gologan learns with surprise and stupefaction that he will be replaced by Cezărică. He can't believe that will lose the function. He does not hate Cezărică, but he cannot accept the situation of being a simple prisoner. He begins to utter words, phrases and curses specific and established in prison folklore. He is a gypsy man and gives great importance on the words in the sexual field. The other gypsy men in the room react promptly, with despair and consternation when they hear (from Vasile) expressions of disgust and insult:
- Vasile, Vasile! Stop it! they apostrophize him.
But Vasile does not stop and continues in the same tone. Then he says:
- I know what I should do! and he retreats in silence, with gnashing of teeth and staring blankly with red, dilated eyes. During the night, Vasile Gologan gets out of bed, rushes to the window, breaks the glass and takes some shards with which he tries to cut his belly.
At this moment, all the prisoners in room 32 wake up suddenly...with fear, confusion and wonder. There are some voices with impulses, inducements, prods and advice, the main voice being: “Trigger the alarm!”. The guardian from the corridor shouts in a very loud voice: "Alarm!". Immediately three militiamen come armed with machine guns (AKM type) and rubber batons. They are prudent and calm, trying to be diplomatic with Gologan:
- Citizen Gologan! Your gesture is childish. There are some ones who lose ministerial positions and are not upset. Did you want to commit suicide?
The cuts on the belly are superficial, just some scratches.
For suicide attempt, Gologan will be subjected to psychiatric treatment and then sent to "lock-up" for 7 days as punishment.
Of course, in "lock-up" the conditions of detention are much harder than usual.
Very calmly, Vintilă looks towards the agitation of those in the room.
15. Anghelie Cezar (often named "Cezărică") has a very good physical condition, is robust and very tenacious when confront other men. He is originally from the town of Bârlad: a rugby player and a respected man in the slum. He has a habit which he can not abandon: to go to the center of a city (Bârlad, Vaslui, Bacău, Focșani, Brăila, Galați, etc.) and "to cause a scandal". It is not very difficult to provoke a scandal in the center of any city. The scandal turns into a fight (with punches and kicks). When the fight is at its height - Cezărică tries to steal the wallet with money from the pocket of one of the brawlers. When he manages to steal a wallet with money - he quickly leaves for a slum of the city (so that he not to be arrested by the Militia). When he does not manage to steal a wallet - the brawler (owner of the wallet) goes to the Militia and denounces Cezărică. His delinquency has the name: theft, or robbery, or attempted theft, or attempted robbery. Sometimes the Militia manages to arrest Cezărică and then draws up a penal file against him (other times it is unable to arrest him).
Cezărică is now the new chief of room. He displays his knowledge gained as a felon.
- I walked a lot around the country that "to get to know the homeland"!
He got to know his homeland through thefts, robberies, deceptions that he committed starting from a young age. He especially knew the prisons of the homeland.
The promotion of sports in Romania was one of the important features of the Romanian Communist Party. As team sports, they were thoroughly sustained: football, men's handball and rugby. (As individual sports they had a great affirmation: tennis, female gymnastics, athletics, kayaking and canoeing, boxing). A very good physical condition was a reason for admiration, respect and envy from other citizens. Cezărică benefited from the respect and admiration of many inhabitants of the city of Barlad - because he has a very good physical condition, especially strength (being a rugby player). As a recidivist (repeater delinquent), you will gain knowledge about the life in the penitentiary, possibilities of adaptation, vocabulary specific to prisons, other various expressions and words (with special meaning), etc. Cezărică's own praise is: physical strength (and physical resistance), playing chess, women (as fiancees), knowledge of the specifics of prison, sometimes money and fun, etc. At one point he tackled the issue of illegal border crossing (from Romania to Yugoslavia, then going to Austria) - being interested in emigration.
Now he talks about the dream and the meanings of dreams. If you dream of candy (sweetmeats), it means that you will receive the "H", meaning the death penalty. The letter corresponding to the death penalty in the Penal Code is "H". The adjacent expressions are: "They gave him the <H>"; "They gave you the <H>"; "They will give him the <H>" etc.
- An individual dreamed of candy and the next day they gave him the <H>. The candies are the bullets. He foamed at the mouth, his face changed and he was not able longer to speak. They gave him the <H> because he dreamed of candy! The death is not a very big punishment, many try to commit suicide but are not able. You can make a knife out of a spoon and cut your veins with it... In a gesture of dementia, many begin to rub the tail of the spoon against the concrete floor, always, always, from morning to night. What to do with the knife thus obtained from the tail of the spoon? To commit suicide! Or to hit someone who bothers you! The worst and most humiliating thing is to die in prison. At least to die somewhere in a hospital, "outside". Or even to be shot by the firing squad - after they gave you the <H>.
16. Vlad Calinciuc changed his life right at the wedding: he drank a lot, happy that he got married, then he had the impression that his father-in-law is not enthusiastic enough and does not enjoy himself enough. His dissatisfaction (regarding his father-in-law) degenerated into a "heated" quarrel, then into a fight. A future brother-in-law of Vlad Calinciuc, aggressive and nervous, punched him. There were: nervousness, swearing, blows with fists, swearing again, threats and reproaches, incitement to violence, use of knives and causing injuries, irritability, excitement, the great and terrible anger of Vlad Calinciuc who used the knife, hit several men (with the knife), and he killed a brother-in-law (with a knife blow to the heart). The High Court of the city of Vaslui convicted him: to 18 years in the prison…
In the present: he is annoyed when is listening any dialogue, he gives the impression that he will speak and will express a point of view, he waits patiently for each speaker to finish his speech, but in the end he doesn't say anything. He sometimes mentions about Christmas, Christmas Eve, butchering pigs. He is delighted and impressed when someones talk about winter customs. He looks dangerous, but he's just a shadow of the former bridegroom.
17. Priest Pamfir is 35 years old, his eyes are large, expressing sadness, regret and at the same time wonder; he has a thin face, and his whole appearance reveals a long and heavy internal turmoil. He was convinced that his wife is faithful to him, but he was wrong: she betrayed him for another man. He was not able to control his anger and jealousy and killed her with the knife after several fatal blows. The High Court of the city of Vaslui convicted him to 18 years in the jail. His great regret for the deed which he committed determines him not to eat anything (only to drink water). He looks towards an imaginary place where there is no jail or prisoners. He is polite to other ones... He always remembers his wife and sighs for her, sometimes is weeping, being very grieving and sad. The psychiatrist Georgescu Andrei recommended him medical treatment (proper for patients with psychic problems), but he refused any treatment. He knows that God has punished him for his horrible deed...
18. Csaba Sutto is Hungarian from Covasna county. The city of Sfantu Gheorghe is the residence of this county. Most of the inhabitants of the city are Hungarians, only a quarter of the total population being Romanians. Csaba Sutto has an exceptional physical condition, being the champion of Covasna county in freestyle wrestling (and ranked among the first in this sport at the national level). Very proud, sometimes arrogant - he is a star in the Hungarian community. He has a fiancee (Csilla) who is very beautiful. Sometimes Csaba Sutto is envious and jealous (when Csilla talks to other men). One day he found out that Csilla has a friend (Istvan) whom she loves. Being overwhelmed by the rage and the irrepressible impulse for revenge - Csaba Sutto uses a knife with the intention of hurting Istvan. He hits him somewhere to the left of the navel, but one of Istvan's colleagues announces the Militia that comes and arrests Csaba Sutto. The accusation came from Istvan (then from a prosecutor) is: attempted murder. He sustains with vehemence that he did not intend to kill Istvan, but the Law Court of the city of Sfantu Gheorghe sentenced him to 7 years in prison for attempted murder.
Here in the penitentiary, he continues to show immense hatred towards Istvan:
- When I will go out the prison - I will find him and I will take out his eyes of orbits, I will blind him and let him with the white walking-stick...for the rest of his life! he says with determination, firmness and some ferocity.
He spent most of his time in "lock-up". He beat inmates and guardians.
- After a 7-day stay at "lock-up" - it seems to you that time passes quickly in the room! he says.
Although most inmates get out of prison early, that is, they are released on parole, Sutto has spent six and a half years in prison. He will stay here for another six months, that is, he will come out exactly on the term provided by the court. As a former sportsman - even now he does daily maintenance exercises. His family sustains him and brings him, whenever he has the opportunity, a package of food and vitamins. He is a very good chess player, even better than Vintilă. He speaks English and is thinking of fraudulently crossing the border to get abroad.
19. Aurel Balica is from the town of Odobești. He is almost 60 years old, but he has not abandoned the habit of stealing. He spent many years in prison, he has many stories to tell, you could write a novel about his adventures. He boasts that he had a good life in some Romanian prisons in the past. In addition, he says that he had a good life also in freedom, that is, he did not work, but he stole and had a lot of money... He tells about many methods of stealing, from individuals or from the state, with many details, comments, observations and warnings... He spent several years in many prisons in Romania. In the last 5 years, he did not manage to steal many objects and a lot of money, but he was investigated by the Militia and beaten very badly with a rubber stick.
He has a start (sudden movement) - of fear and bad memories - when he sees a rubber stick. Several militiamen beat him badly last summer… He always talks, always, always... For any theme, for any subject, he has many stories, details, explanations, various references, clarifications, etc. He belongs to the category of those who committed many delinquencies and were convicted many times. This is a reason for praise and arrogance. He knows what is the life in prison, he is not a beginner. Like a sergeant in the army who is superior to soldiers - he is also superior to beginner prisoners… Some inmates listen to Aurel Balica's words with interest and attention …
20. Vasile Roman had about the same destiny and the same life as Aurel Balica. He doesn't talk much, but he finds that he has expiated a 5-year prison sentence and has forgotten the reason for that punishment! He probably had too many penal sentences and forgot the reasons for each of them. He is the assistant of the head of the room and often shows authority and arrogance.
They are now discussing about punishments, accumulation, "tails" and mergers. There is a lot of talk about militiamen, prosecutors and judges, about investigations.
"You can lie in court, but you can't lie at the police", is a saying from the folklore of penal prosecutions.
21. Mircea Brateș is from the city of Bacău and was convicted for cigarette smuggling. He sold cigarettes B.T. in the city of Bacau. (B.T. come from the words "Bulgar Tabac").
He went (once a week) to the border between Romania and Bulgaria, especially to the town of Giurgiu, where he had as friends some border guardians. They sold him B.T. cigarettes for 9 lei a pack, and he sold these cigarettes in the city of Bacau for 15 lei a pack. His "business" was very good, but the Militia found out about "smuggling", they arrested him, investigated him... He was sentenced by the Law Court of Bacau County to 2 years in prison.
Other inmates and their delinquencies:
22. Giosan Petru: usurpation of official qualities - that is, he presented himself as a prosecutor and started a substantial penal investigation (in the city of Vaslui);
23. Iovănut George: theft from a freight train car;
24. Zamfir Nicolae: theft from state property (theft of hay from a
State Agriculture Enterprise);
25. Balan Gheorghe: poaching;
26. Cercel Ilie: embezzlement;
27. Corosan Dumitru: homosexuality;
28. Debren Ivan: rape;
29. Budai Alexandru: deception;
30. Cozoroc Vasile: forgery and use of forgery (in documents of the company where he worked - being an accountant);
31. Andreescu Ion: theft from a state enterprise;
32. Panait Andrei: rape;
33. Georgescu Vasile: fraudulent border crossing;
34. Istrate Ion: fraudulent border crossing;
35. Dobre Dan: fraudulent border crossing;
36. Prale Ivan: theft of medicines;
37. Cămărășescu Vasile: attempted murder;
38. Ciocoiu Marius: theft from homes;
39. Mutu Ștefan: theft pork from his cousin;
40. Cercel Lucian: car accident;
41. Szilagy Sandor: rape;
42. Enășescu Adrian: robbery;
43. Alexiu Vasile: forgery and use of forgery in the accounting records of a craft cooperative;
44. Colocioiu Costică: embezzlement.
etc.
Andrei Condurache comes late in the evening from the kitchen. It's a heated atmosphere there because of food preparation, there is much perspiration caused by the steam and the heat. You must keep cleanliness... The mosaic is washed frequently and then wiped with a dry cloth. Each one takes a bath whenever needed. For this purpose, there is a shower room nearby.
For the food product obtained from corn flour, there are several names in English:
- hominy;
- mush;
- maizebread;
- boiled cornflour.
The name "maizebread" is not entirely correct (because it is soft and sticky - as opposed to the bread).
The name "mush" can be a reference to the food product obtained from cornflour, but not as a finality, but as an intermediate stage in the preparation of maizebread.
The name "boiled cornflour" is the closest to reality...We will always use the name: "boiled corn flour (maize bread)".
Vasile Fieraru is from the city of Galati, he practiced boxing for several years and has the allure of a solid man.
He was assigned to prepare "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" every day... "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" for all the prisoners in the penitentiary. His work is hard. Thus:
- a large cauldron in which water boils and cornflour is poured. When the mush is somewhat boiled and there is a possibility that the composition in the cauldron to seethe intensely - the cook Fieraru Vasile pours another amount of corn flour. The contents of the cauldron will continue to boil (not for long time)... Then he mixes (with force and speed) the mush in the cauldron until it becomes homogeneous and consistent. The paste thus obtained is left to boil for a while until it becomes almost solid. Then the fire in the stove is turned off and the "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" is left to cool. Finally, it is cut into cubic dollops, obtaining the famous "cubic clays". The portion for an inmate is a "cubic clay".
Fieraru Vasile finished his work. He is sweat and has a red face. He's going to take a cold shower…
He sees Andrei completely naked. A lad…rather a lass, a maidenly figure, with round and pink legs. It's like a girl... An beastly instinct arises in him and then completely dominates him. His temples throb and twitch, his heart is pounding, his mind is dim and foggy and he can't see anything else than the tender and pink body of Andrei. He approached him. Andrei turns his face to Fieraru Vasile and wants to say something.
- Either you stay to fuck you or I beat you black and blue!...Fieraru says with hoarse, cavernous voice of mad desire.
And without waiting for an answer, he punches him hard in the chest, knocking him down.
Andrei collapsed on the mosaic pavement. His mind is troubled and a mixture of fear, helplessness and repulsion swirls in his head. He tries to come to his senses and find a way to escape from the aggressor. He is paralyzed with fear, his body is soft and helpless, he tries to get up but his legs do not obey him. He looks around desperately, the image of that animal which humiliated him terribly, who made him such a vile proposal, appears. The hatred and the anger are swirling in his head. He no longer feels the pain in his chest caused by the hit as with sledgehammer of Fieraru. He suddenly jumps up and runs to the door shouting at the top of his lungs: "Help!", "Help!". The guardian near the shower room hesitates for a moment, then triggers the alarm. Three guardians come to see what happened. First they ask Andrei about what happened. They consider that Fieraru's deed is not serious and ask Andrei to go to room 32. Then they question Fieraru about the incident...
The scene in the kitchen became known to all the inmates.
The guardians forbid Andrei to go to the kitchen, but they still keep Fieraru at the cauldron with "boiled corn flour (maize bread)". No one else is able to prepare "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" for the inmates.
Arriving in room 32, Andrei Condurache tells his mischance to other ones.
- I've never heard something like this! he confesses. But you...did you hear something like this?
The recidivists with big punishments have a discreet smile each one. "What we to have heard?" They know many things, they have seen many things and even have done many things. (About homosexuality!).
- You probably have a relationship with Fieraru which started once in the past! they say in a serious and gentle tone. Andrei is vexed, full of perplexity and surprised, amazed, astonished , bewildered. He has red face and became stuck, he can't say anything.
He is completely helpless and looks around and everything crumble over him. The recidivist ones collect their thoughts in silence, with gravity.
“What good times in the past!...” they say, remembering with nostalgia those times.
There was a period of time when some prisoners worked in the fields (harvesting corn) and they did not live in the penitentiary, but in some old buildings which were once boarding schools for the pupils of vocational schools.
They say that there were minor detainees (boys under the age of 18) who were sexually abused by some recidivists. They consider that those times (when they sexually abused some minor detainees) were very good times… It begins an ample and intensely argued debate (conversation), sprinkled with numerous memories. Something was triggered in the minds of the prisoners who had big sentences and spent a long time in various penitentiaries. They want to say that their life was rich, full of events, that they have a lot of knowledge, and stories to tell. A kind of pride of homosexual rises from Gologan, Cezărică, Roman, Pleșanu and Rogoz. The stories are told one after another, in a continuous chain, all accompanied by comments, opinions and exclamations of bravery.
Poor Andrei “made himself” small and unimportant. He does not exist for anyone in the penitentiary, especially in the room 32. After three months, he will benefit from conditional release and will go home. For now, some recidivists are harassing him with bad words. They (the recidivists) suggest that, however, there was a homosexual relationship between Fieraru and Andrei. For the clarification of the situation and the elimination of any doubts - it would be good that Andrei to accept the test with paper cone - in order to see if he is a virgin.
- What paper cone? bursts out Andrei after so much insistence.
Some recidivists explain (with many details) how to perform the test with the paper cone…
Another prisoner who has connection with homosexuality is Ene. He is caught in the middle of the conversation and obliged to confess. He says he was lured by some actors from Luden. They invited him to a luxurious apartment, gave him expensive drinks. He was sexually abused. The abuse was repeated: the second time, the third time, the fourth time. Then he was abandoned. Because the homosexuality was punishable by law, and he had sexual contacts with other men - he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison…
Răducanu used to take sleeping pills and pills for mental disorders. He regularly knocks on the iron door of the room to ask for treatment from the medical assistant. He receives two pills per day. He does not consume these pills, but collects about 30 pills (during two weeks). There are signs that Vintila told Raducanu to collect 30 pills, promising him several packs of cigarettes in exchange for the pills. So: Raducanu gave Vintila 30 pills (which are indicated for mental illnesses) and received 4 packs of unfiltered cigarettes. Vintila wants to show the other inmates how to proceed for suicide (unlike Gologan Vasile's attempt). Vintilă approaches the guardian who just entered the room and displays the pills: “Because my life is very bad and I don't have the necessary resources for an acceptable living and I have not any reason to live – I now swallow these pills” - says Vintilă and swallows all 30 pills.
The guardian releases the alarm. They contact (by phone) the County Hospital. An ambulance comes to penitentiary for th hospitalization of Vintila (in the “reanimation” section). The physicians will make him intense treatment, including washing stomach. After 3 days Vintila will come back to the penitentiary. As punishment (for his deed) he will be introduced into “lock-up” for 7 days…
Often I have health problems, especially stomach pain. From psychic point of view - I also have some problems. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by illness.
The food is very bad:
- in the morning, as breakfast, a slice of bread;
- at lunch we receive only one dish, a kind of soup obtained from potatoes, or beans, or rice or cabbage, always without meat;
- as supper we receive boiled pearl barley.
I started smoking (cigarettes without a filter). Anyway, the atmosphere is almost unbreathable because of the cigarette smoke. I was assigned to read the brochures of the General Directorate of Penitentiaries which have the purpose to re-educate the delinquents now in detention. Various cases are presented, from thefts and robberies to rapes and murders, all commented by Militia professionals. Their tone is one of reproach and blame, a kind of opprobrium that totally discriminates the prisoners, giving credit to the idea that all those at liberty are very correct and moral, without any stain, and the act of justice was carried out with the greatest fairness.
The almost unanimous opinion is that this statement is not entirely true. Most of the prisoners know that:
- there are some guilty people in the freedom and
- some innocent people in the prisons (that is: victims). The communist regime often generated injustice. (The perception of this injustice is not always correct; some journalists from Radio "Free Europe" are much more vehement and critical for the communist regime in Romania. They often mention that there is an "Iron Curtain" around Romania...).
There is probably a little humor when some ones say:
"Laws are for the small and stupid people! The big ones break the law, and the clever ones slip through the law!"
I am reading, reading, reading, reading. "The law protects you if you know it and respect it!"
The laws are probably made to defend the communist system and no one will see any dignitary of Romanian Communist Party, or any officer of Political Police or even a
militiaman in the prison.
The discussion "slipped" in the direction of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his people nearby.
- You will ever pay for all these misfortunes! says Nicu, a prisoner sentenced to ten years in prison for embezzlement - with fierceness, grief, anger, sullenness, distress, nervousness, almost with hatred. He has an amputated leg and wants to be strong until he will be released from prison.
Who is Nicolae Ceausescu in this year 1987? He is a communist dictator, greedy for political power. In fact, he already has maximum political power: general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, president of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Supreme Commander of the Army. There is, for him, the cult of personality. Some ones adore him and glorify him, like a god...
You can endure even 10 years in prison if the conditions are acceptable and you have the prospect of a good life after release, or you can endure a short time in the most miserable conditions. Unfortunately, the situation is completely unfavorable for those who have to expiate five, six, ten or eighteen years: miserable conditions and long periods of detention…
What is "the place for walk"? It is a place similar to a park with flowers, having a circular shape with a diameter of 12 meters, with high walls around (2 meters high). Inside there are paths for walking and many flowers. The prisoners in room 32 have the right to go to the "walking place" every day (and to stay here for about half an hour). These are the best moments of detention, here, in the "place for walk": we look at the sky and the sun, we see the flowers, we breathe fresh air, we move more freely than in room 32, the nervousness and aggression of some prisoners decreases a lot...almost you may hope for a better day tomorrow. A prisoner from the neighboring room (number 31) tells with passion and humor how he tried to reach the border by "swimming" through the snow. There were 5 boys and 4 girls, they went for about 4 hours through the snow, but they didn't manage to cross the border because the border soldier was very vigilant. "Next summer we will try again to cross the border illegally. Crossing the border leaves your head but enters your blood" he says with cheerfulness and optimism…
Mereuță Ștefan was the bravest of all those who tried to cross the border illegally. He calculated this amount of food for two weeks (time needed to reach Austria). He bought an important amount of dinars (money that circulated in Yugoslavia). He went to the old place for crossing the border - and without problems he reached Serbia. He did not stop in the town of Vrsec - where the Police were very frequent. Walking on foot he started towards Austria. He slept in the hay, in some abandoned house or in the forest, he walked on side paths and never on the main road, he stopped to fill his water bottle, and sometimes he dared to enter some stores to buy food. He was dressed in jeans and a sport shirt, he had a Serbian figure, he knew very well the geography of Yugoslavia, especially the larger rivers and the railways, he went for a while on the freight train and thus ended up near the border with Austria. There is a place with three neighbors: Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. He arrived at this place, but instead of entering Austria, he entered Hungary (where he was arrested by the Police...). Then he was "delivered" to Romanian authorities…
From the outside of the penitentiary comes inside the penitentiary an infectious disease which affects the stomach and the belly. The inmates in the penitentiary learned that there are hundreds of people hospitalized (because of this disease) and that you must take antibiotics for healing. The penitentiary does not give any antibiotics for healing, each inmate must survive without pills, with his own health resources.
Vladimir Grădinaru thinks of the prospect of the death, but tries to be optimistic:
- If I didn't die in the penitentiary in Oradea, I will not die right now! Here the living conditions are better than in Oradea!
I get to know the fact that there are almost murderous places of detention, for example, the one in Oradea, used especially for those who tried to cross the border to reach the West. I find out that it's good in Jilava, that nobody dies in Jilava, but you can die in Craiova, Oradea, Galați or Dej. I also learn that there are tyrannical and demented commanders of the jails, absurd and evil, a kind of merciless torturers, insensible to suffering and even to death. In their opinion: the prison must be a punishment, you must "feel" that you are in prison. Not any kind of relief, not the slightest comfort, not even the treatment of some diseases.
- You must expiate your punishment. Did you die? I don't care!...
We recover with difficult from the illness which hit us in the stomach and the belly. Dănuţ starts to eat. In his special situation (after two weeks without food) he is now too greedy. He gobbles small amounts of food received from other inmates, but in total he eats too much. The effect of this greed is a very bad crisis. He is overcome with torments. His body is shaken by the crisis, his face is pale, and his eyeballs turn upwards. Some ones make predictions: he will die, he will not die! No one thinks to call a doctor, or at least the medical assistant. It's as if we've lost every trace of humaneness and reason. Dănuţ will escape alive from this difficult ordeal.
Some recidivists from the room 32 begin to tell about dramatic situations in which some inmates refused food (they did not want to eat), then, later (after 10-15 days) they started eating and had terrible crises. When to eat and how much to eat?
I start making a knife from the tail of a spoon. Sometimes I read about America or beekeeping.
A chess competition (type cup) begins in the room. There are 32 chess players at the beginning, then, after the eliminatory matches: they remain16 players, then 8, then 4: that is, semi-finals. Serafim Ipate has a sheet of paper and a small pencil, about three centimeters long, tied with a string to his shirt collar. He will keep the records of the matches. The strongest are Vintilă, Sutto and Gologan. I will reach the semi-finals without the three aces, who were defeated in the previous matches. I play the semifinal game with Aurel Balica. He throws himself into the battle with impudence with the intention of succeeding to defeat me as soon as possible. I capture a tower from him, then I continue to play cautiously and keep the gained advantage. He is very dissatisfied and nervous, he tries to trick me, even to intimidate me, but he can't do anything for his victory. I win the game with Balica and reach the final with Cezărică. He is very surprised that I reached the final. He was believing that I am not able to play chess. I am ambitious to give a good reply to Cezărică. I am attentive and make all the effort which I am able in order to play well. I wait for the mistakes of the opponent which inevitably come. I have a moment of inspiration and move a horse which "catches" three heavy pieces: the king, the queen and a tower. Then I win without problems and become the champion of the room 32. This my moral ascendant is not unimportant: I am looked with some respect by the others, I get a bed "at the ground floor" where I will stay alone, someone gives me a cigarette as a gift, and Vladimir Grădinaru enthusiastically praises the category of delinquents who have wanted to emigrate illegally from Romania (in which I am included). The inmate Cornel skillfully manages to trick Adam and get almost half of the package recently received (by Adam) from his family . Many inmates hate Adam because he was an informer (for militia officers) in the arrest room in the city of Barlad (some ones believing that he is an informer here in the penitentiary, too). (Cornel obtained salami, canned fish and cigarettes). The same Cornel says:
- I now eat boiled beans - which are very tasty. There are many people in Romania who have not (as food) boiled beans. Nicolae Ceausescu ordered to be exported abroad: cereals, vegetables, fruits, pork, beef, poultry and dairy products. There are many people in Romania who have not now (as food) boiled beans...
The doctor of the penitentiary is a miss major lieutenant. She graduated from the Faculty of Military Medicine (5 years) in Bucharest. She belongs to the Ministry of National Defense, but "was given" to the Ministry of the Interior. Her presence here is somewhat unnatural. She looks like a fairy among ogres, a saint in a cave with devils, a ray of sunshine in a dark cellar, the woman who changes the world and gives hope to the condemned ones. She has several apparitions, entering the room to ask us about health and living conditions…
In the eastern part of the penitentiary is the building with rooms for women (ladies and young ladies). The same worries, the same problems, the same hopes, the same dissatisfaction as those of men exist among women...
Vladimir Grădinaru looks towards the women's building and at the same time thinks of his wife. "When I will go home..." - and makes plans for the future.
Mereuţă always talks about the decree for amnesty and conditional release.
- There are too many prisoners in the penitentiaries. They must issue a decree for amnesty and conditional release! he says.
One evening in October, I hear someone shouting in the corridor at the top of his lungs:
- They issued a decree! They issued a decree! They issued a decree!
He runs from one door to another, knocks loudly in the doors and shouts for all to hear:
- They issued a decree! They issued a decree! They issued a decree!
Epilogue
In legal terms there is the word "reprieve" which means a forgiveness of one part of a penal sentence accompanied by conditional release. The decrees issued in this sense by the president of Romania had the name: "decree of amnesty and reprieve".
On January 26, 1988, Nicolae Ceaușescu will be 70 years old (because he was born on January 26, 1918). On this occasion he will issue a huge decree (amnesty and reprieve), thus:
- prisoners with sentences of 10 years or less will be amnestied, that is, they will be released from prisons, and their legal (penal) sentences will be erased from all records.
So, they will go home as completely innocent citizens. In fact, amnesty means forgetfulness. So, the Romanian state, by the will of its leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, will "forget" the delinquencies committed by these prisoners;
- prisoners with sentences of more than 10 years in prison will benefit from "reprieve", better said: conditional release. Their sentences will be reduced by half. For example, if a prisoner has received (from the Court of Justice) a punishment of an 18-year in the prison, this will be reduced by half. He will appear in the legal (penal) record as a prisoner with a 9-year prison sentence (and not 18 years in prison).
After this huge decree the prisons in Romania remained almost empty. Generally, there were (after January 26, 1988) 15 to 20 inmates in each penitentiary.
However, most people in Romania were dissatisfied that Nicolae Ceaușescu issued this huge decree (to release many inmates).
.........................................................................................................................
On December 25, 1989, the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceaușescu will fall - thanks to a popular revolt that started in Timișoara and continued in this city, but also in Bucharest and other big cities (revolt often called revolution). The list below presents the number of participants in the Revolution of 1989 who died or were injured during the events. The revolution of 1989 had a total of 1,166 victims in the cities declared martyrs:
Alba Iulia, Arad, Brașov, Brăila, București, Buzău, Caransebeș, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Craiova, Cugir, Hunedoara, Lugoj, Reșița, Sibiu, Târgoviște, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara.
- between December 17 and 22 were recorded 271 deaths;
- between December 22 and 25 were recorded 715 deaths;
- after December 25 were recorded 113 deaths;
- without an exact date were recorded 67 deaths.
On this historic day, Nicolae Ceaușescu and Elena Ceaușescu will be executed (by shooting) by a firing squad (in a military unit near the city of Târgoviște).
The End
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Communist jail
by Eugen Hulub
In August 1986 I had an attempt to cross the border (from Romania) to Yugoslavia. I was caught and arrested, but considering the psychic problems which I had from the army I was released and judged in freedom. To be more explicit, I had been a student
of a military officers' school (specialty: anti -aircraft artillery) and the harsh regime in this school caused me a mental illness, so that, after three years of activity as an officer (lieutenant) I have been passed in reserve as inapt.
However, I was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
In June, 1987, when I was still employed (at Synthetic yarn factory), at noon, two militiamen came to me with arrest warrant, they put me the handcuffs, introduced me in a van, then the van went to the Municipal Militia. I entered the arrest of the militia.
(Militia was equivalent to police in the western countries). It should be noted that: before to be introduced into the arrest room, the offenders were "received" by a militiaman (in a neighboring room).
This moment - of my arresting - was as a shock.
I was very affected (by the arresting), with some fear, with small possibilities to appreciate correctly the situation I was in, without the power to express myself coherently, or to react.
The "reception" was made by a militiaman (a Petty Officer) (NCO = non commissioned officer).
In the room which was neighbor to the Arrest Room - according to the legal procedure, he asked me to undress (to take off my clothes) and to remain only with my sports pants on me. I complied with the militiaman's request (and remained only with my sports pants on me).
Surprising thing: this militiaman (NCO) was - at that time - very humane and very kind. He told me that I will stay in the penitentiary only 3 months, then I will be released. In that deplorable and pitiable state in which I was - his words helped me very much. .
My clothes (except the underpants) were placed on a wooden table, in front of the militiaman (NCO): undershirt, shirt, trousers, thin jacket.
He took out of the pockets of the pants and jacket: the identity card, money, job card, a little notebook, a ball-point pen, a handkerchief, a pack of cigarettes without a filter (named: “Bucegi"). At the same time, he took the belt of my trousers and the shoelaces of my shoes, because (he explained to me) - this is the procedure for any detainee, in any arrest room - such that he not to hang himself (with the belt of the trousers or
with the shoelaces of the shoes).
I dressed myself again. Of the objects on the table I received the pack of cigarettes without a filter.
Another militiaman (guardian) led me to the main detention room, which was quite large, about 10 meters by 10 meters, with overlapping beds, a bed on the ground floor, then (above this):the second, and (above the second): the third one. There were about 20 such columns of three beds each.
In the vicinity of the door was a free space, a rectangle: it was 4 meters long and 3 meters wide. In this free space there was a bucket in which the detainees to urinate. No one was allowed to hold a box of matches. One militiaman (guardian) was coming periodically (every two hours, during the day) and "was giving fire"- for smokers.
He was taking out of his pocket a box of matches, then he was setting fire a match and
he was giving it to a smoker (who was having a cigarette prepared for burning).
He "was not giving fire"- to several detainees, but to only one. Later, he was inserting the box with matches in his pocket, leaving the room and closing the heavy door with a bolt and a padlock. I think almost all of those in the room were smokers. The cigarette was a very important object in the jail and – all the time – without filter (with the names: “Bucegi”, “Carpati”, “Marasesti”).
10 o'clock am was the time for physiological needs (shit, urine). Not far from the arrest room there are 4 WCs. Two militiamen (guardians) arrived ... They release the heavy door from bolt and a padlock. They open the heavy door:
- Go to WCs! You have a quarter of an hour for physiological needs! ... This urge (order) is pronounced with strength, firmness and conviction.
Immediately we run to the sanitary group with the intention to get a place in a toilet (WC). It is very important to integrate yourself with the program of going to the WC.
I specify the fact that I keep in a pocket the pack of “Bucegi” cigarettes (without filter). This is a privilege ...! Now I must find a place in a bed. I started looking for… This is a very difficult mission: nobody wants to give a place (in his bed) to a newcomer. I have some experience from the military life regarding the psychological features of various people. I notice that a young man has great appetite for smoking and I give him 5 cigarettes. Thus I obtain a place in his bed (located at "ground floor"). He was alone in bed before my arrival…
I learned that there are “vagabond convicts” and “penal convicts”. If for “penal convicts” the punishments were pronounced by a Law Court of Justice or by a High Court of Justice – for “vagabond convicts” the punishments were given by Militia (by superior officers). The minimum punishment was: one month in the penitentiary, and the maximum punishment was 6 months in the penitentiary. The reasons of the punishment for "vagabond convicts" were: scandal in the restaurant (or in a block of flats) (or in a village) after the consumption of alcohol in large quantities. The scandal was caused by drunk individuals. Other times the reason for the conviction was: a disrespectful attitude (even minor conflicts) towards the authorities. Last but not least - the cause of the conviction was: many absences from the workplace ("absences without a good reason").
For “penal convicts” there is a great privilege: they could leave the penitentiary earlier than the term stipulated in the sentence pronounced by a Law Court of Justice or by a High Court of Justice.
The reduction of the punishment was possible in conditions of disciplined behavior and a lot of work (daily). This reduction was of maximum one third of the punishment (rarely: half of the punishment). (The word "third" comes from cutting one whole into three equal parts. For example: from a melon cut into three equal parts we get three "thirds")
(The adjective "vagabond" refers, of course, to the time before entering the jail. These "vagabonds" individuals were usually very poor - from a material point of view - but also lazy, and they had no their own homes. Often, in the summer, they were sleeping on the grass, in the park or in the forest. Their clothes - in the penitentiary - were different – as shape and color - from the clothes of the “penal convicts”. However, the "vagabond convicts" were obliged to work (most often in the field of construction and agriculture) - in order to obtain money and food…Their imprisonment was hard ...).
The food (which came three times a day) was very poor and was not tasty. As an overview: some ones were small as the stature, others ones were tall and bulky. The portions were equal. This food was insufficient for each detainee, especially for the bulky ones. Anyway, you had no other possibility than to accept this poor food, to resist - from a physical, but also mental point of view - 6 months, or one year, or 7 years, or (incredibly!) 18 years. In the arrest room of the Militia - the biggest existing punishment was only 2 years and 6 months…A feeling of sadness, regret, even despair overwhelms and dominates me for a few moments.
The first thing which amazed me was this: a prisoner - after smoking three quarters of his cigarette - threw the cigarette end on the room mosaic (in that rectangle which was free space), and three very young "vagabond convicts", almost teenagers, rushed to collect it from the ground, as being a great value. "I must take care of cigarettes ... I must keep cigarettes for future smoking!” (I said to myself). Therefore: I was arrested and brought to the arrest room of the militia on June 15, 1987. Now (after a week) is June 22, 1987. On May 1 (which is my birthday) 1987 I started smoking intensely – because of the permanent psychic pressure on me in connection with the possibility of being convicted… It is an irony of fate that at my age of 30 I adopted tobacco as an ally…
(Until the age of 30 I rarely was smoking, only in restaurants or various occasions. The penal trial - according to article 240 of the Penal Code - was very tormenting, with permanent mental pressure, with the fear that I will get to prison, with the exasperation and despair that nothing can be done to escape from the punishment. The prospect of deprivation of freedom and spending a certain time in prison was like a black nightmare. The word "implacably" was as a thorn in my heart).
In the unfavorable conditions in the arrest room of the county militia (or in jail) any small privilege was extremely important. The struggle for survival supposes, under these conditions, a terrible selfishness, without the smallest concession for others. Some ones were exhausting their mental resources pretty quickly and were tackling the question of suicide with great preoccupation for details and with supreme decision. For the time being, in the arrest room of the county militia there was not the slightest reference to suicide, the most prisoners having punishments under one year. There were jokes and jests which circulated in Romania before June 1987. There is also a lot of reproach and many insults for the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceausescu.
5 years ago, the Romanian Communist Party established that certain institutions (of course, state institutions) to have self -financing and self – administration.
This means that the respective institutions, especially the army (having as central entitling: the “Ministry of National Defense”) and Militia (having as central entitling: the “Ministry of Interior”) to provide with food for themselves from their own resources (in a proportion of 25 %).
In this year 1987 Romania is dominated by hunger and serious lack of food (due to the massive export of food products - for the payment of external debt). Strange thing: Vaslui County, as distinction to all other counties of Romania, has succeeded, through his communist leaders, to get a constant and rich supply with meat and meat products, especially salami and sausages, but also dairy products. Some visitors (coming from Transylvania or other areas of the country) look with wonder at the products displayed in refrigerated windows.
In this spirit the military units (of the army and of the militia) have started a vigorous program for food production: vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, eggs and fish.
All these have "annexed households", more precisely: pig farms, bird farms (chickens, turkeys, etc.), a few milk cows, a pond with phytophagus, orchard with fruit trees and vegetable gardens (with: tomatoes, onions, garlic, cucumbers, peppers, melons, etc), some ones have greenhouses of vegetables - heated in winter with hot water from the large thermal power plant of Vaslui city. These greenhouses give fresh vegetables in winter…
Most of the food obtained in AH ("annexed households") is consumed by military personnel (officers and noncommissioned officers) and very little is consumed by the soldiers.
As a general appreciation: the annexed household of the county militia is the richest and most complex in the city of Vaslui. The leaders of the militia were very meticulous. As superlatives: it has a farm with 30 pigs, a farm with many hens, turkeys, ducks and geese, etc. The garden with vegetables was from the beginning designed to obtain large productions, having water supply, fence and personnel for the maintenance of crops: hoeing and weeding out, irrigation, activity to harvest, etc.
To be appointed to work in the garden (as a prisoner) is an extremely high privilege. There are "heavy struggles" for this privilege - inside the arrest room, but also outside - when there are "cells", "relationships", "knowledge". (These three words: "cells", "relationships", "knowledge" are the names in the jargon for the people who have important functions in the Romanian Communist Party and "offers" privileges for various "gifts" received from the applicants - with discretion). The envy is very great on the part of everyone for those chosen to work in the garden.
Two prisoners having small stature, but vigorous and sinewy, with powerful muscles and strong tendons, able to face men taller than them, being extremely naughty and impertinent, arrogating to themselves the title: "little gods" of the arrest room - were working at the garden since the morning until the evening.
As two characters in a play - they are sometimes very visible, other times few visible. We refer now to the moment of birthday.
- Tomorrow is my birthday! said one of them. I think I'll get some brandy. I have a pair of thick socks. I will dip them in the brandy... Then I will enter the arrest room here with the socks in a pocket. I will give you to taste few brandy because you are poor and despair.
To not be believed that this was being the usual tone of his voice! Most of the time he was swearing and address very bad words to the other prisoners, he even was threatening them with beating if they were not respecting him as a leader. A damnable, arrogant, uneducated, rude man. The other prisoner resembles exactly to him (he was the very image of him) not only as stature, but also as manner. When the two ones were entering the arrest room there was being an immediate silence - because each of the prisoners was afraid that they could fall prey to one or other of these two individuals. The collective fear was the sum of the fears of everyone present. No one risked to have a conflict with the two ones. To the harsh conditions in this prison - to add a conflict with any of them was almost unbearable.
Nerves “are defeated" for minor reasons, let alone aggression on the part of the two.
Sometimes they were aggressive with ones of the prisoners for no reason, just as a whim…and those who were enduring the aggression were silent, resigned and peaceful, with no hope of revenge. The anger or indignation or displeasure of the two ones was pressing down on them. This situation will have an end after a few days, or a week or a month. In all this time they were enduring with stoicism the discrimination.
It would be a terrible mistake to lose your temper (your balance) and to react against those two with a minimum of nervousness and revolt. Very rarely does this situation exist - the one attacked with words and with a hostile and mocking attitude to respond with indignation and revolt:
- Why are you always harassing me? What's your problem with me? What do you have against me? What evil have I done to you?... Even more:
- Why do you think you're so great? Do you think you are someone important? Why do you think so?
Then it was following (for the indignant one) a period of discrimination and persecution which was hard for any human being to bear.
What is a “cubic clay”? It is a piece for building a country house, made of clay and parallelepipedal in shape: 30 centimetres long, 20 centimetres wide and 10 centimetres high. Country houses were built only of clay, one method being the planting of vertical poles (clubs) (straight wood between 5 and 10 centimetres in diameter) where the walls will be.
So, some poles (clubs) stuck in the ground, the horizontal distance between two poles (clubs) being approximately 30 centimetres. Between these is put clay thoroughly mixed with straw. The strength of the future walls will be given by these vertical poles (clubs).
When you build the house of cubic clay - there is no need for vertical poles. The pieces of cubic clay are stacked on top of each other - forming the walls of the house. (There is a big difference between bricks and clay parallelepipeds. The bricks are made of fired clay, but black clay parallelepipeds are not fired). The bond between them is made with soft yellow clay (i.e. clay mixed with water). After a few days the yellow clay becomes hard.
The strength of the walls resulting from the building of the black cubic clay is lower than that of the walls built around the vertical poles (made of black clay mixed with straw).
(We may use the expression "dollop clay" instead of "cubic clay").
In the penitentiary (and in the county militia detention rooms), the prisoners receive "boiled corn flour" with a cubic shape. (“mămăligă” = “boiled corn flour”). (In the morning they get a slice of bread and a cup of tea). The traditional name (entered into folklore) of these cubes of “mămăligă” (“boiled corn flour”) is “cubic clay”.
In the arrest room of County militia where I was in - the hunger determined prisoners to eat the entire “cubic clay”. Even more, some ones purchased "cubic clay" for a fee. The cigarettes are the currency of exchange in any transaction. In general, a “cubic clay” is paid with 5 cigarettes.
I don't think I talked (in this room) about my situation, anyway - I don't remember if I talked or not. The fact is that very quickly all the prisoners found out that I wanted to cross the border illegally and that I have mental problems. As an overview: each one knows everything about everyone in the room.
A tall fellow, having 1.85 metres as height, stout, with some baldness, but with hair above the ears approaches me and says:
--When the guardian will come, you will approach him and you will make big eyes and you will distort your face and you will utter: "Uuuu!...Uuuu!...Uuuu!...", then the commander of county militia will send you to the psychiatric hospital as a madman and your penal punishment will be cancelled.
I neither approve nor disapprove him. His idea is not good because the judges do not like the situation: mentally ill as a delinquent. Often they are irritated and nervous when they hear of mental illness and "give" greater punishments than they should give. I had from the psychiatry the diagnosis: "Psychotic mental illness". This diagnosis reveals that the patient is located at the extreme of the staircase of mental illness, i.e. the greatest gravity. Normally judges should not decide any punishment in this case. However I was punished...
Another day: the same tall fellow, stout, with some baldness, but with hair above the ears approaches me and says:
- When we leave the prison we will make a plan to fraudulently cross the border to Yugoslavia. We will steal two horses that run very quickly. We will be riding on our horses very fast during nighttime, we will cross the border strip and we arrive to Yugoslavia. Then we sell the two horses and get money.
Again I do not respond with any reply to what was said by the tall fellow.
The border strip is a tape of 5 meters wide, flat and covered with sand, which stretches along the border between Romania and Yugoslavia.
There is no border strip from Orșova to Turnu Severin because the border with Yugoslavia is marked by the Danube river. From the coast it is not possible to sail to a foreign country because there is a very strict control of all boats sailing in the Black Sea.
On the terrestrial border (which is not marked by the Danube River) the border guard (soldier) is guarding with harshness the border strip because, if there are traces of steps, he will be sentenced to prison.
There is even a <song of the border guard>:
“My God, don’t give anyone
A life like that of the border guard!”
……………………………………………….
"If there are traces of steps on the border strip
Oh, my mother, it is a case of penal trial (and jail).”
Furlough is a soldier's right to go home to his parents for 5 days. Apart from Furlough - the soldier has the right to receive rest leave (15 days).
Often, in some village, we can see border guards (soldiers) drinking wine, then they go on the lane of the village - from one end to another - singing in a loud voice (so that all the villagers to hear):
“My God, don’t give anyone
A life like that of the border guard!”
(Of course, this is about soldiers on rest leave).
Again, the idea of the tall fellow is not good, because near border strip, on the side to Romania (left side), there are some sensors. These detect any unusual movement around them. They are made up of the wire of 50 meters long, having at each end smart sound triggering devices, as well as little bells or ringers. Along the left side of the border strip the most efficient smart devices are installed - on a distance of about 100 kilometers, in the southern part of Timiş county, namely, along the border with Yugoslavia. (Other devices - less efficient - are installed on the rest of the terrestrial border). When a delinquent will touch the wire of the sensor (before to arrive at the border strip) the little bells will ring and will draw the attention of the border guard (soldier). Immediately he will open firing and will shoot any suspected shadow of being a delinquent. He has a total of 120 cartridges (in the machine gun - type AKM - and in the bag with loaders). (A load is a mechanical device in which there are 30 cartridges). (The bag with loaders is made of resistant canvas and is attached to the soldier's leather belt, on the right side of the body). It will be automatic fire, namely: 10 bullets per second will leave the barrel of the machine gun. Often they were killed or wounded some delinquents intending to cross the border (to Yugoslavia). In these cases, the border guard (soldier) had no legal (penal) liability…
The tall fellow was gathering pieces of cubic clay and was putting them in the bosom, namely: under the thin sweater that had the lower part inserted into the pants.
It's evening. The two short men who work in the garden appear. There is silence in the room, those present waiting to see and hear what the two ones will do or say.
One of them finds that it's missing the cubic clay which he left under his pillow this morning. More dumbfounded than nervous, he asks loudly:
- Who did take my cubic clay?
Nobody say something. He repeats the question:
- Who did take my cubic clay? In the morning it was here, and now it is no longer. Who did take my cubic clay?
Not receiving an answer, he begins to search through the room in order to find his cubic clay and to see who has more than one cubic clay. He does not find a suspect (who would have stolen his cubic clay). Finally, he stops in front of the tall fellow.
He sees that the tall fellow is swollen at the front of his body and grabs his sweater to look inside. He sees a lot of pieces of cubic clay:
- Did you think to obtain a cubic clay in addition, you wretch, miserable?
Did you obtain my cubic clay, dear scoundrel? Why did you confiscate my cubic clay?
Then, very angry, he starts punching him in the belly:
- Why did you steal my cubic clay? Why did you steal my cubic clay?
The tall fellow starts to weep, being silent.
- Why didn't you ask for a cubic clay if you are very hungry? Why did you look for a cubic clay under my pillow when I was away?
And suddenly became very nervous because the cubic clay was stolen while he was away at work, hits him harder in the belly. He continues to weep, being more affected by the anger of the aggressor than by the blows received in the belly.
- If you will want again a cubic clay in the future – you should beg me! Do you understand?
The tall fellow nods affirmatively, not being able to speak.
The aggressor goes to his bed, having a face of angry and dissatisfied man.
- If someone else will steal another cubic clay from me, I'll beat him until I will destroy him.
Those in the room followed the scene without reacting in any way ...
In this year 1987 the political, social and economic conditions were bad for the majority of the population in Romania. However, the football was highly appreciated and there were great passions about this sport.
The most valuable football teams are: "Dinamo" Bucharest, which belongs to the Ministry of Interior, with all the militiamen and officers of the communist political police as supporters, "Steaua" Bucharest, representative of the Army, with the majority of officers and non-commissioned officers of the Ministry of National Defense as supporters and "Craiova University", the team of Oltenia, supported by the Oltenian people, but to some extent by the presidential family of Nicolae Ceausescu (discreetly).
("Oltenia" is a province located in the south of Romania, with obvious Latin features - more Latin than the others. In the year 106 AD the territory of the present Romania was conquered by the Roman Empire and Latin language, as well as other ethnic features have decisively changed the physiognomy of the old population. The inhabitants of Oltenia have the name Olteni, or Oltenian People. Nicolae Ceausescu is Oltenian.).
The terrible, long - length rivalry (probably, even since their establishment) was between Steaua and Dinamo. (Steaua was founded in 1947 year, and Dinamo in 1948)…
It is Sunday.The match between Steaua and Dinamo starts at 3pm (15.00h). The stadium is full: about 100 thousand spectators. The fight for victory is fierce. The passions are very large. The spectators sing and emphasize the names of some valuable and important players, or shout, or scream, or roar… The Steaua team will defeat the Dinamo team. Score: 3-1 for Steaua. Score: 3-1 for Steaua. The defeat of Dinamo team produced very much anger, sorrow and annoyance among the supporters of the this team.
It should be mentioned that in 1986, in the summer, the Steaua team won the "European Champions Cup" - the most important European trophy awarded to any football club. The final of this competition was played between the teams FC Barcelona and Steaua (in the town Sevilla of Spain).
The Dinamo team tried to imitate the Steaua team and to win the big trophy. They reached the semi-finals - when they lost the qualifying match for the final…
It should be noted that the large room in which the prisoners were held had a small window, of course, with iron bars.
Some of the families of the prisoners, bolder and more courageous and daring than others – were coming in order to say some words to prisoners, especially to those of their families.
The risk was high for any visitor: if a militiaman saw a person located near the small window, speaking to prisoners - immediately was arresting him and was introducing him into a room for physical torture. (There were militiamen specialized in torture: physical and mental). Two or three militiamen were harsh beating the arrested visitors. In addition, the commander of the county militia behaved like a god.
Sometimes he was in the mood to punish a visitor with imprisonment (as a homeless person) (as vagrant) - between a month and 6 months, most often the punishment (the sentence) was 6 months. He had the right to punish (to imprison) any innocent civilians...
In connection with the beatings suffered by some people in some room of the Municipal Police or in the cellars of the County Police there is the expression: "beating with shouted words".
The syntagma “shouted words" was used for a long time to name popular lyrics said in the village “hora”. (Hora" is the name of a folk dance - which came to Romania from Bulgaria and is the slowest dance. This word also defines the event which happens every Sunday in the center of the village - with many folk dances, music, consumption of wine, joy, merrymaking, sometimes conflicts between young men). (Of course, there were not only the “Hora”, but also other dances: “Serbian Dance”, “Ship Dance”, “Waltz”, “Tango”, etc.). (Most dances were Romanian).
Such “shouted words" were:
“Basil, basil
It must be a change in the middle”!
The “hora” was a big circle formed by the joining of dancers, who are holding their hands each to other - in the case of the “hora”, or with hands fixed (fastened) on the shoulders, one to the other – in the case of “Serbian Dance” (which is quick). (The members of the circle were not bothering [made not inconvenience] each other because they were very good dancers). In the middle of this circle were pairs, each consisting of a man and a woman. Usually, the pairs were formed on mutual affinities. The duration of a dance was between 3 and 5 minutes. Each pair had the right to dance only for a while, then the man left his partner and another man took his place. After another interval of time the woman left the pair and invited another woman (indicated by her partner) to continue the dance etc. Each member of the living circle will have the opportunity to dance with a partner. If a pair stayed longer in the dance than they have the right, some ones on the edge were warning in a loud voice:
“Basil, basil
It must be a change in the middle”!
The “shouted words” were numerous and very diverse, adapted according to the social condition, the physical appearance, the moral appearance, the age, the good habits or the vices, the events of the dancers, etc.
If you were beaten by the militiamen, there were two simple variants: with “shouted words” or without “shouted words”.
So those who were screaming, roaring in pain were labeled to have endured beatings with “shouted words”.
If there were no screams or roaring of pain - it means that the beating was without “shouted words”…
It is not known exactly how, but the prisoners found out about the defeat suffered by the “Dinamo” football team.
At 10 o'clock am (before lunch) the guardian (extremely upset and angry) came in to "give fire" to the smokers. About 4 or 5 detainees began to blame and to gossip the “Steaua” team, with a loud voice so that the guardian to hear:
- The game of the football team "Steaua" is mediocre and is not spectacular. They do not practice a modern football - as the "Dinamo" team. They were very lucky to win the match.
- They don't fight for the victory, but are waiting for occasions to score goals...as alms. They're only waiting for the alms...to score goals.
- Only "Dinamo" plays a real football - in our championship - and sometimes "Universitatea Craiova". “Steaua” is a group of hooligans, without discipline, without tactics in the game.
The guardian has calmed down somewhat after listening to these words…
The same little window would like to air the room (full of thick cigarette smoke). Many of the prisoners smoke also during the night. Every time when a new detainee arrives, it is assaulted with requests for cigarettes. Sometimes the newcomer gives about 2 or 3 cigarettes. No more. Most of the time the requests for cigarettes are treated with categorical refusal.
Most of the detainees talk about departure (from the arrest room of the militia to the penitentiary). There are many arguments in favor of the penitentiary:
larger space, more light and more air, good hygiene, bathroom with many showers, club for watching movies, walking space (in the shape of a circle, with high side walls), somewhat better food than here, the right to receive a parcel with food every month, the right to talk to a family member or friend, the right to send letters, etc.
In this year 1987 the communist dictatorship is approaching to its acme. Nicolae Ceausescu was so greedy for power that no one and nothing could satiate him. He became the leader of the Romanian Communist Party when the former leader (Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej) died (because of a very serious liver disease). Then he eliminated from the pyramid of the power his main political opponents and became the unique and authoritative "Master" on the Communist Party and on the country. In these conditions he worked (however) very much, started and continued for 12 years the industrialization of Romania. His conviction was that a country which has as main branch of production: the agriculture - cannot be strong; only with a ample, efficient and competitive industry Romania can be situated in the world elite. There was a decade of industrialization and spectacular growth of the Romanian economy, together with firm measures to increase the standard of living (the construction of numerous blocks of flats, the rich supply for all Romanians with various foods, even with some imported products, good salaries, jobs for all citizens, stores [shops] well supplied with various products, free tuition and many facilities for eminent pupils and students, opening for the West culture and attractive television programs, etc.), the involvement with big success in the world politics and diplomacy (having an important role in establishing good relationships between the Soviet Union and China, between Israel and the Arab world etc., but also diplomatic relations between Romania and about 100 countries with diverse political regimes), the unprecedented development of Romanian sport etc. etc. All these propelled him in the position of very popular leader and loved by all. In 1980 Romania had an external debt of 10 billion US dollars, and the International Monetary Fund demanded the payment of this debt. At that moment Nicolae Ceausescu imposed drastic conditions on the economy of Romania - in the sense of exporting a lot of products, especially foods. These conditions have generated: hunger, cold in winter, diseases, dissatisfaction, fear and insecurity, low standard of living - unacceptable for any human being. Thus began the incredible and terrible communist dictatorship of Ceausescu.
(With reference to the years 1965-1979 - when there was no communist dictatorship)
Nicolae Ceausescu was preoccupied with "the formation” of the new man, a conscious builder of communism. In this sense: he organized and carried out a Congress of Socialist Culture and Education. This congress elaborated political and propaganda documents. He wanted all the persons in Romania to work with their own will and own conscience - without urge or obligation from various state or party institutions. On this occasion he discovered a deficiency in the ethical structure of the socialist society: he had a big dilemma when it arose the problem of the way of addressing between the prisoners and those at liberty. Is it correct and normal to say "comrade" to a delinquent?
We will not say “comrades” to some “delinquents”… Someone from those close to him proposed as an address formula: "citizen!". Nicolae Ceausescu agreed to this proposal.
Thus, the word "citizen" was adopted as an address formula: between a prisoner and a guardian, between a guardian and a prisoner, between two prisoners. The word "comrade" is forbidden - in penitentiaries and in Detention Rooms of Militia.
Finally, the armored truck (lorry) of the penitentiary arrives. A long, stately and imposing truck, painstakingly built and with a sense of responsibility, destined to keep and transport some of the most dangerous prisoners. The steel walls isolate the personnel inside from all sides, making an absolutely impenetrable box: to the side, in front, behind, down and up. There is no connection with the outside except a window fitted with thick iron bars. The door behind this "box" has a closing system consisting of an internal latch, an external latch and a lock with a key. The prisoners are introduced into the premises through this door with handcuffs on their hands. On the side walls there are some thick links used to lock the chains from the feet of the most dangerous prisoners. Other iron links are used to connect with the handcuffs of prisoners (those who only have handcuffs on their hands). This is an additional measure of precaution against any escape attempt. There are two long wooden benches. On these benches are placed (one next to another) various delinquents (who are now forced to
endure the rigors of the law): thieves, rapists, brawlers, authors of embezzlement, a homosexual, a speculator, someone who illegally crossed the border between Romania and Yugoslavia, and one who usurped official qualities, i.e. pretended to be a prosecutor. At the door-facing ends of the benches are the specially arranged compartments for the two guardians, who are equipped with machine guns and are ready to shoot (to fire) if anyone tries to escape. No chance! Handcuffs, chains, armored walls, alarm system, machine guns and the watchful eyes of the two guardians (militiamen). There is a space next to the window where two "happy" prisoners look at the outside landscape: they can see what is happening outside, they can follow with their eyes, like in the cinema, the entire route from the Militia to the penitentiary. Every tree, every house, every car, every person have importance for the two viewers watching from the window. They will have what to tell when they will arrive at the penitentiary, they will know how to show off their fresh knowledge, they will even brag to others. The route is not long: after leaving the city we go on the road: Vaslui - Crasna, then, after one kilometer, turning to the left on a paved road, among orchards and pastures. At the end of the road is the penitentiary: a somewhat new building, with two rows of high stone fences (a high outer fence, built of concrete and another concrete fence, located 5 meters away towards the interior, parallel to the outer fence), with solid metal gates and alarm systems. At the entrance, near the metal gate, a sentry is posted. The whole construction is in the shape of a square. Probably: the side of this square is 100 meters. In the four corners of the square there are four pavilions (watchtowers) in which there are four other sentinels, each equipped with infantry
weapons, corded (landline) phone and binoculars. In the middle part is the courtyard - paved with a thick and resistant layer of concrete on the entire surface. This is visible from the windows of some detention cells. There is a pavilion building for men and another for women. (Each pavilion building has small or big detention cells). The exterior fence has a large metal gate, and the inner fence has a smaller metal gate...
There is much precaution and attention when we go out from the armored truck (lorry). We have no longer handcuffs on our hands. Crossing through the two gates involves a real ritual:
“attach (stick) you face on the wall!”, "change you position and attach (stick) your back on the wall!", “go to the left position!”, “go to the right position!”, “lie down on the ground!”, “crawl on the ground!”, "Stand up straight!", “lie down on the ground!”, “crawl on the ground!”, "Stand up straight!", "Go in column - one by one!",etc.
We are inside the penitentiary. A few militiamen (equipped with infantry weapons) are watching the movement of the newcomers. One by one we enter a room where two guardians will "take the fingerprints" of each detainee: we dip all 10 fingers of our hands in China ink, then we leave our fingerprints on some cardboard forms... Another guardian will photograph each detainee: from the front and from the profile. A militia major lieutenant has records of all convicts, by category of punishment. Several guardians watch our group carefully. We are introduced into a large room. Sandu Ivas is a medical assistant. He will check each prisoner if he has lice. After about half an hour, the check is finished: no one has lice. We are getting ready for the bath. We are completely naked. Our clothes are taken to the penitentiary warehouse, with labels with the names of the owners... The barber comes and cuts the hair of each prisoner. With an electric clipper he completely removes the hair from the head. It seems that we are bald-headed… Then we are directed to the bathroom. A large room with many showers where we use "Key" soap as a detergent. We leave the bathroom at the command of the guardian and dress ourselves in the clothes of the jail. It is a hard and difficult moment – which press as a burden on the souls of all prisoners – especially of those who were not, in the past, in the jail…All the clothes in the jail have white and black stripes (they are striped) and they prove to you that you are a prisoner (not a free man).
You can't forget that you're a convict...These clothes humble and humiliate you. They say: "You lost the game with the authorities! You have been definitively defeated!"… Then the barber comes again to shave us. He uses a cutting razor. He will come every week in the future to shave the prisoners...
In the penitentiary there are few large rooms and many small rooms - called cells. The newcomers will be introduced in cells with 9 beds. We can see three groups of three beds overlapped on top of each other: ground floor, first floor and second floor. (This phrase is in English UK). These are arranged in their extension. The cell is narrow – about 2.50 metres. Therefore: the width (breadth) of a bed is 1.20 metres, and the distance to opposite wall is 1.30 metres, on the whole – 2,50 metres. As length: the cell is about 8 metres.
There is a Turkish WC, without a “pot” to sit on, arranged in a small room without a door, so that the person going to the WC not to can stay hidden behind the door and to be visible all the time. (The "pot" is an object made of plastic or metal, somewhat cylindrical in shape). The dimensions of this enclosure are: 2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, that is an area of 3 square meters. There is here also a sink that provides only cold water.
Eight of the nine beds will be occupied by newcomers. There is a bed which is situated on the ground floor, not far off the door. It is already occupied by a prisoner with some "age" in the jail. He is "nominated" as "chief of the room". (Each cell has a "chief of the room"). In the cell you have a great privilege: you sit alone in a bed. In the large or medium rooms of the penitentiary, there is often the situation: two prisoners in one bed.
The "chief of the room" will "give the report" when the guardian will arrive and will open the door, usually around 8 in the morning and around 8 in the evening:
- Citizen guardian! In the cell did not happen any remarkable. All the prisoners are present. I am the "chief of the room" - prisoner Padurescu Vasile.
The cell door is a "sandwich" type: between two metal plates there is a wooden plate. Each metal plate is 1 centimeter thick, and the wooden plate is 5 centimeters thick. If we make arithmetic addition - of the two metal thicknesses - (one centimeter each), we get a thickness of 2 centimeters (metal plates). There are light tanks (in the army) which have thinner armor than a cell door in penitentiary.
In its exterior there is a big and resistant to any pressure fastener (latch) - which has an horizontal motion (for closing and opening firmly the door). Above and below there are two big padlocks which can be locked and unlocked with the help of two keys. The guardian has (on the leather belt) several keys for several cells. Each guardian has responsibility for 7 or 8 cells, especially for the doors of these.
When he wants to enter the cell - the guardian performs a movement of the the latch: from left to right, then unlock the two padlocks with the help of two keys.
At a height of 1.50 metres there is a "sight hole" - a orifice which pierces through the door, from the outside to the inside, in the shape of a cylinder. The diameter of this cylinder is 3 centimetres and its height is 7 centimetres, that is the thickness of the door (metal plus wood). Through this orifice the guardian can look inside the cell. It is forbidden for the prisoners to look from interior of the room to the outside. In this sense there is a sheet metal lid in the shape of a circle. This lid can cover the entire "sight hole", or cover half of it, or leave it completely uncovered.
Almost all the guardians have a kind of "laziness" and do not open the doors of the small cells (9-bed cells) daily, but very rarely. However, they look through "sight holes" into the inside of the cells. According to the regulations of the penitentiary - the guardians are obliged to enter the cells daily (three times a day) and to check the situation of the prisoners (if they are discipline problems or other kind of problems). Against the stipulations of the regulation, they avoid to open the doors of the cells. They have routine and experience in the matter of the behavior of the prisoners and skillfully they observe if there is something wrong in the cell. That is, they "have trained eyes" for observing any irregularity...
There are cases of violence in cells, especially suicide attempts or homosexual rape attempts. In such situations, most often one or more prisoners hit the iron door with their fists and shout in a loud voice: "Citizen guardian!...Citizen guardian!" The guardian on duty arrives immediately. If the conflict situation in the cell is serious he presses on the electric "Alarm" button. Very quickly two or three guardians armed with folding machine guns and rubber batons will arrive. They are very solid and strong and thoroughly
trained for hand-to-hand combat. They will enter the cell and restore order and discipline...
There are (in the penitentiary) narrations about many suicides or suicide attempts. Some colleagues have tried to stop these dramatic gestures, but they did not always succeed. The "folklore" of the penitentiary is full of details about the various methods used, about the desperate situation of those who started, eventually continued to do this thing (often in a way unlikely to be true). Of course, the passion for telling stories with exaggerations is very present in prisons.
So, I am one of the 9 inmates in the cell.
From the very first day, the head of the cell asks us to pay attention to his words and shows us a leaflet (which he holds in one hand), consisting of 16 pages and with typewritten letters on it:
- You can see the Regulations of the Penitentiary. You are all required to read it in its entirety and remember its contents at all times while in prison. If you will not respect it - you will be punished: with sending to hard prison, or with the cancellation of the right to a food package, and of other rights: to talk with a member of your family (once per month), to send a letter to your family (once per month) or the right to be released from prison earlier than the term set by the court. Do you understand?
Those in the cell do not answer immediately and loudly, because of this the chief of cell repeats the question?
- Do you understand?
The answer is unanimous and loud:
- Yes!
Then again the cell chief speaks in a loud voice:
- Read it!
Don't say later that you didn't know!
What does the regulation include? First let's specify its title on the front cover:
"The Socialist Republic of Romania
Ministry of Interior
General Directorate of Penitentiaries".
Mainly this document foresees rights, obligations and restrictions.
Each detainee has the right to receive a package of food and cigarettes once a month, usually canned food (meat, fish, beans and other vegetables), salted or smoked fish, smoked ham, onions and hot peppers, garlic, biscuits, jars of jam, and cigarettes without a filter, at the moment the most widespread cigarette being "Bucegi". The package must not weigh more than 5 kilograms.
Another right of those in prison is to speak once a month with a family member, or with some other less close relative, or with a friend.
This right is called in the penitentiary: "speaker", so the right to "speaker".
When a family member arrives at the prison gate, the prisoner will be notified about this, then he will be taken out of the room and will be escorted by a guard armed with a gun and a rubber baton until he reaches the room for the "speaker" located near the gate of the penitentiary, an extremely small room in which there is only one chair. He will enter this room and sit on the chair. In front of him is a small window, measuring 40 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. The window has several bars through which the person who came to visit will be seen - however. A dialogue follows in which it is forbidden to say certain things about the penitentiary (the number of detainees, their living conditions, events that took place in the cells or in the larger rooms, etc.) or to ask for help to escape. A guard specially placed to supervise the dialogue will judge whether it was legal (and the right to "speaker" will still remain) or it was not legal (and the right to "speaker" will be suspended for one month, or three months, or six months). The duration of the dialogue between the detainee and the person visiting him is 15 minutes. The prisoner's third right is to receive a postcard from the penitentiary on which to write a few lines and then to send it to his family. Such a postcard has on one side: columns for recipient and sender, a printed stamp that is the cost of the postal service to send the book to the family and a black and white photo, usually representing buildings or facades of important institutions in Romania - Athenaeum, Opera, National Bank of Romania, National Theater , the House of Savings and Deposits, the Military Academy, the Central House of the Army, the North Station, etc. The other side is white and the convict will write on it a message for his family, of course, respecting certain requirements, the same that are imposed on the "speaker".
But the most important right for those in prison is that of conditional release. As the name implies, the release from prison can be made earlier than the term stipulated in the law court decision, but with an extremely important condition: for the rest of his life the prisoner must not commit any other delinquency, no matter how small it may be. If you will commit a new delinquency - you will return to prison, but with an additional punishment: those years that represented the reduction of the first sentence (which will be added to the new punishment).
Hristache Vasile is now in the penitentiary. A few years ago he committed the delinquency of "attempted murder" and received as a criminal punishment 7 years of imprisonment. He was fair and disciplined in the penitentiary, he went to work and worked hard (i.e. he exceeded the daily norm provided for a prisoner) and the prison management decided to release him 3 years and 6 months earlier than the term stipulated in the sentence given by the court (according to the "conditional release" procedure). So Mr. Hristache Vasile served only half of the sentence (ie 3 years and 6 months instead of 7 years). He went home very happy to have received a reduced sentence. He is a gypsy and lives in the city of Bucharest. Mr. Hristache Vasile has a small, dilapidated and dirty house in the Ferentari district. Here he will have parties with other gypsies, with alcoholic drinks, music and dancing. After drinking alcohol, gypsies often become very aggressive. In one of the scandals caused by alcohol, verbal violence appeared, then physical violence, including the use of knives. Very quickly they ended up inflicting injuries with knives. Some of them had robbery attempts, that is, to forcibly take valuable objects from others: gold coins (arranged in necklace ), chains, bracelets and wedding rings made of gold, earrings and rings made of gold and precious stones. Finally, the Militia arrived and put many scandalous gypsies into vans, including Mr. Hristache Vasile. After a two-week penal investigation, the Police drew up penal files that were handed over to some prosecutors. The court decided to punish Mr. Hristache Vasile with 2 years in prison. Because he had a backlog of 3 and a half years (from the conditional release of the first sentence) the court decided to add them to the new punishment, i.e. to accumulate 5 years and 6 months of punishment. Having no money to pay a lawyer, he did not appeal to the high court. Moreover, the high court very rarely reduces the punishment given by the first instance. There were many cases in which the high court increased the punishment given by the court considering that the elements of the indictment drawn up by the prosecutor were not sufficiently "valued".
Mr. Hristache Vasile is extremely affected by the situation he has arrived himself in:
how was he able he commit a new delinquency? Even though he knew he has 3 years and 6 months as backlog - he was not prudent... How was he able to "mix" with the other gypsies (who had no arrears to atone in the penitentiary)? Because of them, he now has a sentence of 5 years and 6 months in prison. How well was for me to be at home! Now he must go to jail.
It should be mentioned that there are two "conditional release" regimes:
- one for those who go to work, outside the penitentiary, in which release can come after at least half of the sentence has been served;
- another for those who do not go to work (for various reasons), in which release may come after at least two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
In the case of those convicted of attempted fraudulent border crossing or (successful) fraudulent border crossing - they do not benefit from conditional release in any way. Why this?
Those in the leadership of the Romanian communist party considered that this type of delinquency is particularly serious, and the punishment provided in the penal code is small: between 6 months and 3 years. But why is the punishment small (if the delinquency is so serious)? Because communist Romania signed (through its political representatives) the Helsinki Agreement concerning Human Rights. This agreement (or treaty) is of Western conception, in direct connection with the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights, issued and legislated in the United States of America (then imposed also in the capitalist countries of Western Europe). In this book, great attention is paid to the individuals' right to walk anywhere in the world they wish (therefore, the right to choose the country in which they want to live, or the country which they want to visit as tourists). For this reason, Nicolae Ceausescu was not able to promote (in Romania) a law which to punish much harsher the delinquencies of fraudulent border crossing and attempted fraudulent border crossing. So, relatively small punishment for this type of delinquency is determined by the signing of the Helsinki Agreement concerning Human Rights by the communist leadership of Romania. A new question appears: why did Nicolae Ceausescu allow the signing of the Helsinki Agreement by the political representatives of Romania? Not because this Helsinki Agreement was highly valued by Nicolae Ceausescu, or because he loved the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights very much. On the contrary, he detested the Western notion of human rights. The explanation of the signing of the Helsinki Agreement is related to granting the Most Favored Nation Clause by the USA to the political regime in Bucharest. If Romania did not sign this agreement, the USA would no longer give it the Most Favored Nation Clause. What is this clause? It is the favoring of a country (in this case, Romania) by the USA concerning the trade and economic relations. In fact, it is a great privilege granted by the USA to a certain country. Our country benefited for 10 years from the Most Favored Nation Clause granted by the USA. Under this clause, Romania could send goods for sale in the USA without paying any kind of customs and consequently could charge lower prices than all the other countries of the world and was able to sell his goods easily and quickly, then bringing other new quantities of goods to sell them in the USA. The communist political regime in Bucharest made good money from this type of trade with the USA (ie many millions of US dollars). At the same time, the products of the American industry coming to Romania were exempted from US customs duties and their prices were the lowest among all those practiced in various countries of the world. So, the Romanian state bought cheap (cheaper than other countries of the world were buying) US industrial products (mainly: computer technology, industrial machines for equipping newly built factories, cars, etc.). Nicolae Ceausescu's interest (as leader of Romania) for obtaining the Most Favored Nation Clause was immense. For this reason he decided to allow the signing of the Helsinki Agreement (by the political representatives of our country, who were in fact the humble subjects of Nicolae Ceauşescu).
How did the whole story with the Most Favored Nation Clause begin?
Since his arrival at the head of the Romanian Communist Party (and implicitly - at the head of Romania) Nicolae Ceauşescu declared himself independent from the great leader from the East: The Soviet Union, even if the two countries (Romania and the Soviet Union) had the same political conception: communist regime in the spirit of the doctrines of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Nicolae Ceausescu often criticized the foreign policy of the Soviet Union (then led by Leonid Brezhnev) without fear or restraint. The Americans were delighted with Nicolae Ceausescu's attitude and as a result they granted Romania the Most Favored Nation Clause. In 1980, the Summer Olympics in Moscow (in the Soviet Union) took place without the participation of capitalist countries (which boycotted the Olympics at the firm request of the USA), so there were only socialist (communist) countries. In 1984, the Summer Olympics took place in Los Angeles (in the USA). This time the Soviet Union and (at its request) the other communist countries boycotted the US Olympics, so they refused to participate in the competition, invoking the boycott practiced by the USA and other capitalist countries at the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980. The only exception was Romania, which sent its Olympic delegation to Los Angeles, ignoring the threats of all kinds from the Soviet Union. Spectators from the USA (and from other capitalist countries) enthusiastically applauded the arrival of the Romanian Olympic delegation to Los Angeles.
When the signing of the Helsinki Agreement was discussed, the Americans threatened to stop granting the clause (if Romania does not sign the agreement), even if in 1984 he participated in the Los Angeles Olympics.
In the penitentiary, they were talking about the punishment provided in the penal code of Albania for attempting to cross the border fraudulently (or for the initial successful crossing, but ended with the arrest of the delinquent): life imprisonment for those who are married and the death penalty for those who are not married. There are probably exaggerations in these words about Albania, but Romania certainly had some of the lowest penalties for delinquencies of fraudulent border crossing.
Prisoners have not only rights, but also obligations: to respect the prison schedule (sleep, three meals a day, haircut, shave, bath), to be fair and disciplined and not to verbally or physically assault other detainees or guards, to address the guards with the formula: "citizen platoon officer!", to maintain their bodily hygiene, to listen daily to the words of the one who reads out loud the brochures of the General Directorate of Penitentiaries (brochures that have an informative and educational purpose, presenting many cases of delinquencies, as well as their causes, their consequences and how they were punished by the law court and the tribunal).
As restrictions for detainees we can list:
not to have sharp objects (needles, nails, sharp iron rods, etc.) or sharp objects (knives of any kind, razor blades, pieces of sheet metal with a sharp edge, pieces of glass with a sharp edge, etc.). Escape, including attempted escape, is strictly prohibited. Additional penal penalties are applied to the existing ones for the preparation of the escape (between one and two years), for escape attempt (between one year and 6 months and two years and 6 months) and for successful escape (which ends with the capture and arrest of those who escaped) (between 2 and 3 years in prison).
Also, they are punished with the extension of the length of stay in prison: attempted rape, rape, including homosexual relations that take place with the consent of both partners. They are forbidden: gambling, possession of dice or playing cards, religious manifestations (of any faith), possession of religious books or various religious objects. For illiterate detainees or those with very modest reading and writing skills, there is a classroom where a lady schoolmistress teaches lessons to detainees (selected according to certain criteria by a specialist in didactic and pedagogical sciences).
It should also be mentioned that the food is very low in calories and insufficient: in the morning they give a very thin slice of bread and a cup of tea, for lunch there is only one dish, i.e. potato soup, or boiled beans or other soups (with cabbage, rice, various vegetables), and in the evening they give as food the indispensable boiled wheat. We must admit, however, that beans cooked in a large cauldron are very tasty. Once a week, more precisely, on Saturday, the potato soup contains small pieces of boiled fish. Those who go to work receive richer food.
After reading the rules, we each receive a rectangular piece of cloth, 80 centimeters long and 40 centimeters wide. This will be used to make a bag (wallet). The chief of the cell has a needle and enough sewing thread for everyone in the cell. The needle is given to each inmate in the cell in turn, with great attention and vigilance so that not to be some accident caused by the needle. The cell chief supervises each detainee when he manufactures his bag. It's my turn and I carefully sew the piece of cloth, after I have torn a narrow strip for the string.
Two detainees near me catch my attention:
one from the "Stave" village (a village located near the Vaslui-Bacău highway, about halfway between the two cities) who stole cows from Vaslui county and sold them in the fairs of Bacău county. He is young, he really looks like a teenager, but he is very talkative and voluble. He seems to have a solution for any problem, he considers himself clever and resourceful, he will work to be released faster than the term set by the law court, he received three years and six months as punishment, but if he goes to work he will be released after two years. While he is talking, he is building a bag from the piece of cloth which he received. He works hard (for the bag) and is optimistic. An old man from the city of Huşi comments excitedly about the "kid":
- The boy is clever! His mind is working!
The old man was in the war, his left hand was amputated by shrapnel, and his right eye is cut and furrowed by a scar. It was 1944 when he was mutilated, somewhere near the city of Odesa. At that time he was 22 years old and an infantry soldier. Now he is 65 years old. The legislation provides that those who are over 65 years of age serve a quarter of the sentence. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but will serve only one year (ie a quarter of the sentence). He brags himself about his feats at Huşi town. He was an accountant at a craft cooperative that made shoes (of leather, cloth, plastic, etc.), he "juggled" a lot of money and tricked many "suckers", including some members of the cooperative. In those days, shoes, boots and any kind of quality footwear were in great demand in Romania. He managed for several years to keep a double accounting record, one for the economic and political authorities, another for himself and his clients.
Basically he stole large quantities of shoes and sold them to regular customers, of course, without a financial or accounting record in the cooperative's documents of those sales. He often played poker, sometimes betting large sums of money.
- I played poker for a lot of money, sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. Sometimes I even was leaving an entire salary on the poker table, but don't you think I'm a beginner or mediocre, I am a master at playing cards, especially poker. They caught him as a delinquent because a poker buddy denounced him.
- That one was an envious person, a coward, an immature person, a sucker...
He looked at the "kid" again with the uninjured eye and made another jokes: about young ladies, about some dudes, about cleverness, about life in general.
- I ate pheasant steak and drank Ivesti wine, which is Nicolae Ceauşescu's favorite wine, the best wine from Romania! boasted the crippled man. Indeed, the most appreciated wine by Nicolae Ceauşescu was produced in the famous vineyards near the town of Huşi. It is certain that Nicolae Ceauşescu sometimes came (with the white presidential helicopter) to Huşi to drink such wine, probably 7-8 times a year. Every time he stayed in Huşi for a few days, there was also a forest with wild mammals (boars, deer, rabbits) and wild birds (mainly: pheasants and quails), and Nicolae Ceauşescu, a passionate hunter, entered this forest to hunt…
After two weeks an important event takes place: the meeting in the club. Those recently incarcerated will be sorted and then assigned to cells or bigger rooms than cells. The club is - surprisingly for a penitentiary - a very large room, arranged lengthwise in the north-south direction and widthwise in the east-west direction. In the room there are many wooden tables and at each table there are two small wooden stool-type chairs.
The arrangement of tables and chairs is similar to a classroom for students. In the southern part of the room there is a big desk and two comfortable chairs. One or two officials of the prison will sit on these two chairs: the commander of the penitentiary, or the deputy commander, or prison staff officers assigned to maintain order and discipline in the prison, or the penitentiary prosecutor - the one who approves applications for conditional release, or the person in charge of "communist ethics and morals" in the penitentiary (who is usually a Political Police officer), rarely the person in charge of the domain: clothing and food for prisoners. On the wall behind the big desk is a large white canvas screen on which films will be projected. Movies are usually given to inmates once a month, sometimes every two or three months. These are rigorously selected so that they do not contain violence, hand-to-hand combat, escape, manufacture of artisanal weapons, immigration to capitalist countries and never describe the capitalist society - which is "a corrupt and dirty one, with many social inequities and political, without proper education in the spirit of communist ethics and equity". Most often films are shown from socialist countries: Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany (German Democratic Republic), of course, and from Romania, also from: China, Vietnam, North Korea (Democratic People's Republic Korean), Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and from some countries in Africa or Asia that have a somewhat communist regime (even if they do not have names of "people's republic", or "socialist republic"). The film I watched in this room was "The Girl Without a Dowry", a successful and valuable Soviet film. It must be mentioned the immense joy of the inmates when
they are coming to the club to see a movie...
Of course, on one wall of the room is the portrait of Nicolae Ceaușescu, which is black and white, placed in a simple wooden frame. This portrait was made when he was about 40 years old, so in 1958, now being 1987, and Nicolae Ceaușescu being 69 years old, so 29 years older than the one in the portrait. Therefore, the communist dictator does not want to appear as an old man in the portraits arranged in the rooms and the halls of all institutions in Romania (including in student classrooms in all comprehensive schools, vocational schools and high schools). He also doesn't want to appear short, Nicolae Ceaușescu's loyal communists making arrangements (at official meetings, speeches or conferences, visits to various companies, etc.) with short men around him. Including important positions in the Romanian Communist Party, or in the government, or other important institutions are mainly occupied by men of small stature (with small physical stature). Therefore, the men who often sit around him, holding important positions in the Communist Party, must necessarily be small in stature. How long he was the leader of the Romanian communist party, including the leader of socialist Romania, on no official occasion was there any person taller than 1.70 meters around him (with the exception of visits by foreign officials to Romania, leaders of parties, countries or governments). If Nicolae Ceaușescu was 1.65 meters tall, the others around him could not be taller than 1.65 meters, rarely reaching 1.70 meters. The preference for short men was widespread in most important institutions in Romania.
For example, in the army, many small officers held important positions and they advanced in rank much faster than others who were over 1.70 meters tall. Those short statured officers were extremely demanding of their subordinates and very exacting, establishing themselves as undisputed leaders - authoritarian and at the same time very power-hungry. One such officer of small stature was Constantin Olteanu.
The dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu (and his wife, Elena Ceaușescu) reached its peak between 1986 and 1987. In 1987, supporters of Nicolae Ceaușescu from the so-called "cultural domain" devised a large book: physically (having a length of 35 centimeters and a width of 25 centimeters), but also in terms of literary and propagandistic content (having 650 pages - of a very good quality paper). Of these 650 pages: 300 pages are text (in which Nicolae Ceaușescu is highly praised and glorified for "his exceptional merits in building communism in Romania") and 350 pages are entirely images - which have in the center the figure of Nicolae Ceaușescu (and often Elena Ceaușescu as well). The photographers of the communist regime in Romania were not mediocre, on the contrary, they were very good image specialists. There are documentary films about Nicolae Ceaușescu - with very good, even exceptional images, and there are many books with very good quality pictures about Nicolae Ceaușescu. This 650 page book is called: "Homage to the great hero of socialist Romania - Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu". The main author of this book (who led a large team of journalists, prominent politicians, so-called "cultured people", image specialists, historians and military officers), Constantin Olteanu, in 1981 he was only a colonel (at the "Army History Institute"). Nicolae Ceaușescu promoted him to the rank of major general and, at the same time, he appointed him head of the army (that is, according to the title of those times, "the minister of national defense"). He was Nicolae Ceaușescu's confidant, most appreciated by the dictator for his loyalty. After only two years, Nicolae Ceaușescu advanced him again: from the rank of major general to the rank of lieutenant general. Since 1986, Constantin Olteanu left his military career and became a civilian, with a very high position in the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. So, Constantin Olteanu conceived and produced the book titled "Homage to the great hero of socialist Romania - Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu". This book was printed in many copies, and it could be seen not only in bookstores, but in any store that had a large number of visitors (customers). Because no one bought a copy of this book, it sat on the shelves for several years, being visible to anyone passing by the window or for any customer of any store. We remind you that Constantin Olteanu was small in stature (with a height of 1.65 meters, comparable to Nicolae Ceaușescu, who was approximately 1.63 meters tall).
We also mention the fact that in this year 1987 in Romania there is corruption, at a small or medium level. Thus, if you have a problem to solve, i.e.: to get a good job, or, to advance in your position (if you are a civil servant), or, to obtain a higher professional category (these categories being set from 1 to 7) - if you are a worker, or, to get a methane gas cylinder, or, in very important case, to get an apartment - you need a person who held an important position in the hierarchy of functions in the Romanian Communist Party and who accepts a gift, of course, with utmost discretion. After taking the gift, that person will solve your problem. We cannot know why such people are called "electric battery" (or "cell"), sometimes "acquaintances", and sometimes "relationships". Without such "electric battery", "acquaintances", or "relationships" - you are condemned to live for years in a small and uncomfortable home, with a low salary and no possibility to advance in position or professional category.
On one chair at the big desk sit a captain in uniform who appears important and authoritative: he is the deputy commander. Each detainee sitting on the chair is asked about his health by the deputy commander. Some ones are fit for work. They will occupy the small cells and leave every morning for the work fronts: digging ditches, weeding, masonry. They will receive a slightly larger portion of food than others who stay in the rooms during the day. Those convicted of killing and those who wanted to cross the border illegally are considered dangerous and to prevent any attempt to escape they will be kept in room 32. In the same room 32 will stay the disabled (some who have amputated hands or feet, or physical defects in different parts of the body or in the head, eyes, etc.). When it's my turn to answer questions, the deputy commander says: "With you, things are clear: you will stay in room 32. You wanted to leave the country illegally, so you cannot go out to work."
This room 32 is the largest in the penitentiary. The beds are stacked in three floors. There are 10 groups of 3 bunk beds each, so a total of 30 beds. At the north end of the room is the toilet, equipped with a handle for pulling water, having a door frame format at the entrance, but without a door. If there is no door - no one can hide (behind the door), for example: a prisoner who intends to commit suicide, or two inmates who want to have sex as homosexuals (one to be active, the other one to be passive).( In 1987, homosexual relationships are prohibited in Romania). On the same side of the room there is a kind of storeroom for the prisoners' personal belongings, also without a door, called a "shack". (The definition of the word "shack" is: a storeroom on a ship, usually located below deck). In the east wall there is a large window fitted with iron bars. Here you can look towards the prison yard and you can see the cadres, that is, those militiamen belonging to the General Directorate of Penitentiaries, who come to work in the morning. In the space between the beds and the "shack" is a table with a box of chess pieces on it. On the table are inlaid the 64 squares of the chess game. Next to it are two small chairs on which the two partners who face each other in a game of chess will sit. There is also a shelf on the wall near "shack" with some books: one about the geography of America, another about beekeeping and several brochures intended to re-educate those who have broken the law and now they are serving their sentence. In the place of honor among these brochures it can be seen one about the delinquency of fraudulent border crossing. Leaving the homeland is seen as treason and irresponsible thinking, a kind of aggressive naivety devoid of any trace of patriotism. The name of the brochure is: "Vain illusions". When I first enter this room, I try to find a bed for me. It is so crowded that you can even see three inmates in one bed. In the 30 beds there will be - after the newcomers enter the room - about 45 inmates. A certain Andrei Condurache takes pity on me and invites me to his bed, on the top level (that is, from the second floor). He is convicted of self-mutilation, more precisely, he shot the index finger of his right hand while serving in the military service - for to "get away" from compulsory military service. The military court considered that his gesture was with the intention of self-mutilation and sentenced him to two years in prison. He admitted (in this room 32) his act of self-mutilation. He said that compulsory military service is very hard and tough - harder and tougher than the prison. He has two clubbed fingers, but is active and hardworking, he works all the day in the kitchen where food is prepared for all the inmates. They are many smokers in the room and there is dense smoke. The air is difficult to breathe and there is sweat (perspiration). It's hot outside - with a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius (or 95 degrees Farenheit).
1 Artenie Daniel was born and raised in the village of Crasna, located 10 kilometers away from the city of Vaslui. When he turned 5, his father (Grigore) announced that he wanted to divorce his wife (Nicoleta) (Daniel's mother). What would have been the reason for the divorce (which at the time was difficult for Daniel to understand)? Grigore found a woman more beautiful, more attractive than Nicoleta. Besides, that woman had no children and had a small wealth (which left over from her ex-husband, whom she divorced a year ago). Left without his father, Daniel will have some trouble for a while with the other boys of his age in the village, who were malicious and ironic with him or they threw nasty words at him about his fatherless situation. Later the other children got used to this fatherless Daniel. However, Daniel was always a good and shy child, a little talkative and careful not to be offended by someone naughty and impertinent. His mother worked hard to give him good food, to buy him clothes and to make him to forget about his father, Grigore. A woman from the village, Smaranda, also without husband and with a son (Adrian) a year younger than Daniel is Nicoleta's best friend. She advised her to save money and to buy a sewing machine. Nicoleta made great efforts to collect this money, working as day laborer for some of the wealthier people, weeding, collecting hay or lucerne, picking apples for brandy, whitewashing the walls of houses, picking grapes, etc. After three months of hard work she bought an "Ileana" sewing machine, mechanical and not electric. At the bottom of this machine is the pedal (a kind of metal grill, a rectangle equipped with bars that has on the sides, in the middle, a horizontal axis fixed, of course, in some bearings). The movement of this pedal causes the two spindles to rotate around them and further they will rotate a drum (the rotor of sewing machine) - which is an important part in the mechanical gear of the sewing machine – setting all the machine parts in motion). With the sole of her right foot placed on the grill (pedal), she alternately presses the pedal, sometimes with the toes, sometimes with the heel, causing a movement of lowering and raising the pedal. It's kind of swinging the pedal around the axles in the middle: the front part of the pedal rises and falls in opposition to the rear part of the pedal; when the front is up, the back is down and vice versa, when the front goes down, then the back goes up. In this way the rotor of the sewing machine is set in motion, which then activates all its mechanisms and realizes the sewing (with needles of various sizes and threads of various colors and thicknesses). It is not very difficult to concentrate: once on the pedal (which you actuate with your right foot) and once per piece of cloth (or other textile material) which you pass under the sewing needle (needle that pierces the fabric very often, going in and out of it, getting quality sewing). Pretty quickly the villagers of Crasna found out about Nicoleta's sewing machine and they started coming - one by one - to ask him to sew or repair various textile items: bags, tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases, aprons, shirts, pants, etc. Later the range of requests for the sewing machine expanded and Nicoleta had more work to do and she was making more money than at the beginning, of course, gaining more skill and qualification for working on her machine.
When he turned 6, Daniel entered school, in the first grade. He was not a very good pupil, not a mediocre one, but an average one.
After finishing 8th grade (i.e. general school) his mother thought of sending him to an industrial high school (where he will enter after taking an exam). Among the 4 existing industrial high schools in the city of Vaslui (mechanical, textile, chemical and for construction), Daniel and his mother chose the textile high school. The entrance exam took place in July and Daniel entered this high school without any problems. Asked by his mother if he would like to live in a rented room in the city of Vaslui (with another boy) or to move daily: Crasna village to Vaslui or from Vaslui to Crasna village - that is, to go by train every day, in the morning from Crasna to Vaslui, and at around 2 p.m. from Vaslui to Crasna - Daniel said he doesn't want to stay in a rented room at all, but prefers to travel daily by train: Crasna-Vaslui and Vaslui-Crasna, but to eat at home, sleep at home, bath at home, and study for the next day and do homework at home too. All high schools and comprehensive schools open their doors on September 15. With little fear, Daniel will enter the 9th grade B. There are 15 boys and 12 girls in this class. The geography teacher, Cocuz Andrei, is the form master of their class. As a school subject: there are known subjects (Romanian language, mathematics, French, physics, chemistry, geography, history, etc.), but many subjects are industrially specific (organic textile technology, industrial sewing machines, industrial looms, technical drawing , labor protection in textile enterprises, stretching of synthetic yarns, etc.). He will find out that on October 20 they will have the "Adolescence Ball", with music, dance, raffle, small contests with prizes, the designation of a girl as "Miss Adolescence".
The first two weeks passed quickly.
Daniel is thinking of "Adolescence Ball", how to dress himself. He tells his mother about the ball (dance) and the clothing:
- I would want a suit! says Daniel.
- But the suit is expensive, we have to keep the money for food and other expenses! his mother answers him.
It is late in the evening. Daniel is thoughtful. He goes to bed. Before falling asleep, he imagines a gorgeous suit which to wear to the ball.
The next day, Smaranda, his mother's friend, learns about Daniel's problem: with the ball (dance) and the clothes.
Smaranda's son, Adrian, is the same height as Daniel, even if he is a year younger than him. Without much prompting, Adrian gives Daniel his duck egg-colored suit, as well as a blue tie and a pair of very good quality leather shoes. On October 20, Daniel is dressed in that beautiful suit, with a blue tie around his neck and wearing those leather shoes - all things being received from Adrian. The dance hall (ballroom) is full of first-year textile high school pupils. The music is of all genres, especially rock, coming from an audio-amplification station that receives a signal from a "Philips" tape recorder. They dance casually and in a good mood, moving their hands, feet, body and head in all kinds of ways. It's only the beginning of the ball, later "the spirits will heat up". Daniel enters the group of dancers and begins to move to the rhythm of the music. After dancing for two songs, Daniel looks beyond the group of dancers - where there is the west wall of this room, with a large door that is currently open. Some ones go in, other ones go out...
Next to the south wall of the dance room are two couches: on the one next to the door there are three girls. Maybe he should take a look over there. Daniel starts for the door with the intention of going outside and getting some air. One of the young ladies on the couch catches his eye. She is thin, with small breasts, wearing a yellow blouse and a brown skirt that reaches above her knees. She has brown hair and is beautiful. Her physique is pleasing, her legs are superb. He walks towards the door, but with his eyes fixed on the girl in yellow and brown. She is talking something to a friend of hers. Suddenly she turns her face to the group of dancers and sees Daniel looking at her. He suddenly changes the direction of his gaze and walks out of the dance room without haste. He has a desire to know that girl, to befriend her.
How would it be better he to proceed? He to be direct and hasty (but at the risk of being considered rude) or to be slow, to try to approach her little by little (at the risk that she to say: “he is not a real man”)?
There is a small shop near the dance room. Daniel goes and buys candies. Then he heads towards the couch with the three girl pupils. "Maybe they won't refuse me, especially the she one in yellow and brown!" Daniel says to himself. He reached the couch.
- Please don't refuse me! I invite you to serve candies!...
The girls looked at each other, then at Daniel, then at the paper bag full of candy.
- We don't refuse you, says one of them, and takes a candy.
The other two female pupils each take a piece of candy from the paper bag.
- My name is Daniel, he dares to say, looking only at the "sweet girl" in yellow and brown.
- My name is Elvira! she says.
Without waiting for the other two friends to introduce themselves, Daniel extends his right hand to Elvira.
She offers her right hand. The two ones shake hands with excitement and joy.
As if he had forgotten that he was presented to her a little while ago, he speaks out loud:
- Daniel! and she answers immediately:
- Elvira!
The other two girls, realizing that Daniel only wants Elvira, leave for the middle of the room and start dancing.
- Take a seat, please! Elvira says to Daniel. He sits on the sofa, happy, full of emotion and full of hope.
There's a moment of silence coming up. Then Daniel addresses her with tact:
- If the music will be slow, meaning "blues", will you agree to go dancing?
- Yes, of course! But I don't know how to dance as well as other girls.
- I don't know either, because I haven't had the opportunity to go to the disco often. I come from the village of Crasna where there are rare balls or discos.
- I am from the village of Munteni, says Elvira. So I don't live far from Crasna.
- Poate vei veni vreodată la Crasna să vezi unde e casa mea. My father divorced my mother when I was only five. I have no brothers or sisters...
- I'm sorry that you remained without father. My parents are together and I have more two younger sisters. Maybe it would be better that you to come visit us in the Munteni.
- Yes, I'd gladly to come, just you to tell me when...
There are moments of silence again. Not long after a slow melody (in the "blues" genre) urges the dancing pairs to move gently, swaying, in the slow pace of the music. As a duty gentleman elegant, Daniel does not hesitate to ask:
- Dear miss, do you want to dance?
- Yes, of course, she answers.
He grabs her hand and takes her to a place where it is not crowded. And then, with vry much emotion, he takes positions in front of her, approaches her, and grabs her hands around her. She responds to his gesture by putting her hands on his shoulders. The music is wonderful. It would be better that the music never stop. Elvira is also full of emotion, but excited, about this dance and the proximity to Daniel. But the music stopped... "
- Let's go and sit on the couch! says Elvira, after she dropped her hands off Daniel's shoulders...
Until the end of the ball, there is a contest with questions of general culture and small prizes, then drawing winning raffle tickets and just some musical pieces for dancing. The biology teacher is the deputy director of the textile high school. In a loud voice, he announces:
- Dear pupils, the dance ball is over!
Everyone will leave the hall, each heading to his home. Daniel found out that Elvira lives in a rented single room here in town together her friend Helen.
Tomorrow is Sunday. Daniel and Elvira set a meeting at 11.00 a.m. in the front of Racova Hotel.
The two ones are very close, they understand each other well in every respect, they are very joyful to be together, even happy. Their meetings, which will last during all high school, were frequent and included walks and bench stays in Copou Park, going to the cinema when there were good movies, sometimes serving cakes at a confectionery and not rarely at Elvira's parents' house. Daniel introduced Elvira to his mother, but the two ones were not coming often to Crasna.
In 1982, they were both became 16 years old. Daniel was already 16 when Elvira invited him to her parents' house to celebrate her birthday: June 2. Both parents were happy to see Daniel around Elvira. This time, more than usual, Elvira's parents did their best to make Daniel become Elvira's permanent friend, of course, with the perspective of their marriage in the not too distant future. It should be mentioned that Elvira's father (named Dumitru) was very well located in the group of rich men from the city of Vaslui. He had relationships with wealthy people. With their help, he made some fortune in the village of Munteni: a very large house with many rooms, beautiful and well furnished, a little pond where there were phytophagous fish and where Dumitru was fishing when he wanted to have fresh fish for his guests, a nutria farm (about a hundred specimens) which brought him an excellent income, by their fur and their flesh, a garden with vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, chili peppers, onions, parsley, dill, thyme, radishes, spinach, salad, etc.) of which, they consume about half of the production, the rest being sold in the town Vaslui or made gift to some important people with high positions in the communist party. Also for the gifts he had a portion of the garden cultivated with strawberries (which were extremely requested in the city), as well as melons, cabbage, potatoes, etc. Elvira's mother (Roxana) worked daily, especially in the warm season, in this wealthy household. The family of Elvira also had fruit trees (rich in fruit), a fountain for daily water requirements, a cow with a calf giving milk for consumption, two pigs, cut at Christmas. Some of the pigs' flesh reached the tables of those people with high positions in the Romanian communist party. Mr. Dumitru was always very concerned to make big fortune, even illegally, considering that he has three daughters that he must help in their marriage.
Late in the evening, Elvira invited Daniel to her room. It was her act of courage to offer her body to a boy she loves and trusts: Daniel. So, Elvira invited Daniel to her family's beautiful home to celebrate her birthday. Elvira's parents gladly accepted Daniel into their home, and the party was a very successful, rich and pleasant one. The relationship between Daniel and Elvira, started in the first year of the high school (at the "Adolescents Ball") was and will be a durable, sincere, full of love one. During his four years of high school, Daniel had no girlfriend other than Elvira, and she had no other friend than Daniel. Late in the evening, Elvira invited Daniel to her room. It was her act of courage to offer her body to a boy she loves and trusts: Daniel. The next morning founds the two ones in the bed, completely naked, tired after the happy moments of the night... Both Elvira and Daniel will keep in the memory for a long time that wonderful night from 2 to 3 June 1982. They will meet again to make love, either in Elvira's rented room in the city or at Elvira's parents' house in Munteni. Daniel was always liked by Elvira's family and he will do his best to maintain a devoutly loving and respectful attitude towards all of this family, including Elvira's two younger sisters (who looked delightfully at Elvira's good relationship with Daniel).
In the summer of 1984, Daniel and Elvira will graduate from the industrial textile high school and successfully pass the baccalaureate exam. Elvira took a course in steno-typing and was employed as a secretary at the Synthetic Thread Plant in Vaslui, more specifically, at the electrical section of this plant. Daniel had the opportunity to enter as a skilled worker at the textile company in the city, but his salary was small, and his working hours were often tiring: second shift - from 15.00 to 23.00 and especially third shift - from 23.00 in the evening to 7.00 in the morning. In these conditions he preferred to learn the profession of electric welder (in about a month); then he will be employed by the County Enterprise of Industrial Processing and Providing Services, where he will have to do a lot of welding and will be paid according to the work done. He was working from morning till evening and received a high salary of about 7,000 lei per month, that is, the salary of two engineers. This enterprise was cooperative one, allowing for high (sometimes very high) salaries, even though the vast majority of enterprises in Romania (over 95%) were "socialist state enterprises". With this much money, Daniel will rent a "single room" (in the town Vaslui) in which he will stay alone, he will buy electro-household items, he will buy good clothes for him and will make gifts to Elvira (small objects of gold, silver and precious stones).
During the year 1985 - military service was compulsory for all men over the age of 18 and able (physically and psychologically) to do so. The official name was "military service" and "execution of military service". Its duration was 1 year and 4 months. The popular name (as folklore) was: "to make the army". The marriage asked you to have your "army made." So, you first "to make the army" and then to get married. The military specialties were: infantry, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft missiles, tanks, military automobiles, genius (who handled roads and bridges, was also responsible for explosive material in the army), radiolocation, chemistry, broadcasting, railroads, military navy, border guards, mountain hunters, etc.
In May 1985 Daniel went "to do the army" in an infantry unit in the town of Câmpulung Muscel, but being sent to specialization (in the city of Ploiesti) as a future radio operator on mobile military transmission stations. So, he will return from Ploiesti to the Campulung Muscel unit as a radio operator. The liberation from the Army was to take place in September 1986. Until then, however, he will sometimes have to endure heavy moments of military training. He is physically fragile and must wear on him (at infantry tactical instruction classes): a haversack (on the back), fitted with two wide straps that pass over the shoulders. Thus, its weight is distributed on the shoulders and the back. The haversack is made of a thick and very resistant canvas. Inside it there are: water can (half liter, covered with a layer of heat-insulating material), the dixie (to serve food, at noon and evening) (it is a kind of bowl made of aluminum sheet, but square shaped), pencil-holder (for machine gun cleaning) (has short cylindrical brushes, but with an inner hole of the same diameter as the pole used to remove dirt from the machine gun barrel inside. These brushes are made of thin steel wire. So, to remove dirt from the inside of the pipe, especially after the execution of some bullet fires, the soldier will remove the metal rod arranged along the pipe, at the bottom of it, then it will fix one of the brushes on the incisor end of the metal rod and he'll put these in the machine gun barrel, moving them back and forth until the inside of the pipe is released from smoke and slag debris, it will be glossy and will shine like a mirror. There are in this cylinder: thin rags or some slightly thicker ones, special oil for the metal of the pipe, special grease for the interior of the pipe, etc.), anti-chemical protective suit (intended to protect a soldier when he walks on chemically infected land - with toxic substances - or from a nuclear point of view - i.e. with radioactive ash resulted from a nuclear explosion. This suit is made of elastic rubber, in the shape of a suit-type overalls to which the boots are bonded. After dressing it, the protection of the soldier is ensured, from head to toe, with a very good tightness), tent sheet (is used for the construction of the group tent. Generally, in many armies in the world, as well as in the Romanian army - the group consists of 8 soldiers, and these eight sheets of tent shall together constitute a military camp tent), chemical degassing and detoxification complete equipment (and for nuclear neutralization) of the clothing and armament (consists of a plastic box inside which there are six small containers - about the size of the index finger - containing various chemical substances, each of them having a well-established chemical composition and a precise destination for the neutralization of traces of infection by toxic chemicals or harmful substances resulting from a nuclear explosion).
The mantle is wrapped "in the bandulier", that is, having a similar shape to the fancy cakes - thicker in the middle and thinner towards the ends (a variable diameter roll). The name “bandulier” defines: a strip of leather or of cloth passed over the back or chest. Even if the name given in the Army to this way to wear on the back the cloak made roll - it's not entirely correct - it has been kept for decades (coming from the French word "bandouliere"). If we have a triangle on the table (made from dough) and we put on it ground walnut kernels, or quince jam, or pear jam, etc. and we begin to rotate the base of this triangle toward the opposite of the base - we will get a "body" which is little thickness on the outside and a little more thickness on the middle of it - similar to the shape obtained from the mantle. In this form, the mantle is arranged around the backpack, at the top and the two sides.
The string is defined as the narrow or wide strip sewn or attached to an object for transportation, hanging, tightening, etc. With a cloth band (used as a string), the gas mask is located on the left side of the body, above the hip, being, of course, supported by that cloth band arranged over the right shoulder. The gas mask has a hood of a kind of elastic material – very similar to rubber (i.e., a kind of mask that can be put on the face, glued to the top of the head and temples and reaching under the chin). This ensures total tightness between the soldier and the outside environment, being connected a rubber hose in the front of the hood which has on its upper part (adjacent to the mouth) a valve - which allows the air to be removed outwards (by exhalation), but does not allow the entry of chemically or radiologically infected air in the soldier's airways. (On the inspiration the valve will be closed for the tainted air from the outside, but another valve will open through which the clean air from the filter will enter). At the bottom of this hose, in the bag situated over the left hip, there is a special material (a filter) - in a box - which annihilates toxic substances, providing clean air to the one who uses this mask.
In some models of gas masks, the hose is missing, and the filter box is fixed directly to the hood, in the region of the nose.
The gas mask is extremely necessary if toxic chemicals or various other harmful substances appear (without the gas mask - the inspired tainted air is lethal).
On the leather belt there are:
- on the right side, a very strong canvas bag. We have to mention the fact that there are warehouses with cartridges, one such warehouse has 30 cartridges. The canvas bag has three "dwellings" - for three warehouses with cartridges. (A fourth warehouse is fixed in the dwelling of the machine gun.) In total there are 4 warehouses with cartridges, so120 cartridges.
- at the back is a purse made of durable cloth with the "small infantry shovel" (this shovel is shaped like a spade, but much smaller and with a very short wooden tail). With this the soldier can dig in the field a "firing site", a kind of pit in which he will find shelter. Three types of “firing sites” have been designed: for the "lying down" position, for the "kneeling" position and for the "standing" position. It is extremely difficult to dig into the ground to achieve a firing site for the "standing" position (slightly easier for the "kneeling" position and acceptable for the "lying down" position);
- on the left side of the body is found the sheath of the bayonet. It should be noted that the bayonet can be placed on the machine gun (at its top, near the outlet of the pipe), or inserted into the sheath. Of course, it was built specifically to insert the bayonet into it; has a side with jagged (sharp and very resistant) and can be used to cut wood, thin trees, etc. There is also the possibility to form a mechanism (a scissors): from bayonet and from sheath - so that they can cut wire up to 4 millimeters thick.
In the right hand, the soldier has the machine gun.
Tactical infantry training exercises are compulsory for all soldiers of Romanian Army, regardless of the soldier's specialty (so, not only for infantry soldiers). The duration of such an exercise can be between one hour and four hours. Daniel will be forced to participate (as any soldier) in the infantry tactical training (having the backpack on the back and the other pieces of military equipment on the leather belt) with difficulty, being sometimes exhausted and powerless and drawing the platoon commander's nervousness (a lieutenant) (or of the company sergeant, or of some corporal).
So he had a very hard life sometimes...
Throughout his military service (one year and four months) Daniel was visited by his friend Elvira three times and once by his mother.
On September 20, 1986 the military service of those who came to the army in May 1985 ended. The shouts of "Come liberation! " were present not only in the military unit in the town of Campulung Muscel, but in many other military units throughout Romania, in trains, buses, bars and restaurants, as well as in native villages of those who "fulfilled the military service" for one year and four months, and now they're coming home.
Daniel, dressed as a civilian, comes to his loved ones (from Crasna and Muntenia villages). Other young people in Romania will replace their civilian clothes with military clothes, which they will receive in various military units. They are "perches" and will be trained by soldiers who spent about 8 months in the army, some of them being sergeants, some corporals - an instruction with roughness and hardness, with an incomprehensible sense of revenge (after all that they have suffered from the soldiers and graded soldiers who have now gone home and which at the moment are civilian), sometimes with the intent of humiliating newcomers, generically called "perches".
So in the army of those years there were two categories of soldiers: some who had already spent 8 months in the army, that is, "soldiers of the second cycle"; other ones (newcomers), considered "perches", being "soldiers of the first cycle". The old soldiers in the army (i.e., "second-cycle soldiers") called themselves "veterans".
There is a small song with the text:
"The veteran is a veteran
He is not military cadre
He is neither a perch!"
The military officers and the military non-commissioned officers were considered military cadres, and the newly arrived soldiers were called "first-cycle soldiers," or "perches" (until they completed half of the term [one year and four months], that is, until they reached the age of 8 months in the military unit. Then the "veterans" went home, and the remaining ones advanced in the "second cycle" category, receiving into the military unit young civilians, of course called "perches"). The meeting with his friends and relatives was very emotional and joyful, especially the meeting again with his mother and his fiancée: Elvira.
The last days of September are sunny and warm. It's evening, not very late, and Daniel lies lying in bed, dressed almost completely, just took off his shoes and took off his gray coat, which he hung in a nail. He remembers the army, how he was sitting in the sleep room, lying in bed like now, just barefoot. So, three hours of service as a sentinel (for example, at the fuel depot, at night, from zero to three o'clock), then three hours in the waking room (where you are not allowed to sleep, but only to play backgammon, chess, rummy game or cards, from 3 to 6 o'clock) and then sleep, from 6 to 9 o'clock. How to regain physical vigor with such a program? In the three hours intended for sleep you barely have time to fall asleep...
Many moments of joy and happiness Elvira gave him. He almost doesn't believe that Elvira will be his, as girlfriend and then as wife...
"What good apples! ..." he says, savoring a well-baked, red, aromatic, sweet-sour, very tasty apple. "Where from does my mother get apples like this?" he asks himself. The next day she found out that the apples were brought by her friend Smaranda, who took them from the large orchard on the hill of Costești village. She, Smaranda, was with her son, Adrian, with some big bags and brought many apples...
In the army, Daniel met a Hungarian boy named Santa Csaba who knew Romanian very little. He was from Sălaj County, from a village entirely inhabited by Hungarians. He learned the profession of auto mechanic (being very good in this qualification), but did not want to learn Romanian (which he does not need there in the village, not even in the town of Zalău, the residence of Sălaj County, where he has many Hungarian friends). In the army, he encountered great problems of adaptation in that military unit in the town of Campulung Muscel. Soldiers with ages (at least 8 months old) and the graded soldiers (corporals, sergeants) instead of helping him (to learn Romanian) swore him terribly, blamed him, offended him in every way. No one dared try to beat Santa Csaba, because he was vigorous and brave, able to face anyone without fear or hesitation. Among the few soldiers who helped Santa Csaba (of the newcomers) was Daniel. It was not only about learning the Romanian language, but about other issues, related to the good coexistence. From the frequent collaborations between Daniel and Santa Csaba a kind of sincere friendship was born, based on mutual trust. Perhaps they both had the same kind of weaknesses - which unite two friends more than strength and display of personal qualities. The certain fact is that the Hungarian man greatly appreciated Daniel for his fairness and for his way of being agreeable to him. In Hungarian "Santa" means "lame”, and Daniel sometimes called him Timur Lenk (this being the name of the great military commander of the Tatars - who defeated even the terrible Sultan of the Turks, Bayezid the Lightning. In Tatar language "Lenk" means "lame" - like "Santa" in Hungarian language). On leaving the army, Daniel received from Santa Csaba a stainless knife, with a bone handle and a 15-centimeter long blade, sharp on both sides, especially at the top.
- If an enemy would come to you, you must hit with the knife! Santa Csaba tells to Daniel.
October comes with cold, mist and hoarfrost. The leaves fall in turn from the trees, covering the cold soil with successive layers - yellow, rust and brown. Now the watchman at the apple orchard is more vigilant than in the past. The orchard belongs to the State Agricultural Farm of Costesti. The Agricultural Production Cooperatives are largely Romanian state property, even though communist propaganda claims they belong to the peasants of cooperative. Referring to the State Agricultural Farms - they are entirely the property of the Romanian state. There's a hill called "Costești Hill." On it lies an orchard with apple trees. The picking season is approaching...Until the harvesting will begin, the watchman Andone Aurel (a young of 24-year-old, very naughty and arrogant with those approaching the orchard to take apples), paid by the State (i.e. by the State Agricultural Farm of Costesti) take a tour around the orchard to control and inspect any intruders. He has long hair on his neck and shoulders, he's not shaved, he has some kind of a thick stick in his hand. Alongside him are 5 boys aged between 16 and 21. All these six young people usually go daily to the pub in the village of Crasna to drink brandy or wine, rarely beer. Then they go to the orchard to find some delinquent, to scare him or to ask for money from him, possibly to hit him with the wooden stick (as punishment of the watchman for some delinquents). No one dares to face with the group led by Andone Aurel.
It's Saturday afternoon. Being cold compared to September, Daniel get dressed with those clothes which he bought before to go to the military unit, when he was working as a welder, some clothes suitable for the autumn. He has a gray jacket with green insignia, a kind of clothing for camouflage. The pants have several pockets, in the back and side, and near the right knee has a narrow, vertically disposed “dwelling”. In this place Daniel inserts his knife with bone handle. The whole blade of the knife entered. (The bone handle of the knife remained outside). He likes to walk through the courtyard in such clothing, having the knife in the “dwelling” of the pant. He asks his mother what is her occupation at that moment and asks her to go to the orchard.
- Do you want we to go to the orchard now when it's Saturday? she asks.
- Now being Saturday, there will be no watchmen at the orchard, Daniel replies.
Somewhere in the corner of a room is a big, blue bag that could hold 20 kilos of apples. This will be his bag. For his mother, he finds a small brown with green bag, about half the volume of the blue one.
- Let's go, Mom! Daniel says and leaves for the courtyard gate without even looking back to see if his mother is going. There she is, coming in a hurry...
At the edge of the orchard the trees have little or no fruit. Daniel and his mother go somewhere in the middle of the orchard and pick large, well-baked, red and aromatic apples. Each will fill his bag about three-quarters, Daniel having about 15 kilos of apples, and his mother about 10 kilos.
- Let's go home! says Daniel, lifting his bag on his right shoulder, then changing its position to make it easier for him to carry it.
They barely got out of the orchard and appear in front of them (about 500 meters away) Andone Aurel and his five supporters. Daniel wants to change the direction of walking so as not to meet the six ones, but he has no chance to avoid them. Soon after, Daniel and his mother are stopped with swearing and dirty words and threats by Andone Aurel and his "comrades". Andone Aurel laughs like an idiot. He has in his right hand a short, thick stick which resembles with a mace on one end, and he does his thing by turning that stick around his index finger of the right hand, a sort of right-hand juggling.
- You little kids will be in trouble with me, you found trouble and nuisance with me!
He then quits the jugglery and moves decisively and menacingly (with the stick in his right hand) towards Daniel and his mother.
The five supporters of Andone Aurel start shouting:
- Hit them! Hit them! Aurel: hit them!
- Break their teeth with the mace! Hit them in the muzzle! ...
- Take their money, Aurel! Take their wallets with money!
- Hit them! Hit them! Aurel: hit them!
- They not to forget you in the future! Hit them! ...
The cries of the five - which encouraged Aurel and urged him to be violent - begin to become a mixture of angry, mocking and horrible voices, with many ugly words and heavy swearing, often many onomatopoeia.
Aurel also sends a cuss to the two ones:
- Fuck the cross of your mothers! You are desecration, uncleanliness, defilement.
Daniel quickly takes out the knife from its dwelling on the right thigh of his trousers, holds it tightly by the bone handle with his right hand, and positions it horizontally, with the tip forward, at the height of his chest.
- If you come closer to me, I'll hit you with the knife! ... Daniel tells to Andone Aurel.
He has red, harsh and threatening eyes, almost unnatural for its fragile physique, jerky, fast and deep breath...
- If you come closer to me, I'll hit you with the knife! ... Daniel rehearses.
- What are you talking about, you precocious kid? Do you think you're brave? And he picks up the stick (as a mace on one end), trying to hit Daniel over the face. But Daniel - through a quick movement - avoided the blow and also thrust the knife into Aurel's belly, just below the navel (in its vicinity).
- Oh! you...desecration, uncleanliness, defilement. Fuck the cross of your mothers! You...untoward, miserable, paltry, pig, pitiable!... You hit me in the belly!
The other five individuals, surprisingly, do not jump to Aurel's aid and do not try to annihilate Daniel. On the contrary, they become quiet and silent.Daniel thrust the blade of the knife up to the bone handle, that is, about 15 centimeters deep, then he quickly pulled him out of the wound. Blood's pouring out of Aurel's wound. Instinctively, he puts his hand on the wound to stop the blood. For a few moments, they all stand motionless, like statues, as if they can not believe what happened. Aurel strips his coat, then lifts - above the navel - the sweater and the shirt and the undershirt, thus discovering the wound. One of the five individuals broke a long and not very wide strip of his shirt. Then he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and puts it on the wound, passes the strip of cloth over the handkerchief and surrounds Aurel's body, knotting the ends of it. The blood stopped. Aurel stays with his look on the handkerchief. Yes, the blood stopped!
He then lowers the undershirt and the shirt and the sweater over the handkerchief.
- Go home, Aurel, so you can put another dressing to your wound!
- Yes, I'm going home, first to see what to do with this wound, and then I'll take care of these two delinquents...
In an almost unnatural silence for this event: Aurel and the five his "comrades" leave for the village. Remaining alone, Daniel and his mother leave for home with their empty bags after throwing away all the apples.The group of six ones arrived at the edge of the village, but not far from this place there is a pub, open daily until late in the evening.
- Let's drink each a brandy! says Aurel. Such that not more to feel my pain!
Soon each of the six gets a glass of brandy, aromatic, tasty and not very loud. After the first glass of brandy they feel need of another one. An hour later they go to their homes, and Aurel tells his parents he is injured in the belly.
- How? Where from? Who did hit you? ask her mother upset and puzzled, even scared. Aurel doesn't want to answer. He lies in the bed and soon falls asleep. During the night, the wound infected by the dirty handkerchief fills with pus, which spreads inside the belly over a large area. In this way it appears at Aurel the fatal peritonitis. The next day, after he wakes up, he sees that he has serious problems with his wound. He can't move. His parents are in the garden or in the courtyard. He's not calling for help. A terrible pain grips him when he wants to get out of bed. He is lying down on his back, dizzy and troubled. His eyes see a spider net and are fade, his look is weak, he sees fog around. Soon he'll die because of peritonitis, that is: because of extensive infection within the belly, infection which has become septicemia (in medical terms: "generalized infectious state caused by the spread of a pathogen throughout the body via blood"). The news of Andone Aurel's death spread throughout the village of Crasna and neighboring villages. The militia appears at the house of Andone Aurel, then comes to Daniel and arrests him for the murder. He is taken to the arrest room of the Vaslui County Militia. He will stay here for two weeks, being investigated every day by Militia and by prosecutors. They will draw up him a penal file, he will be sent to trial and will be sentenced, by the Vaslui County Law Court, to 12 years in prison. He will have the right to appeal to the High Court of Vaslui County. In Crasna village there are some who support Daniel - as innocent - but many others blame him and disregard him for the fact that he hit with the knife. Mrs. Smaranda, Daniel's mother's best friend, hastily comes to tell her that they must hire a lawyer.
- Why didn't you hire a lawyer when he was in Law Court? You saw that he received a big punishment! A lawyer was needed for Daniel! ...
Daniel's mother will borrow money to pay a lawyer. She will hire the best lawyer in the Vaslui Bar, Mr. Marian Enache. In fact, he lives in city of Iasi, but comes daily by train to Vaslui city (except on Saturdays and Sundays, when there are no penal trials at the Law Court or Tribunal) to defend delinquents in Vaslui County. He is considered by all to be the best "defender" (for those who violated the law). With great experience in the field of penal trials, very well trained from a professional point of view, Marian Enache will do everything best to help Daniel:
- will take him to the Psychiatric Hospital where the psychiatrist will give him a diagnosis which should help him in the penal appeal process which will be done at the High Court, namely: "Reactive depressive mood". If in the case of alcohol consumption: no attenuating circumstances are given to the defendant, that is, he is not exculpate in a certain proportion for the penal offense committed, in the case of mental disorders, the law provides granting of mitigating circumstances and reduction of the punishment;
- Mr. Marian Enache will go to the five boys who always accompanied Andone Aurel, too, and will convince them to make statements against Aurel, that is, to blame him and to accuse him. These written testimonies of the five boys will weigh heavily in the legal balance of the penal trial;
- at the same time, being skilled at the legal subtleties of any penal offense, he will decide to appeal to the Central High Court (in Bucharest) and not to the High Court of Vaslui County.
Later, it will prove that this decision was a very good one.
(Specifically: he will have his sentence reduced from 12 years to 10 years in prison. After 3 months - when Nicolae Ceausescu will give the grand decree of amnesty and reprieve - Daniel will be amnestied and will go home with the penal record permanently erased by convictions, as if he had never committed a delinquency).
2. Another inmate who arrived to the room 32 is Kovacs Remus. He was sentenced by the Timiş County Law Court to one year in prison for crossing the border illegally (between Romania and Yugoslavia). (This year 1987 Yugoslavia is made up of 6 republics, making up a federation: Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro. Of them, only Serbia was neighbors to Romania, so the border crossing was made always between Romania and Serbia).
Some considerations about the history of Transylvania and Hungary must be made:
- for a time the Hungarians were masters of Romanian Ardeal. They owned many lands, forests, mountain peaks, rivers, etc. Among the ways of domination practiced by Hungarians was that to oblige Romanians to have Hungarian names, possibly, to change the Romanian names to Hungarian names. Thus: Stephen (from Romanian) became Istvan (in Hungarian), Ion became Janos, Mihai became Mihaly, Gheorghe became Gyorgy etc. To avoid this manner to distort the names - Romanians gave their children Latin names (of those used in ancient Rome): Remus, Sergiu, Valeriu, Iulius, Flavius, Marius, Cezar, Traian etc. for boys and fewer for girls: Lucretia, Letizia, Valeria, Felicia, Iuliana, Lucia etc.
After the union of 1 December 1918 of Ardeal with the motherland (i.e. with the Kingdom of Romania) and especially after the establishment of communism in Eastern Europe (including Hungary and Romania) the Hungarians lost any form of domination of the Romanians in Ardeal. Many Hungarians (from Ardeal) left for Hungary, and the remaining ones (about two million people) settled compactly in the counties of Harghita, Covasna and Mures (there are also many Hungarians in the city of Bucharest). It can be said that there was discrimination against Hungarians in Ardeal by the majority Romanians, especially during the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. As a gesture of respect towards the Romanians (or, better said, as a gesture of humble submission), the Hungarians began to give their children Latin names: Remus, Sergiu, Valeriu, Iulius, Flavius, Marius, Cezar, Traian etc. for boys and Lucretia, Letizia, Valeria, Felicia, Iuliana, Lucia etc. for girls. So, the Hungarians "borrowed" from the Romanians the habit of using Latin names...
Kovacs Remus is the only son of a family near the town of Targu Mures. There is a certain difference between the Hungarians in Harghita and Covasna counties (on the one hand) and Mureș county (on the other), in the sense that the people of this county (Mureș) were more emancipated and also more accustomed to a good living, firmly rejecting the restrictions and deprivations imposed by Romania's communist regime. Those people in Covasna and Harghita counties bear with stoicism the restrictions and deprivations of Romania's communist regime - unlike those from Mureș County.
In these years, military service is compulsory for all boys over the age of 18 (who are healthy and fit for military service). The popular name for performing military service was: "doing the army." Usually for marriage, you had to have completed military service. After "doing the army," Kovacs Remus came to watch with much reticence, disgust, even contempt the way of life imposed by the Romanian communists. He talked with his friends and his parents about his intention to fraudulently cross the border between Romania and Yugoslavia, then to arrive to Austria or another country in Western Europe (or the USA) etc. As a way of crossing the border - Kovacs Remus and his friends determined it would be to cross the Danube by swimming. Remus Kovacs had a very good physical constitution. In addition, he trained thoroughly during the summer - swimming in the large pool of water in the city center or in the Mureș River. A year later, in July, he climbed up a personal train that was traveling at night on the route Craiova - Turnu Severin - Timișoara. Somewhere near Turnu Severin (before reaching this city), when the train stopped in a station (in a village on the Danube bank) Kovacs Remus descended of the train, took off his clothes and put them in a bag that he tied to his shoulders and back, then jumped into the Danube and swam across to the other bank. He wiped his wet body and then put on his the clothes. The rule imposed by the Serbia was that - for every Romanian who arrived fraudulently in Yugoslavia to be granted the right to interview, that is, the right to present his troubles which he has in Romania to a UN representative. (UN representatives for Yugoslavia were based in the cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Vrsec, as UN officials).
As reasons for immigration to a Western country, the following were established:
- religious discrimination, in the sense that you are a member of a sect banned in Romania and you were persecuted by the communist regime.
There were six religious sects considered - formally - as legal and permitted in Romania, but in fact, members of these religious sects were discriminated against in various ways, in order to make them abandon these religious sects. Discrimination was often intense, even violent, direct, unrestrained. The six religious sects were: Christian Cult by Gospel, Seventh-day Adventists, Cult of the Lord's Host, Pentecostal Cult, Baptist Church, and Yehova's Witnesses Cult. If you wanted to gain the right to immigrate to a Western country on the basis of religious discrimination - you had to have a thorough knowledge of the religion of such a sect, religious nuances and various details, the organization and functioning and the way of life of that religious sect. Remus Kovacs was a Catholic Christian and had no knowledge of any religious sect. Therefore, he did not have the chance to be accepted by the UN representative as discriminated against, because the Catholic Christian Church was not discriminated against at all in Romania;
- ethnic or racial discrimination. This point suited as an enunciation for Hungarians in Romania (as well for other ethnicities in Romania: Germans, Serbians, Turks, Tatars, Lipovan Russians, Greeks, etc.). It was necessary to be enrolled in the identity card your nationality: Hungarian, German etc. Some documents proving this discrimination were also needed: about the termination of the employment contract, about the refusal of some enterprises to hire you, etc. A special situation was that of Gypsies:
- they were an ethnicity that was spread throughout Europe, including Romania. Romanian authorities have not agreed to enroll such an ethnicity in the ID card, considering this word: Gypsy - a very shameful one and that Romania has no gypsies (only Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, etc). In other words, their collectivity was not recognized in Romania, being incompatible with the dignity and the pride of the communist authorities.
- political discrimination. This was the most important reason for immigration to the West. If someone had political beliefs different from those of the Communist Party and for this reason he was discriminated against in various ways, i.e. he was not entitled to be employed according to his qualification, he had not the right to hold a important function or to be promoted, etc.- he was considered politically discriminated. However, he must possess (and submit to the UN representative) some documents which to prove his situation of political discrimination. The most convincing way (in relation to the UN representatives) was to present copies of a prison sentence because you blamed, criticized the communist regime and had a inappropriate attitude towards the leaders of this regime.
Remus Kovacs was not sufficiently prepared for an interview with the UN envoy (held in the town of Vrsec), presenting as a reason for immigration (to a Western country) the bad living in Romania.
This is not a reason for emigration from your country and immigration to another country (unlike the three important reasons: religious discrimination, ethnic discrimination and political discrimination).The opinion: The West helps you to make a very good living — it's false. The preoccupation of some (as officials) in the West is to help the discriminated ones (by no means the people who are only materially poor). It also exists in Western Europe and in the United States and other countries considered rich: poor people, homeless, unemployed, without adequate social protection.
So, the decision of the UN representative in Vrsec for Kovacs Remus was: "rejected". A month of imprisonment followed in Yugoslavia. (This was the punishment given by the political regime of Yugoslavia to anyone who fraudulently crossed the border between Romania and Yugoslavia.) (The conditions of detention in the prisons of Yugoslavia were very good, almost as in the hotel.) Sent to Romania (as arrested), he was sentenced by the Timișoara Law Court to one year in prison.
He then followed the unfortunate path of the accused who became prisoner. Thus he arrived in Oradea penitentiary, the toughest and most inhumane penitentiary in Romania in this year 1987. The commander of this prison often said: "I don't care if you die at all!" In addition, he had methods of torture for detainees, imposing an extremely harsh and severe regime, and applying very bad and diverse moments of ordeal. Any detainee who entered this prison wondered at some point whether he would die or survive from this prison. Usually, in the Romanian prisons there was cleaning (this year 1987), and prisoners took weekly baths and received clean linen every two weeks. In the Oradea prison, at the request of its commander, the inmates were kept in dirt conditions (i.e., lack of hygiene) and bathed only once a month. Kovacs Remus has got a skin infection, something like boils, so, some bubbles the size of cherries, very many, very painful, full of pus. Unable to take the pain anymore - Kovacs Remus knocked on the door with power several times, asking for help.
- What do you want?" the guardian asked him
- I have an infection and I want some pills so that to make the infection to disappear!
- What pills, you cheeky! Why did you disturb me? Let me give you some pills!...And he hit Kovacs Remus 7or 8 times with the rubber baton, on his back, shoulders and belly.
After this "treatment" Kovacs Remus fell into a state of lethargy and helplessness, enduring the pain very hard and losing all hope of healing and escaping alive from this penitentiary.
Only 4 days after this incident (with the guardian) Kovacs Remus is sent to the penitentiary in Vaslui (in the room 32) where he will receive appropriate treatment (antibiotics) by the decision of Miss Physician Major Lieutenant (a beautiful and friendly young lady who graduated from the Military Medical Academy and was then assigned - it is not known for what reason - at the Militia, more precisely at the General Directorate of Penitentiaries). Kovacs Remus is now healthy and has 9 months of his punishment left.
3. Grădinaru Vladimir was born and raised in the village of Orofteana in Botoșani County, not far from the town Botoșani. In a family of 5 boys and 3 girls, Vladimir was knowing poverty, material shortages of all kinds, vicissitudes, suffering, troubles.
Botosani is the poorest county in Romania. Communist governments tried to raise poor counties to a medium economic level, but long historical poverty could not be alleviated in several decades. In fact, Botosani County has known material poverty for several centuries.
In Botosani county there is a village called "Fămânzi" ("Hungry Ones"). In the March month of 1907, the peasants in this village could no longer endure hunger, cold, deprivation of all kinds, injustices and started a rebellion against the rich boyars. They took from the boyars by force: corn, wheat, barley, corn flour, wheat flour, sunflower oil, sugar, alcoholic beverages that were kept in large cellars, birds (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys), sheep and lambs, cows and calves, goats, as well as fodder for them (from large stocks, made of grass or alfalfa - that were in the yards of the boyars). News of the uprising in the Flamânzi village spread quickly. They started uprisings one by one against rich boyars all peasants from Moldovan counties: Suceava, Iași, Neamț, Bacău, Vaslui, Vrancea și Galați, then the wave of the uprising went out of Moldavia and spread throughout Muntenia. Large quantities of grain, poultry, fodder, all sorts of food, as well as alcoholic beverages were forcibly taken away by peasants from wealthy boyars. The rebellion spread throughout Moldavia and Muntenia. The rich boyars were desperate. Many of them were beaten, humiliated, even killed. The Romanian government of that year 1907 was made up of representatives of the National Peasants' Party. Here it comes an irony:
- at the end of the nineteenth century in Romania there were four major parties: the National Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the National Romanian Party (which had many supporters in Transylvania - because it strongly enunciated the idea of national justice) and the Romanian Peasants' Party (which had supporters in the main in Ardeal. It promised peasants help, consisting of cheap agricultural machinery, seeds from good varieties of agricultural plants, birds and domestic mammals of the best breeds, help in getting money loan from banks, professional schools for peasant children, etc.). Through the union between the Romanian National Party and the Romanian Peasants' Party, the National Peasants' Party was formed, a very powerful party, but one that "forgot" the promises made to the peasants. Moreover, this party will suppress - with cruelty and cynicism - the peasant uprising of 1907. This party ordered the army to use the rifles to kill the rebellious peasants. The armed soldiers did not hesitate to execute the order they received from the Government and fired on the peasants: one thousand dead, two thousand dead, five thousand dead,…eleven thousand dead. Yes, this is the result of the suppression of the uprising in 1907: eleven thousand peasants killed by the army commanded by the National Peasants' Party. Never in history, in the past or in the future (compared to 1907) has there been a worse blow to the peasants, a blow with brutality, cruelty and cynicism. The year 1907 is the "darkest" year in the history of peasants in Romania.
These people eternally wronged, poor, yet diligent, humiliated in every way, but obeying and fulfilling the commandments of the rich ones - have not had good and happy days in their entire existence.
Impressed by their unfortunate fate and the cruel repression of the rebellion, the great Romanian playwright Ion Luca Caragiale left for a time the territory where his usual characters were performing their actions and he approached the village and the villagers to get to know their lives better. He wrote the work entitled "1907 - from spring to autumn", in fact, a faithful description of the uprising of 1907. Even though it was very poor for centuries, Botosani County gave the universal culture two brilliant artists: the poet Mihai Eminescu (considered to be similar to Lord Byron, both in terms of writing style, romantic and deep, and in terms of his height as an artistic genius) and the musician George Enescu (composer and performer, close in artistic value and creative field to the famous American violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin). Because he was not a very good pupil at school (that is, eminent), after completing the 10 compulsory classes, Vladimir enrolled in a professional school with the profile of arranging roads, bridges and watercourses.
He has been initiated into driving and operating vehicles with specific characteristics in this field: bulldozers, scrapers, excavators, draglines, compressors. So, during a year and six months Vladimir managed to obtain a certificate attesting the main profession in which he is qualified: worker on bulldozer. At the age of 18, it was very difficult to find a job, especially in Botoșani County, where the job applications were much higher than the offers of the various companies in this county. In addition, the wages offered to the employees were low. Someone advised him to go to Caraș Severin County to the bitumen shale exploitation near Anina (a small town), at 10 kilometers distance from the residence of this county, the town Reșița. Other localities known in this area were: Caransebeș (east of Reșița), Oravița (between Anina and the Romanian border with Yugoslavia), as well as the exploitation of ferrous ores from Dognecea (at 10 kilometers distance from Reșița, in the west, towards the border with Yugoslavia).
Vladimir prefers to settle in the village of Oravița (in fact, this locality aspires to the title of town, being now a large village, with many houses, with shops, a medical dispensary, a gymnasium school of 8 classes, a kindergarten for children, a pharmacy, a post office, a small bank of the type "home for mutual help", a football stadium where the local football team "Unirea Oraviţa" is playing its matches in the championship, a small bread factory, a church, etc.). He will pay rent to an old and lonely woman to receive a furnished room and the right to use the stove with methane gas installed in the kitchen. The amount paid as rent is small, but Vladimir will help that old woman to various household activities: to bring wood from the forest (for the winter, to heat the rooms) and place them in the yard, to remove water from the well (a few buckets a day), to harvest vegetables from the garden (used to prepare food or put in jars and preserved for the winter), to make various purchases from the village shop etc. Oraviţa village is located 15 kilometers away from the Romanian border with Yugoslavia, about the same geographical latitude as Vrsec town in Serbia. Bitumen is a very precious organic substance and is used, among other things, to asphalt roads. There are many hundreds of kilometers of bitumen-paved road in Romania. (Asphalt consists of a layer of bituminized organic substances - mainly: cellulose mixed with lower bitumen components - then over it is deposited a sedimentary rock - a kind of gravel brought by the flowing waters - mixed also with lower bitumen components - and only on the surface is poured viscous bitumen of very good quality, so that the roads remain flat, without holes or other damage for long time).
Bitumen is processed immediately after unloading from tipping machines (being hot and sticky). Mainly, a motor compressor - having cylindrical wheels and very heavy - presses the bitumen layer to get a flat surface.
The wheels of this motor compressor are continuously watered with cold water so that the bitumen does not stick to them. A group of workers with utensils specific to this work participates in the correction and ordering of the bitumen layer - so that the surface obtained to be perfectly flat. The bitumen is then left to cool, becoming stiff, solid and resistant to the wheels of various vehicles.
Of course, the price of this bitumen is high, and road pavement is very expensive.
There were various sources of bitumen, including from oil, but most often it was obtained through difficult processing of bituminous shale, in this case in a specially intended enterprise - located in the town of Resita (the residence city of this county).
From crude oil (often referred to as: "crude oil"), the following are obtained by refining: propane (in gaseous form), gasoline for airplanes, gasoline for cars, diesel fuel, lamp oil, industrial oils (for the lubrication system), fuel oil (fuel for thermal power plants), tar.
Oil shale produces products with various calorific strengths and various physical and chemical properties, including high-quality, high-temperature viscous bitumen, but rigid, solid and very resistant to mechanical stress when it has low temperatures; it is mainly used for road paving.
There are various other bituminous components, ending with solid shale used to heat water in small thermal plants that feed radiators in city homes, but also to run the huge steam engines that produce electricity from thermal plants. Such a thermal power plant existed and operated right near the small town of Anina, being called New Anina.
The interest in the neighboring country, Serbia (as a component country of the Yugoslav federation, along with five other republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro) was high, because there were stores supplied (often from companies from Western Europe, especially from Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, etc.) with various products (from electronics and household appliances to quality clothes and shoes). There was "small border traffic", a legislative provision according to which citizens from Serbia could come to Romania, once a month, up to a distance of 25 kilometers to the interior of Romania, carrying various products for small trade. At the same time, some of the Romanians who lived near the border with Yugoslavia had about the same rights for "small traffic" as the Serbians: so they sold Romanian products in the towns of Vrsec or Pancevo (which were located close to the border) and bought various products from Serbia. The vast majority of Romanian homes near the border had antennas installed for the reception of programs from Serbia, of course, much more attractive and interesting and pleasant than the pitiful broadcasts from the Romanian Television...
As a historical detail: during centuries there existed in western Romania a territory called Banat, inhabited in its great majority by Romanians. Around the nineteenth century this territory was "broken" into two parts: one called the Serbian Banat (with a majority Romanian speaking population and an important city: Novi Sad, also Romanian speaking) and the other part called the Romanian Banat (consisting of the Romanian counties of Caraș-Severin, Timiș and Arad). From the TV studios in Novi Sad come many broadcasts in Romanian, however, more than those in Serbian. Vladimir's work was not very hard. He had to dislodge - using the bulldozer blade - blocks of oil shale, which were then loaded into large trucks (with the help of an excavator). The work in the energy field was very well paid. Even though the thermal power plant at Anina was not a cost-effective one, Romania's communist government paid high salaries to those working in the thermal power plant, as well as to those working in the oil shale and to the drivers of those large trucks carrying shale. Vladimir was very satisfied with his life. He had enough money for a good living and sometimes sent money to his parents amounting to a quarter of his salary or even more.But, at his 18 years and six months a very important event appeared in his life: the institution of the Romanian army called him to perform his military service of one year and four months. The news that he will go to perform the military service saddened Vladimir. The military service is heavy and lasts a year and four months. Many young men cursed the army. From a neighboring village came to Vladimir a boy of the same age as him (Tiberius), that is almost 19 years old - who told him that he will go "to make his army" about two weeks from now, so at the same time with Vladimir. Tiberius curses and swears at the army. He had a one-liter bottle of hard brandy with him. He also gave Vladimir a drink. Then he continued to curse and to swear at the army. Vladimir accompanied him, using his own swearing and curses. The two ones sit on the grass, continuing to drink brandy and talking about the army…To his great joy, Vladimir was sent "to make his army" to the Otopeni Airport (north of Bucharest), which had four anti-aircraft artillery batteries in the four corners of the asphalt rectangle (which constituted the airstrips for takeoff and landing)…
Such a battery has six or eight guns, electrically connected with a central electrical device (so called "Central Distribution Box"), so that the guns are synchronized in direction, their movement in the horizontal or vertical plane being made automatically, with electric motors and electronic control from a "Firing Computer" (a computer with electronic tubes, so not very modern, having the abbreviated name: ACT-6-60), which in turn is connected to a radar, with the name "Radiolocation Station for Firing" (also built on the basis of electronic lamps, not transistors or integrated circuits) with short name SRT-6-60). Vladimir will have the function of distance operator in the SRT-6-60, more precisely, it will have the task to maintain the coincidence between a SRT-6-60's own electronic device and the signal received from the aircraft, used for determining the distance to it. A second operator will have the task of determining the airplane's horizontal angle (azimuth), and a third operator will determine the airplane's vertical angle (uplift angle). All this data will be sent to the ACT-6-60 computer for processing. Vladimir will not have problems with the work in SRT-6-60, but will even be greatly appreciated for the reaction speed, visual acuity and sense of observation. There is a screen in the SRT-6-60 that is technically similar to a TV screen, except that it is shaped like a circle - about 50 centimeters in diameter - and it is yellow to orange. Airplanes in the airspace observed by the SRT 6-60 have as equivalences on circular screen some light points, larger or smaller, depending on the size of the airplane (or helicopter, etc.), of course, in motion. From the middle of the screen to the edge of the screen appears a light line, representing the beam of electromagnetic waves emitted through the antenna of the SRT 6-60. In a circular search mode — so if no airplane has been discovered yet — the antenna rotates horizontally, and that light line also rotates around the center point of the screen, synchronous with the rotation of the antenna (which is outside the cab). The work of soldiers in such a military unit is easy, not only during training, but also during combat shots in the range for anti-aircraft artillery (and anti-aircraft rockets) located on the Black Sea coast, north of the city of Constanta (in the territory called "Cape of Mussel"). The first eight months were a little difficult for Vladimir (that is, the first half of his military service as a first-cycle soldier), but the next eight months were pleasant, interesting, without heavy moments (as a second-cycle soldier). This is the specific of the Romanian anti-aircraft defense: very little physical effort, but solid and serious technical knowledge and proper training, always acceptable as difficulty.
It is the beginning of December 1983. Soldiers shout loudly: "Let's come on, liberation!" The khaki-colored army uniform will be replaced with civilian clothing. Vladimir has thick fabric pants with black plaid over the dark green background. He has brown leather boots. Over the sweater he dressed a green coat, and over it he has a dark green jacket, caught in the middle with a string. There's a rabbit hat on his head. It's not cold, but he dressed like for the winter. "Let's come on, liberation!" he cries too, but not in a loud voice. He doesn't think you should blame or boo the army...
He spent the first three days after his release from the army in his native village of Orofteana, with his parents, brothers and sisters. Then he will leave by train to Caras-Severin County, more precisely, to the village of Oravița. When he arrives in Oraviţa, he goes directly to the house of that old woman who hosted him before his departure to the army. His rented room remained almost unchanged, as it was a year and four months ago. The meeting with her was full of emotion. She was sick from time to time, and she couldn't take care of the household. How much Vladimir was missing in those moments! Nobody came to help her, and Vladimir was away in the army. Here he is now entering the yard. She gladly looks at him and tears come from her eyes.
- Good thing you came from the army. I've had a hard time without you! How'd you do with the army?
- It wasn't hard, as I expected. It's been a year and four months fast. Besides, I'm healthy and good for work.
Then the discussion goes on: about jobs, about money, about housing, about food. Finally, Vladimir sets up again in his rented room, just like at first...
With some of the papers from the army, Vladimir will go to the offices in the town of Anina to get a new job as a worker on the bulldozer. There he learns with dismay that "his place was occupied" by another qualified worker on the bulldozer.
- What am I doing now? asks Vladimir dismayed. Am I going to starve? If the law forced me to go to the army, it means that the law gives me the right to work in the old job.
The Mrs. clerk in the office "Personal" (i.e. the office where the records of persons employed in a company are kept) does not know what to say, she has a moment of confusion, then tells Vladimir that she will go to the office of the chief of the staff (a Mr. economist, graduate of a faculty in Timisoara, with the name: Panaite Andrei). When she arrives at his office, the Mrs. official from the "Personal" office tells him directly:
- Mr. Panaite, there's a young man who came from the army and he wants a job as a worker on bulldozer. What do we do now?
- All jobs are currently occupied. Next year, in January, 4 or 5 jobs will be freed. At present, these jobs belong to some young people who have not made their army. So after two months that man to come to the office "Personal" to get a job as a worker on the bulldozer.
Without any chance to change the situation that exists in the exploitation of bitumen shale, without being able to persuade Mr. Panaite to give him a job - Vladimir leaves very angry to Oraviţa. What can he do? Luckily he's got some money saved.
It is the end of December 1983. Vladimir is 20 years old. He doesn't like to stay in his rented room without going to work. This is not only about money, but also about the tonic, optimistic and cheerful atmosphere at work. The village is preparing for New Year's Eve 1984. An old year (1983) is chased out of the village and a new year (1984) comes with hopes and joys. It's the long night between 1983 and 1984. Children go through the village (from one house to another): the boys have plow and say words (in lyrics) about the new year, about plowing and sowing, about Emperor Trajan, and the girls sing carols (about Christians, about the mother of Jesus, etc.). It is 11 o'clock at night and many of the young go to the restaurant in the center of the village. Vladimir does not intend to stay home on this long night between the years and goes to the restaurant. There is music played by an orchestra and two vocalists, plates with food, demijohns with wine, bottles with brandy and a lot of beer. Some talk, others eat and others dance. Vladimir meets Tiberiu, who has recently come home after being released from the army. He's cheerful and joyful, but he still has the intention to swear at the army. He introduces Vladimir to his sister Emilia, a thin, not too tall girl with small breasts. He has black hair and brown eyes. She is wearing a navy blue dress. This dress covers her knees.
Vladimir is trying to talk to Emilia:
- I thought it would be better for me after leaving the army and entering civilian life, but it's not better...I lost my job and I'm sitting in my rented room for nothing...
- Maybe you will find a job! ...dares Emilia to give him a reply.
Tiberiu approaches the two ones:
- Invite her to the dance, Vladimir!
Emilia is a little ashamed of her situation. She just got to know Vladimir and is asked to dance with him...
The new year's eve1984, will be remembered for a long time - as the beginning of a sweet and long idyll...
After six months they will be married: first will take place the "civil marriage" - at the Town Hall of Oraviţa, then the "religious marriage" (also called by many "religious wedding") in Vladimir's home village, Orofteana, not far from the town of Botoșani.
Here will be the wedding, having in the middle the bride Emilia (dressed in wedding dress) and the groom Vladimir (dressed in an elegant beige suit). As a component of the wedding was the "religious wedding" ceremony at the Orthodox Christian church in the village, in which the priest put crowns on their heads and united them forever through the "holy mystery of the Christian wedding". It should be remembered that in January of that year 1984 Vladimir obtained the post of worker on the bulldozer at the exploitation of bituminous shale - even if it was a heavy winter with a lot of snow, with snowdrifts of two meters high or more. In March 1985, Emilia gave birth to their first child, a little girl whom they named Christina. After another two years (in 1987) will be born a second girl whom they will call Madalina...
One day in April 1987, Vladimir was in the village restaurant, sitting at the table to drink brandy - together with a comrade, a colleague working on the bitumen shale exploitation. He tells his comrade that he has two daughters...and he does not have a son who later to bear the family name: Gradinaru. Because of this reason he is upset.
- And what's the problem? asks his comrade (who was just sipping from the brandy glass). Girls are more sticky, sweeter and caring with their parents than the boys. Do you think it's better to have a son?
Vladimir does not answer and sits thoughtfully at the table, tasting from time to time some brandy. He takes into account the words of his colleague and becomes more careful, more concerned and thoughtful with his daughters. They respond to his attitude with love and good words. Vladimir feels connected to these wonderful beings: Cristina and Mădălina (his daughters). He often talks with his wife, Emilia, about the daughters, about their condition, about their future. What could he offer them as father? He has an acceptable salary for his work on the bulldozer, but not high enough..., so maybe it would be better to go to Austria or another country in Western Europe to get a lot of money, to buy their daughters good clothes, and a color TV, even a car for each one when they will turn 18 each. At that time, the only cars which could be bought in Romania were Dacia 1100 and Dacia 1300 - made in Pitești, Oltcit made in Craiova and Lada and Skoda imported from Czechoslovakia.
A day in July 1987, early morning. Knowing in detail the relief near the border - a kind of plain with large grass and small peaks of land of small height, there is no tree in that territory - Vladimir does not linger near the strip, but passes quickly, almost running, on the other side of the border, that is, the territory of Yugoslavia. The border guard soldier is annoyed, outraged, looking with hatred at Vladimir - who arrived in Serbia, he (the border guard soldier) remaining to be responsible in penal mode for not stopping the offender, existing the risk of going to prison. His mind is troubled, he cannot control himself, and he fires in Vladimir's direction. The cartridge tank has 30 cartridges. The cadence of fire of the machine gun is 10 bullets per second. So: 10 bullets, 20 bullets, 30 bullets — they left from the barrel of the machine gun. Then the soldier ceased the fire. He had intended to wound Vladimir (even to kill him)...but the law forbids shooting an offender who crossed the border and is in Yugoslavia. With a strident whizz and high air pressure, a bullet passed near Vladimir's head…Then he went to the town of Vrsec for questionnaire. The result of the examination (conducted by a United Nations representative) was: “rejected”. A month later, the Serbian authorities sent Vladimir to Romania. When he entered Romania (coming from Serbia) he regretted not being killed by a bullet…
- It was better for me to be killed by a bullet than to be convicted by the Law Court of Timisoara...a year in jail...then sent to the prison in Oradea. That is a hell, not penitentiary… My heart was broken by this event: arrested and convicted and sent to hell in Oradea...That's hell, not prison. It was better for me to be killed by a bullet than to be convicted by the Law Court of Timisoara...a year in jail...then sent to the prison in Oradea.
4. Păsărică Ștefan was born in 1923 in the village of Codăieşti in Vaslui County, now being 64 years old. Before the establishment of communism in Romania he was a gendarme in a military unit in Bucharest . The role of this gendarmes unit was to suppress and stop any workers' rally, strike or demonstration against the then political regime - which was dominated by the historical parties: the National Liberal Party, the National Peasants' Party and the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He became gendarme at the age of 20, that is, in 1943. Even if it was war (Romania being allied with Nazi Germany and carrying out armed actions on the Eastern Front against Soviet Russia), its Government had several gendarme units and subunits at its disposal. After the end of the war (on May 9, 1945), the instauration of the communism began in the Eastern European countries, including Romania. In 1947, on the 6th of March, a fully communist government came to Romania's leadership, led by doctor Petru Groza. Under pressure from the communist leaders King Mihai I abdicated and left the country - on December 30, 1947. The communist regime did not keep the gendarme profession. So, during several years Păsărică Ștefan had the duties of a gendarme, with a good salary and without much work. He was just doing physical training and exercises specific to the gendarme activity. Mr. Păsărică Ştefan had a very good physical condition, that is, strong pectoral muscles and high force in his arms, as well as long-term physical resistance. From his profession as a gendarme he acquired a certain aggression towards other men of his age. When he came home to his parents in Codăiesti commune, Vaslui county, he "looked for a fray" at some young men, so that he could show off and highlight his qualities as a gendarme: great physical strength and resistance to prolonged exertion. He had many conflicts with various individuals (from the village of Codăiesti, or from the city of Vaslui, sometimes from the city of Bucharest) and each time he came out victorious. He acquired a certain arrogance and some contempt for those with weak physiques, no strength and no endurance. He was proud as a rooster when he went for a walk - sometimes alone, other times with a girl. He had a good living - that is, high salary, pleasant work, good social position, as well as other privileges for his profession. This good living ended in 1948, when the communists abolished the gendarme profession. Mr. Păsărică Ștefan was very disappointed when he learned that the gendarme profession was abolished. He looked for a job in Bucharest. He was employed as a worker in a tannery. Animal skins (of calves, cows, oxen, pigs, goats, etc.) were processed here. After a while he is forced to leave the tannery. He will work on the maintenance of the Herăstrău park (having to water, to cut weeds and to weed the flowers and shrubs, etc.). Not long after, he will leave his job at Herăstrău Park and receive a job as an unskilled laborer from the Capital City Hall, with the task of sweeping streets and alleys near Obor Square. He will sweep the streets very early in the morning, usually around 5.00am. The collected garbage will be deposited in some containers that will be picked up and taken outside the city by machines specialized in such activities. During the winter, he will participate in snow removal together with other city hall employees - when the snow layer is not very thick. In other situations, when there are high and bulky snow - specialized city cars will come to remove the snow from the streets and alleys, load it into the trucks and transport it somewhere outside the city. At the age of 30 years old (in 1953) he married Smaranda, a 23-year-old girl, poor but hardworking and a very good housewife. From a physical point of view, she is quite presentable, being slim and not too tall. He will continue to be aggressive, taking part in the battles among clans: the Tanners' Clan, the Florists' Clan, the Sweepers' Clan, the Railway Workers' Clan, the Painters' Clan, the Goldsmiths' Clan, and the Merchants' Clan. In the beginning, he was member of the Tanners' Clan and participated in battles between this clan and other clans. At present he is a member of the Sweepers’ Clan. Each time he comes home victorious and tells Smaranda about the fight and his clan's victory, and she must appreciate and praise him. This is the only way in which he feels good and is satisfied with his wife's behavior: if she says him words of praise. It should be noted that Mr. Ştefan was neither diligent nor respectful with his colleagues and his bosses. After several years of activity as an unskilled worker in the Bucharest City Hall he loses his job and remains without occupation and without salary. He will persistently seek an acceptable job throughout Bucharest, but he will not find it. There is a surplus of unemployed people face of the number of jobs. Because he was pretentious regarding the conditions of employment, he had no chance of finding a job. It was the year 1965 and he took the decision to return to his native village, Codaiești, in Vaslui County, (together with his wife). The leader of the village was called "brigadier". This brigadier gave him the position of watchman of the Collective Agricultural Household (popularly called: "collective"). The payment for his work was very modest compared to his gendarme salary. On the duration of one year, he received the equivalent of a two-month gendarme salary. However, he received agricultural produce: wheat, corn and barley, sunflower oil and sugar in fairly large quantities. It is the summer of 1965 and Mr. Ştefan becomes authoritarian and very legalistic towards the people of the village. It is the summer of 1965 and Mr. Ştefan becomes authoritarian and very follower of legality towards the people of the village. He had the possibility to punish those who violated the law (that is, they caused damage to agricultural crops or stole agri-food products) by drawing up a kind of minutes in which he was reporting the illegal act committed and which he was submitting to the brigadier - so that he to may decide the appropriate punishment for delinquents. Even though he didn't like the life in the village very much, Mr. Păsărică Ștefan started to make wealth. He built a house - similar to the other houses as size and shape - and enclosed the yard with a board fence. In the southern part of the yard he raised a storehouse for corn of wooden slats - in which he keeps corn cobs, and next to it he built a small stable in which there are six sheep and a ram. Near the stable he has a coop in which he keeps a pig - of a breed with a little bacon on it. In the yard there are many hens and turkeys. Of course, it also has cellar in the basement of the secondary stable room. In this cellar he keeps two barrels of 250 liters each. He also has a large tub with a capacity of about 1000 liters - for processing the grapes and obtaining the must that will become wine. He managed to get a large vineyard for which he paid a sum of money (a small amount compared to the real value of this vineyard). Of course, he takes care of it from spring to autumn: in March, the work begins to cut some segments from the stem of grape vines, and in autumn, in October, the grapes are picked. His vineyard has a variety of light-colored, almost white, large-berry grapes - from which it will be produced the "white wine." In fact, Mr. Păsărică Ștefan's biggest preoccupation since he came to the village consists of agricultural work done on the vineyard.
A wagon (chariot) is a vehicle that has two oxen (for movement, by their strength). A chariot can transport the merchandise with a maximum weight of 1000 kilograms. There is a place where goods are stored and where several people can stay. This place is improperly called "basket". We will continue to use this word "basket" which defines a component of the chariot. In October of 1986 Păsărică picked - together with his wife and five neighbors - all the grapes from the vineyard - and put them in the "basket" of a chariot. The "basket" of the chariot is made of planks and has the shape of a parallelepiped. There are two iron axles: one for the two small wheels and one for the two large wheels. The "basket" of the chariot is 3.5 to 4.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. So the "basket" of the chariot is a container with a capacity of approximately 800 kilograms of grapes. The chariot with grapes came from vineyard to the yard of Mr. Ștefan. From the "basket" of the chariot Mr. Păsărică will take grapes with a basin (with a capacity of 8 liters) and put them, one by one, into the crusher - to obtain must. That crusher is operated with the help of a crank - with which its main shaft is rotated. The grapes are crushed one by one, then they fall into the large tub - which has the capacity of about 1000 liters, larger than the total volume of grapes picked from the vineyard. On the lower side of the tub there is a hole into which a wooden bung is inserted. After the must has acquired an alcohol content that gives it the title of wine: the bung will be removed, and the wine "will go" to the two barrels of 250 liters each. In the tub will remain only the husks of grapes…
Mr. Păsărică now wants to take the husks of grapes - with the pitchfork - out of the tub and to put them in the “basket” of the chariot (which is now empty). Later, after two weeks, the husks of grapes will arrive to the alembic of a Jew in the village in order to obtain brandy. It is late in the evening. The dim light of a bulb does not satisfy Mr. Ştefan at all. He searched around the village for a stronger light bulb, but he did not find it. He is helped by his wife Smaranda. He's drunk and his wife annoys him because she is not moving fast enough. At one moment he gets very nervous and sticks the pitchfork in her. He then continues to to take out the husks of grapes from the tub and to throw them into the basket of the chariot, while she writhes and dies without any help from her husband. She died late in the evening, but he paid no attention to her and continued his work with the husks of grapes. The Law Court of Vaslui city sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
5. Nigel Andrei is 40 years old and lives in a village near Bârlad together with his wife. He has a 20-year-old daughter named Otilia who is ill from a psychic point of view. Her illness is not very serious and she works in a furniture factory in the finishing section. She has rented a small house (with a single room) in the city - where she lives with another girl of same age with her.
What is a band? It is an organized group that includes boys with common concerns and affinities, with similar physical and mental traits. A band has a leader - with moral authority and sometimes with intellectual authority. We have as an example such a band in the city of Barlad that studies the girls thoroughly: if the girls are beautiful or ugly, whether they are sexually attractive or not, whether they are intelligent and cultured or stupid and illiterate, etc. A few boys have shown interest in Otilia after finding that she is easy to be fooled (because of her mental problems). Four boys (actually men, aged between 20 and 26) allied with the intention to lure her to a certain place and to rape her. On her way from the furniture factory to her rented small house, Otilia crosses a large bridge, which currently has no water under it because the river which was passing through here has dried up. One of the four men comes out to meet her and asks her if she wants to buy foreign cigarettes or good coffee at an acceptable price. He has a large, zippered bag. Of course, it is closed so that the goods inside cannot be seen by any passerby.
In 1987, cigarettes on the Romanian market were of very poor quality. There were cigarettes without a filter ("Carpați" and "Bucegi") and cigarettes with a filter ("Top" and "Snagov"). The tobacco contained in Romanian cigarettes was not well processed, having a bad smell and releasing a thick and suffocating smoke. Foreign cigarettes sold illegally were "Kent" and "Marlboro" and to a lesser extent: "Camel", "Dunhill", "Rothmans", "L&M" and "Saint Moritz". Regarding the coffee on the Romanian market: this was found in paper bags mixed with roasted barley flour. The proportion was: half ground natural coffee and half roasted barley flour, but there were also mixtures of one-quarter natural coffee and three-quarters roasted barley flour. Where from the foreign cigarettes and good quality natural coffee did come? Every big city in Romania have a western-looking store, with the English name: "shop". This is full of goods coming from the West. Payment for purchases from this "shop" is made in Western currency: US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, British pounds, French francs, Italian pounds, German marks, Swedish kroner, Austrian Schillings, Swiss Francs, etc. What kind of products do exist in these "shops"? In these "shops there are (besides foreign cigarettes and quality natural coffee): cassette players and audio cassettes, tape recorders and magnetic tapes, video players and video cassettes, jeans and jeans shirts, foreign beer and whiskey "johnnie walker" and "jack daniels" etc. The buyers are mainly students: Negros from Africa, or Arabs from the Near East and Middle East, sometimes Greeks, Turks, Cypriots, etc. Other persons who legally hold West currency: all Romanian sailors who receive as per diem (when sailing on distant seas or oceans) foreign currency, especially US dollars (so they have the right to hold Western currency); some Romanian persons who work abroad (in civil and industrial construction) and also receive Western currency..
- Miss, I sell at a low price. Most people in the city sell the pack of Kent for 60 lei, I sell it for only 50 lei, others sell the bag of natural coffee for 50 lei, I sell it for only 40 lei. Let me show you the "goods", here I can't open the bag because I'm not allowed to hold foreign "goods". Come on down there on the grass!... Otilia hesitates at first, then accepts the man's invitation and goes under the bridge where she is raped by the four men. After the rape, she will go to the Militia and will denounce the rapists. Surprisingly quickly, the Militia finds the four men, arrests them and draws up penal files for rape. The Law Court of the city of Barlad will sentence them to 8 years in prison each. The four rapists are now in the same penitentiary as Nigel Andrei.
Why is Nigel Andrei in the penitentiary? Because he stole corn cobs from the field belonging to S.A.E. These initials mean the State Agricultural Enterprise. In this year 1987, Romanian agriculture is practiced in two forms of ownership: Agricultural Production Cooperatives - where peasants work as members of these cooperatives and are paid for their work (with little money and some agricultural products), but also receive a share of agricultural production for free. This share is about 2% of the total harvested production (wheat, sugar beet, hemp, flax and barley - in summer, corn, sunflower, grapes and fruits - in autumn). For example, an amount of 200 kilograms of wheat for each family, no matter if you worked for this production or not, can be given to the peasants (as 2% share). They also receive for free: sugar, vegetable oil, corn cobs, etc., of course, in the proportion of 2%.
In the case of State Agricultural Enterprises, those who are working on their fields receive money, and all the agricultural production obtained is going to various state enterprises (with a profile close to agriculture): farms for raising pigs, dairy cows, sheep, poultry, etc., various factories in the food industry: footwear, leather and furs, canned meat or canned fish or canned vegetables or fruits, textile companies ( for hemp and flax), sugar factories, vegetable oil factories, breweries, milling and bakery enterprises - where a large amount of wheat is used to obtain flour and then bread for the millions of inhabitants of Romania's cities, even of villages - to a small extent.
Nigel Andrei went in the night to steal corn cobs. He had a bag with him. In the moment he entered the cornfield he was seen by the watchman of the S.A.E. , who did not go to him to warn him not to steal corn cobs, but went to the headquarters of the Militia in the village of Vutcani. Two militiamen, accompanied by a wolf dog, carrying flashlights, rubber batons and handcuffs, went into the corn field and found Nigel who had 20 corn cobs in his bag. They arrested him and then took him to the headquarters of the Bârlad City Militia. There he was interrogated and investigated, then they drew up a penal case against him and sent him to the prosecutor's office. The Law Court sentenced him to 4 years in prison. The penalties for "theft from private property" (that is: theft from individuals) were between 2 years and 5 years in prison, and for "theft from public property" (that is: theft from state enterprises) the penalties were between 3 years and 7 years in prison. If the theft was committed during the night - the law provided an additional punishment - compared to the same delinquency committed during the day. When he arrived to the penitentiary, Nigel Andrei found out about the presence of the 4 rapists of his daughter. Some impertinent inmates address him with bad words:
- Because of your daughter, the four boys received as punishment each 8 years in the prison, that is a total of 32 years in the prison.
- Your daughter brought misfortune on the four boys. They each received 8 years in prison.
- Why didn't you keep your daughter at home? Why did you leave her in the town... she to lure some good boys? Because of her they received a total of 32 years in prison...as punishment.
- Are you satisfied now that you put 4 men in the prison? They each received 8 years in the prison as punishment. Your daughter has brought misfortune into their lives.
Nigel does not react in any way to these words...
6. Vintila Filip was born and raised in the city of Bucharest. He will become the Romanian citizen with the most years of punishment with imprisonment. At the same time, among all Romanian prisoners - Vintila Filip will have the longest stay in various penitentiaries: Jilava (near Bucharest), Craiova, Oradea, Dej, Galați, Constanța, etc. This will be recorded in the magazine "For Homeland" of the Ministry of the Interior. During the communism the prisons are led by militiamen (from the Ministry of the Interior). In the penitentiary he declares - without anyone asking him - that he is a gypsy man and that he lives in the "Colentina" neighborhood of Bucharest. At the age of 14 he learns about a very profitable "business": theft of expensive icons from churches and their sale to collectors, who pay good money for them. There is a group of gypsy men specialized in theft and sale of icons, but Vintila does not want to go with them to steal and receive a small percentage of the money obtained by selling icons, but will go alone to steal, then to sell…During two weeks he will be present at religious services in various churches to see what kind of icons exist there and especially to study the possibilities of entering these churches at night. He chooses for his "attack" a small church located on the edge of the "Colentina" neighborhood. There are five icons inside that have gold and silver frames. Around the church there are several tall linden trees with rich branches. From such a lime tree you can descend to the roof of the church which is made of tiles (arranged on narrow wooden slats). It is not difficult to remove a few tiles from the roof to make a hole in which to enter (of course, after you have detached two or three tile plates from the - thicker - wooden support) then to reach the attic of the church, then to go down to the nave and the pronaos - that is, to the places where there are icons. His plan is good.
At night, having with him a flashlight, a bag, a rope ladder, a knife and an axe - Vintilă goes to the churchyard, climbs a linden tree, descends on the roof of the church, removes several tiles from their places, enters - through the hole made - in the attic of the church, then descend with the help of the rope ladder and take the 5 icons, which he puts in the bag. With the help of the rope ladder he goes up to the attic... then he goes on the roof to the branches of the linden tree… then he gets down from the tree and goes home. The theft of icons succeeded very well. He will sell the five icons to a collector for the sum of 10 thousand lei, which is three months' salary of an engineer in a well-profitable factory.
Vintilă is satisfied and proud of his deed. He congratulates himself - how clever and skillful he is.
After he finishes the 8th grade of gymnasium he will not go to high school or to any vocational school (to qualify as a worker in a trade). He wants to make money from stealing icons. Vintila Filip very quickly learns many details about the theft of icons from churches and the theft of gold from homes (apartments, houses, villas), as well as the names and addresses of rich people from Bucharest who have significant amounts of gold at their homes. To succeed in stealing from homes - he takes an interest in which people (or families) go on vacation and let the home with no one person inside, but only with the front door closed with yala.
A neurosurgeon doctor lives in a luxurious villa near Herăstrău Park. He goes to the seaside in mid-July together with his wife and their minor son. Vintilă will manage to enter their house and to steal about 100 grams of gold, a color TV and an expensive fur that belonged to the doctor's wife. He will sell all this for a large amount of money, approximately 20 thousand lei. He knows who are the best buyers in town. So he got the equivalent of an engineer's salary for 6 months.
Byzantine icons are more expensive than any other kind of icon - not only because they are plated and framed with gold, but also because they are very old, from the time of the Byzantine Empire. There are few churches in Bucharest (or in other cities) which have Byzantine icons. One such church is Saint Friday. For more than a month Vintilă Filip will study every possibility to enter the church at night and steal the three Byzantine icons. He will succeed (in a nighttime attempt). A true treasure - these three Byzantine icons...
He didn't think the Militia would track him down and find him. One day some militiamen came to the door of his house and summoned him to open it. He is not alone, but together with his father, his mother and a younger sister (about 12 years old). His mother opens the door and the militiamen search and find some stolen items that have not yet been sold. He is arrested, taken to the headquarters of the Militia sector 3, interrogated, beaten with a rubber stick and forced to recognize all the delinquencies committed. Even if he is a minor, he will receive a prison sentence of 3 years.
After reaching the age of 18, he will commit other offences (theft of gold or theft of icons) and he will be caught and arrested, then beaten very hard with a rubber stick, interrogated in every way, tortured and finally convicted by the Law Court of Sector 3 in Bucharest. As a leitmotif, his penal deeds and the convictions succeeded each other for years...
Vintila Filip's life oscillates among:
- days of freedom;
- days of planning and preparation of a new penal deed;
- days when he is arrested by Militia and receives a punishment from the Law Court of Bucharest;
- long days of stay in the penitentiary. Being absolutely recidivist and considered a social danger - he will not have the right to go to work (somewhere outside the penitentiary) in order to benefit from a reduced sentence and to receive better food...
He is now 54 years old and has the title of "receiver" of the most years in prison (as punishment), compared to any other inmate in Romania.
At the same time, he has the "reputation" of holder of the longest stay in the penitentiary - a stay constituted by the accumulation of many situations of recidivist inmate and "subscriber" of the penitentiaries.
So, he was not able to "shorten" the length of his stay in the penitentiary. Others ones atoned only a third of the sentence (for example: of a 6-year prison sentence an individual atoned only two years and was then released). He is a very good chess player, a psychologist and an outstanding orator with the language of a recidivist. After we watched the movie "The Girl Without a Dowry" at the club, Vintilă proves to be a master of film analysis and commentary. A real psychologist, a connoisseur of the most subtle manifestations of the human psyche. No one contradicts him, everyone lets him speak, express his opinions and points of view. After a week, Vintilă falls into his usual state of nervousness, aggressive dissatisfaction, lack of wish to live and sometimes outburst of fluster, with hard swear word. After a week he will have a suicide attempt. When a major general from the General Directorate of Penitentiaries came to inspect the penitentiary, Vintilă ridiculed him with a mocking behavior (toward that general).
7. Vasile Şahân is from the village of Soleşti, located 15 kilometers away from the city of Vaslui. He was born in 1920. He was taken to the front in 1940, so at the age of 20, in the campaign to the East, against Soviet Russia. He was wounded in the right leg in the great battle at the Elbow of Don in 1942: a shrapnel resulting from the explosion of a artillery projectile cut off his leg above the right knee. He has two wooden devices to support his body. The upper part of such a device is located under the arm (between the body and the forearm, somewhere under the shoulder). It has the shape of an isosceles triangle. Its lower part consists of a vertical (wooden) stick. With the amputated right leg - movement is difficult, even using the two wooden devices. Their name is: crutches or protheses. (Next we will use the word: “crutches”).
At present he is 67 years old. His wife died 6 months ago. There being suspicions about the death of his wife, the militiamen from the village, then those from the Center, from the Vaslui County Militia, thoroughly investigated the case of the suspicious death and drew up a criminal case against Mr. Vasile Şahân. The Law Court of the city of Vaslui sentenced him to 13 years in prison (as punishment). He says he's innocent, but he was convicted because he would have killed his wife with a crutch. He appealed to the Tribunal and hopes that he will escape the punishment. He believes that if he fought on the front - he will be exempt from penal punishment...
- I was in the war, I fought, I was decorated...he says.
- It doesn't matter that you were on the front! says Vintila Filip. The penal law is the same for all citizens... It doesn't matter that you were on the front!...
Mr. Şahân is disappointed. He was hoping that he will soon be released from prison… Because he is older than 65 years - he will atone only a quarter of the sentence: instead of 13 years, he will atone 4 years and 3 months...
Vasile Şahân often tells the other detainees about war scenes, which took place on the Eastern front, against Soviet Russia.
8. Viorel Catană was born in the city of Bârlad in 1947. He graduated from a theoretical high school, then, in 1965, he passed the entrance exam to the school of the active officers (with the name "Nicolae Bălcescu") in the city of Sibiu. He was admitted as a student of this school. In that year (1965) the duration of this school was only two years (later its duration was extended to 3 years). He graduated from the officer school in 1967 with the rank of lieutenant. He was a good officer, but after 10 years of activity he was transferred to the reserve for reasons of indiscipline. From his stories (said by him in the penitentiary) it appears the fact that in that year 1977 (when he was rejected from the army and transferred to the reserve) he used the infantry weapon (machine gun AKM 75) for personal purposes, more precisely, to hunt wild pigs in the forest near the military unit in which he worked as an officer - this thing being forbidden, of course, by the communist regime. He greatly regretted being expelled from the army. He got a job at a craft cooperative in the town of Bârlad. Initially, he was tasked with supplying the cooperative with raw materials and various machines. He was later promoted to vice president of the cooperative. In 1986 he committed the offences: embezzlement and forgery in the cooperative's documents. What is embezzlement? It is the use of some money of the company for personal purposes. (The classic name of embezzlement is: "the change of destination of funds"). Even if you intend to return to the enterprise the money taken from it - if you are discovered while using this money (by the Economic Militia) - you will be punished very badly, generally between 5 and 10 years in prison, depending on the amount of money used for personal purposes. He was convicted to 10 years in the prison for embezzlement. For the forgery in the cooperative's documents, he was convicted to two years in prison, but because a decree of legal reprieve and amnesty had been given - including forgery and use of forgery - he was "exempted" from these two years in prison. (He committed the delinquency of falsification of documents before the issuance of the respective decree).
In the penitentiary he regains some traits of a former army officer. He addresses the guardian aggressively and rudely:
- I am a captain, you're a sergeant. In case of war I will be your commander. I will do hard military training with you...I “will get butter out of you”, I will prove to you that I am "somebody" and you are "nobody"...
The guardian does not react to Catană's frequent verbal aggressions, which are increasingly impertinent and mocking. However, he is warned to stop this aggressive behavior (against the guardians). Instead of becoming obedient and quiet, he becomes more ardent, more refractory and more recalcitrant... The guardians are the target of his aggression. In the end he will be put into the "lock-up" for 7 days. What is the "lock-up"?
It is a small room with concrete walls, an iron door with a peephole and a small barred window. In one corner of the room there is a Turkish WC. The only "furniture" is a folding board bed, no mattress, no blanket, no pillow. In one of the sides, this "bed" is fixed with two hinges to the concrete wall. On the opposite side of the hinges there are two wooden "stops" (locking devices) that make possible the horizontal position of the "bed"(so it not to can descend with the side opposite to the wall below the horizontal position). On this side, somewhere in the middle, there is an iron link (iron circle) fixed rigidly to the "bed". When the "bed" is folded and its lateral side is raised to the vertical wall, this link meets another link (iron circle) - fixed rigidly in the concrete wall. Through these two links (iron circles) is inserted the movable part of a large padlock, which will be closed with a key. In this way the "bed" will remain stuck to the wall (in a vertical position), so that the prisoner not to can use it (to lie on it). Every morning the prisoner will be taken out of the "bed" and the "bed" will be folded down (brought to a vertical position) and then fixed with a padlock. The prisoner will have the right to 6 hours of sleep per night (so no mattress, no pillow, no blanket). During the day the prisoner will stand (in vertical position) - if it is winter and the lower mosaic will be very cold, or he will sit on the mosaic (in the summer). When Catană Viorel was put into the "lock-up" - it was August and it was hot…
He will be fed only with one slice of bread a day and two cups of water. Two guardians will beat Catană with rubber batons - for the first three days, then leave him alone. These beatings were very bad, but Catană continued to shout and to swear the guardians. After 7 days in the "lock-up", he will be released, being somewhat obedient and quiet.
9. Mereuță Ștefan is from the town of Bârlad. He is the only child of the family Vlad and Elena Mereuță. His father, Vlad, worked as a school-master in a school located near the Meruță family's house, and his mother, Elena, was the secretary (in an office) of the manager of a craft cooperative. The son Ștefan was not an eminent pupil, but he graduated from a driving school. He will work for many years as a truck driver. At the age of 19, he will go to carry out the military internship ("to do the army") at a military land artillery unit in the city of Slobozia. After a year and four months he will come home and continue to work as a driver, of course, as civilian driver. Not long after, he will marry Ortansa (she being a worker at garment factory). They will never have children and this will make Stefan often unhappy and nervous... (The policy of the Romanian Communist Party in those years was to increase the birth rate. In this sense, families that had children were favored from a material point of view and from a moral point of view). However, they will remain together until Stefan will reach the age of 48 years old. At this moment, their marriage is 25 years old.
Ștefan is thinking of a way to get abroad... somewhere in Austria, then in another country in the West. He will study maps, he will go to Timisoara (city located in the west of Romania, near the border with Yugoslavia) and around the city (having a document issued by the enterprise where he was employee which certified that Mereuță Ștefan was a delegate for a company in Timișoara), he will ask various people about the situation of illegal border crossings, he will find out what roads exist between Timișoara and the border, etc. Then he prepared for departure… He had a chance to find a place through which he passed smoothly across the border (he will pass through this place again sometime later). He went to the town of Vrsec, but was arrested by the Serbian authorities. He was questioned by a representative of the United Nations Organization about the reasons which lead him to immigrate to the West:
- religious discrimination;
- ethnic discrimination;
- political discrimination.
Stefan did not meet the conditions for any discrimination and the decision of the UN representative was: "rejected".
The duration of the stay in the police custody in the city of Vrsec was: one month. Then, he "was handed over" (as arrested) to the Romanian authorities. The Law Court from the city Timisoara sentenced him to one year in prison. (His wish was: to cross Serbia and Slovenia, to reach Austria, then another country in the West - but he ended up in the penitentiary in the city of Oradea). He expiated only 4 months (instead of one year), being released through an amnesty and pardon decree issued by Nicolae Ceaușescu.
He did not abandon his intention to emigrate from Romania and prepared for a new attempt to reach Austria. (This second attempt was very different from the first...).
- he bought 20 chocolates and filled a bag with 2 liters of walnut kernels. He also bought 20 canned fish and 10 cans of liver pate. All this - and a bottle of mineral water - were introduced in a leather bag with a handle. He calculated this amount of food for two weeks (time needed to reach Austria). He bought an important amount of dinars (money that circulated in Yugoslavia). He went to the old place for crossing the border - and without problems he reached Serbia. He did not stop in the town of Vrsec - where the Police were very frequent. Walking on foot he started towards Austria. He slept in the hay, in some abandoned house or in the forest, he walked on side paths and never on the main road, he stopped to fill his water bottle, and sometimes he dared to enter some stores to buy food. He was dressed in jeans and a sport shirt, he had a Serbian figure, he knew very well the geography of Yugoslavia, especially the larger rivers and the railways, he went for a while on the freight train and thus ended up near the border with Austria. There is a place with three neighbors: Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. He arrived at this place, but instead of entering Austria, he entered Hungary (where he was arrested by the Police...). Then he was "delivered" to Romanian authorities. Arriving in the Law Court of Timișoara - in a penal trial - Mereuță will not docilely listen to the words of the prosecutor (who had drawn up an indictment against him), but will systematically give sharp and aggressive retorts...
- Why don't you stay in Romania to work? a judge from the panel of judges asks him.
- I worked for 30 years in Romania as a driver! Mereuță answers.
For his unruly behavior, Mereuță will receive the maximum punishment - that is, three years in prison.
10. Andrei Condurache was recruited for the army at the beginning of this year. He went to fulfill his military internship ("to make his army") at a military infantry unit in the city of Găiesti (Dâmbovița county). Very severe military training began even from the first day. The military training program takes place between 8 am and 1 pm, being led by military officers (lieutenants, major lieutenants or captains). Then the soldiers served lunch. After lunch, the military officers left for their homes, and the leaders for the newly arrived soldiers were two sergeants and 10 corporals. These 10 corporals were very naughty and very severe with the newly arrived soldiers (who had the attribute: "cycle one"). A military instruction much more severe and much more mischievous than the one in the morning started at 2 pm. The physical effort was being much more intense than in the morning. The platoon commander, lieutenant Iorga Vasile, was not knowing about the hardness of the corporals exercised after 2 pm. The nickname for these tortured soldiers was "perches". The corporals were commanding to the "perches":
1-" laid down ": at this command the soldier should lie down on the ground, having his chest and belly stuck to the ground, legs outstretched (right) with some distance between the heels (equal to the distance between the shoulders) and the boots also stuck to the ground (with their inner part), holding an AKM machine gun in his hands;
2-"crawling on elbows and knees": from the position “laid down” the soldier must move forward using as support for his body the elbows and knees. He advances - looking ahead - with great care: he to keep the small distance between the chest and the ground (and between belly and ground), and the head must also be close to the ground (so that the enemy not to can hit the head of this soldier with a bullet);
3-“ jump forward”: at this command the soldier stands up and runs at high speed: forward. The running is zigzag or in a straight line;
4-" jump to the right ": from the position “laid down” the soldier stands up and runs at high speed: to the right, similar to "jump forward";
5-" jump to the left ": the jump is performed at high speed to the left, similar to the "jump forward" or "jump to the right";
6- "gases": is the command that warns the soldiers that there are toxic gases around them. Each soldier will place a "gas mask" on the figure (on the face). This determines the breathing of the soldiers through the "anti-toxicity filter". (It is considered that breathing without a "gas mask" or with a defective "gas mask" is lethal and causes the death of the soldier);
7- "enemy aviation at low altitude" - this is also a warning: that there are planes (or helicopters) which fly at low altitude (or very low altitude) - with the possibility of killing any soldier. In these conditions, the soldiers must sit with their backs stuck to the ground and to execute fire (to shoot at) (in "automatic" mode) with the machine gun. Even if the (imaginary) plane has armor - it can be annihilated, even destroyed by a bullet from an AKM type machine gun.
These commands can be repeated often, randomly or programmed by the platoon commander (Lieutenant Iorga Vasile) or by rude and severe corporals. It is very difficult to endure military instruction when the commanders are impudent corporals, tough and very severe. They (the corporals) show a strange feeling of revenge towards the "perches" (because they - the corporals - were once "perches" and endured very severe military instruction). This infantry tactical training was extremely grueling and the soldiers were completely physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the hourly schedule.
The numerous physical and psychic solicitations "knocked down" Andrei. "What should he do - in order to escape from the terrible military training and the aggression of the corporals?" He will make the decision to hurt his one finger with a bullet which will come out of the barrel of his machine gun (AKM 75 M).
On Tuesday of next week there will be the qualification shooting with the machine gun (type: AKM 75 M) in the "high running target", located 250 meters away from the firing line. There are 5 such targets and the firing will take place with series of 5 soldiers each.
If a bullet hits this target, it will fall to the ground (through the operation of an automatic mechanism which senses the impact of the bullet). A target which has fallen to the ground is the proof that the soldier who fired managed to bring it down (and he will be graded with: "VERY WELL"). It is the Tuesday - when was planned the machine gun shooting. A bulky, moustached sergeant commands the series of soldiers (each series having 5 soldiers). One of them is Andrei.
- Series, on the firing line, FORWARD! orders the sergeant.
The five soldiers move to the 5 firing points (each having a kind of pit)..
- Series, for the fight, LAY DOWN! commands the sergeant again.
The 5 soldiers take the position LAID DOWN, each with a machine gun and 7 cartridges intended to hit the target.
- Series, LOAD THE GUN! At this command, the soldiers load the machine gun with the first cartridge, after which the other 6 cartridges will automatically come.
- Series, on the "high target which runs", FIRE!
This is the command to shoot the target.
Andrei fits the index finger of his left hand in front of the barrel of the machine gun and then presses the trigger. (Trigger is a mechanical device. When you press the trigger - a bullet will come out of the barrel).
The bullet which came out of the barrel shattered the top of his finger. Andrei howls because of the pain.
- What happened? asks the sergeant. Then, when he sees Andrei's broken finger, he commands in a very loud voice:
- Stop shooting!
A lieutenant, a captain and a major come to see the incident.
- Self-mutilation! says the major with conviction and firmness.
The other two officers approve him.
Andrei is now bandaged on the finger by a medical sergeant.
All soldiers will leave the firing range and arrive at the barracks.
Andrei will be investigated for several days in a row, then he will be sent (as arrested) to the Military Law Court in Bucharest, which will convict him to 1 year and 8 months in prison for the delinquency of "Self-mutilation".
11. Ignat Dan (called "Dănuț") was born and raised in the city of Ploiesti. His father was a tailor at a craft cooperative and his mother was a saleswoman in a grocery store. Dan wandered through the city of Ploiesti from south to north, from east to west. He found out that there are: a swimming place, a skating rink, a racecourse (for horses), a football stadium, a large park, large shops, a watch (clock) museum, several huge refineries that process crude oil in order to obtain superior gasoline, diesel, lamp oil, fuel oil, etc. From the age of 10, Dănuț often goes to the swimming place during the big holiday, that is, between June 15 and September 15. He is always accompanied by his cousin Vlad who is 13 years old (three years older than Dănuț). This Vlad taught Dănuț to swim. The swimming place is 50 meters long and 25 meters wide. There is competition among boys: who swims better and faster. Dănuț and other boys of the same age as him often have swimming competitions... Dănuț was never a champion. His physical condition is good, but not very good. He has a feeling of frustration when he sees that other boys can become champions, and he can never become champion... At the racecourse (hippodrome): the competition among horses is fierce, relentless, rough, aggressive, caustic. Dănuț follows the horse races with great interest and passion. He rarely had money to bet on a horse, but he never won any large sums of money.
The city of Ploiești is called the "oil city" because it has the largest and most important oil refineries in Romania. Not far from the city of Ploiesti there is land with many oil wells that extract crude oil from the basement. The city's football team is called "Petrolul Ploiești", it is now in division B (second division), in a big fight with Football Club Brăila for promotion to division A (first division). Dănuț was at the stadium to see the football match between Petrolul Ploiesti and Fotbal Club Brăila. Being the host of the match - "Petrolul Ploiesti" and its supporters hoped to win, but the match ended in a equality: 1 - 1, to the great disappointment of the supporters from the city of Ploiesti. Because of too much nervousness, some of them started hitting the supporters from Brăila. A terrible fight began between those from Ploieşti and those from Brăila. The militia managed with great difficulty to restore order in stadium and around the stadium...
Dănuț graduated from a vocational school (for the maintenance and repair of refrigerators). He is the only son of the Ignat family and often receives money from his parents. When Dănuț turned 18 years old, he obtained a driving license (category C), then he bought a car type "Dacia 1300", somewhat old, but in good working condition. From the age of 19 years old he began to satisfy the military internship ("to make his army"), then he married Camelia. He started working as a technician in the field of refrigeration, meaning a person who maintains and repairs refrigerators. One day he consumed a quarter of a liter of brandy and then he started with his car (at high speed) towards the city of Sinaia. He had a terrible accident: he hit a stone bridge and his right leg was crushed. The doctors (in the hospital) amputated his right leg (somewhere below the knee). However, he kept his driver's license. He continued to use his car for movement around the city and outside the city of Ploiești. When he reaches the age of 25 years old, his wife Camelia gives birth to a child (a boy) whom they name Sebastian.
Very happy, Dănuț drinks brandy again, as if he has forgotten the car accident from the past. He is driving his car at high speed on the boulevard in the city center. A team of militiamen, noticing his high speed, stop him, then ask him to blow into the ampoule to determine the concentration of alcohol in his blood. He is arrested for driving a car under the influence of alcohol. The Law Court of the city of Ploiesti sentences him to two years in prison…
Now he is in the penitentiary, in the room with number 32. He is happy that he will be released from prison soon. He would have to atone another year, but he is sure that will be released on parole because he repaired the prison's refrigerators. He is a refrigeration technician by trade, he has an amputated leg, but he got component parts and repaired the refrigerators. It has a weighted and calculated tone in speech, as a disciplined pupil who has done his homework. He smiles indulgently at the nervous outbursts of some around him, he considers them as good guys and wants them to be released as soon as possible. He tries a word game with Cornel, a recidivist who experienced the regime in the restrictive prison in Galați. It's the well-known "pheasant" game, in which you must form a word which starts with the last two letters of another word given to you by your opponent…
Finally, the day arrives when the commission for conditional release, headed by a prosecutor, will decide who leaves and who stays. The militiaman Doroftei comes to announce: "Pantaze Ion, conditionally freed; Bratu Vasile, conditionally freed; Dobromir George, conditionally freed; Ignat Dănuț, postponed for six months..." etc. Dănuț looks dismayed at the militiaman; he is probably joking. How to postpone him for six months if he repaired the refrigerators? Such a thing is not possible! He can't believe it. He looks around perplexedly. What kind of people are these who promised him release? Why didn't they keep their word? He will make appeal to the High Court! Why didn't they approve the conditional release? He will make appeal to the High Court! Nay! ... He will go on hunger strike! Yes, yes! He will go on hunger strike, to show the prosecutors who Ignat Dănuț is!
During two weeks Dănuț did not eat anything, he only drank water when he was thirsty.
Even if some inmates offered him food, he categorically refused. The commander of the penitentiary showed concern and worry for Dănuț's attitude:
- Why don't you eat? he asked. What do you want to demonstrate with this refusal to eat? Where did you hear about this type of behavior: the refusal to eat?
Dănuț does not want to listen to advice and exhortations, he will endure hunger, he will stay hungry until he will die. No one to disregard him, all people should respect him as a dignified and fair man.
- The law protects you if you know it and respect it! he cried with much reproach in his voice. What protection? ... and starts yelling and accusing and whining. If you're stupid, you respect the law! he exclaims with intemperance and great dissatisfaction.
In every penitentiary there is an officer (in this case: a captain) from the Political Police. He is attentive to the manifestations of some prisoners against the Romanian Communist Party and in general against the political regime in Romania. He came to room 32 for a discussion with Ignat Dănuț. He has a kind tone and is careful with the words which he utters. He expresses his concern for the condition of the inmate who does not want to eat, he wants to appear humanistic and understanding of the situation, asks Dănuț to think about his life and his family, but he receives a categorical refusal and a lot of nervousness. This captain feels somewhat offended and finally leaves, grumbling that he was not understood by a recalcitrant and absurd inmate. After all, Ignat Dănuţ will start eating and will enter the normal unfolding of the life in the penitentiary...
12. The engineer Tănăsuc Romeo graduated from the "Gheorghe Asachi" Polytechnic Institute in Iași with a specialization in "machine construction technology" and works at the Enterprise of Measuring and Control Devices in the Industrial Zone of the city of Vaslui.
He was married to Letitia, also an engineer (in the field: industrial mechanics), employed by the "Mecanica" Company in the same industrial area. A year after the marriage, Letitia gave birth to a boy whom they named Octavian. In the beginning their marriage went well. The first problems appear when the engineer Tănăsuc begins to consume alcohol more than usual. He often comes home drunk. Nervous and troubled, engineer Tănăsuc sometimes hits with his fists Letitia in the chest. She is very angry because the attitude of her husband and tries to calm him down and to determine him not to consume more alcohol. Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to change him at all. She will bring an action against her husband (for divorce) at the Court. The Court of the city of Vaslui will pass the divorce sentence, with the following details:
- the engineer Tănăsuc Romeo will leave the apartment in which he was living together Letiția and their son Octavian;
- Tănăsuc Romeo loses the legal right to be the father of the minor child (Sebastian);
- Tănăsuc Letiția, the wife of Tănăsuc Romeo, will have all the rights and duties as the mother of the minor child and will provide him with protection and maintenance until he will reach the age of 18;
- Tănăsuc Romeo will have the right to visit and see his son Octavian twice a month (half a day each time);
- Tănăsuc Romeo is obliged to give Letiția - as a allowance for the maintenance of the child - every month the amount of 1000 lei (about a third of his salary). This allowance is called "alimony".
In the beginning, the engineer Tănăsuc will give 1000 lei every month for the minor child Octavian. After about a year, he will stop paying the amount of 1000 lei.
In these conditions, Letitia addresses herself to the Law Court, which will convict Tănăsuc Romeo to 1 year and 6 months in prison - as punishment for the delinquency of "family abandonment". There are many cases of "family abandonment" in Romania - that is: situations in which the father does not give money anymore to his ex-wife for the maintenance of the child - of course, all of which being punished by prison terms (usually between 1 and 2 years).
I don’t know how the engineer Tănăsuc arrived to the room number 32! This room is intended for dangerous prisoners or for those with physical disabilities: amputated legs or hands.
Mereuță approaches him with tact and maturity.
" If you will wash the mosaic on the floor, three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening, you will receive the biscuits. You must not have any reservations or doubts... that you're an engineer and you have to wash the floor! This is the situation!” He agrees to wash the mosaic daily.
Each prisoner has the right to receive one biscuit per day. We are almost fifty prisoners in the room, so the happy engineer Tănăsuc will have fifty biscuits every day. He is diligent and does his duty every day... I talk to him sometimes and find that he still has some soul and some tolerance in him. Probably because he is new in the jail and had not known the real prison life yet. After few days he says:
"These inmates are dehumanized! … They are children of the prison... inveterate recidivists!"
13. Ciubotaru Viorel is a foreman in the field: civil and industrial constructions. He was an employee of the "The Builder" cooperative from the city of Vaslui. Its offices are located near the city center. It has several subsidiaries called lots, thus:
- the Vaslui lot, located on the Delea hill;
- the Bârlad lot, located near the bearing factory;
- the Huși lot, located in the vicinity of the "Huşana" shoe factory;
- the Negresti lot, located outside the city, very close to it, in the northern part;
- the Murgeni lot, located in the center of the village, near the town hall. The village has about 500 houses and aspires to the title of the town.
The Vaslui lot is led by the foreman Chitic Octavian, who is 35 years old and has extensive experience in the field of civil and industrial construction. They are under his command:
- the engineer Radu Alexandru;
- this foreman, Ciubotaru Viorel;
- Miss engineer Anghelescu Cristina;
- the foreman Enășescu Ștefan.
Under the subordination of the foreman Ciubotaru Viorel they are two teams for civil and industrial constructions (masons, painters, workers qualified in working with tiles and faience, plumbers, concrete ironsmiths, carpenters, etc.) and a team of 12 electricians.
The delinquency of foreman Ciubotaru began in March in connection with the team of electricians.
At the end of each month, Ciubotaru Viorel draws up a documentation in which is presented the work performed by electricians, as well as the materials used (which went into the possession of the receiving enterprise).
In this month March the electricians performed work for supply the electricity for an agricultural machinery company (A.M.C.) (machines which perform agricultural work - from plowing and sowing to harvesting) in the village of "Gura Idrici", located 12 kilometers south of the city of Vaslui.
In drafting the documentation, Ciubotaru Viorel used false data, as follows:
- instead of 30 electrical plugs installed he wrote in the documentation 60 plugs (that is: double);
- instead of 40 electric bulbs installed (having sockets and power cables) he wrote in the documentation 80 bulbs installed;
- instead of 30 simple switches installed he wrote in the documentation 60 simple switches;
- instead of 6 large electric motors repaired he wrote 12 electric motors repaired etc.
The amount of money received from the Agricultural Machinery Enterprise from "Gura Idrici" was approximately double compared to what was due. The foreman Ciubotaru took a part of the extra money, and the rest he shared with a few electricians who had a higher professional category than the others, i.e. categories IV and V. (At the same time they being older than others: between 25 and 32 years old).
The electrician Croitoru Marian is very young, he graduated from the professional school of electricians 6 months ago. He believes that he deserves some money from the amount obtained illegally by foreman Ciubotaru. He asks for some money, but is categorically refused. In April, foreman Ciubotaru proceeds in the same way as in March, obtaining, of course, an important extra money - which he shares with the same older electricians (after he has retained a significant amount for himself). Croitoru Marian comes again to the foreman Ciubotaru and asks him for a small amount from that illegal extra money, but he receives nothing. The same situation will be also in May and June. Croitoru Marian is extremely dissatisfied because he does not receive money from the undue surplus. In a fit of rage, he goes to the County Militia and denounces the delinquency of foreman Ciubotaru. Immediately a team of militiamen begin (secretly) penal investigations and draw up a voluminous file attesting to the offense of foreman Ciubotaru. Then he is arrested and investigated. The penal file is finalized by a prosecutor. The Law Court of the city of Vaslui sentenced foreman Ciubotaru to 4 years in prison.
He will arrive to the room 32. Here he will stay only two months without work. The commander of the penitentiary asks him to form a team of workers for civil and industrial constructions (which will be executed for various enterprises and will be paid consistency). Very quickly the foreman Ciubotaru gathers about 25 prisoners specialized in civil and industrial construction (masons, painters, workers qualified in working with tiles and faience, plumbers, concrete ironsmiths, carpenters, etc.) with which he will go to build houses, sheds, shelters for animals and other types of construction. He will receive a badge which he will pin on his chest on the left side. He warns the other inmates in room 32 about his importance as the leader of a construction team.
- This badge was given to me because I am the most important prisoner in this penitentiary. Be careful not to upset me!
14. Gologan Vasile is 33 years old (compared to Vintilă Filip who is 54 years old), but he followed a road similar to that of Vintilă: from the age of 14 he started stealing from homes (various objects or money). He was caught and sent to prison as a minor. The prison for minors was named a "correctional school".
When he returned to freedom he continued to steal from rich people: from a neurosurgeon, from a military major general, from the president of the craft cooperative named "Unirea", even from a seller in a store with sausage and meat. Gologan Vasile was caught by the Militia of Iași County, sent to the Law Court and sentenced to 3 years in prison (as an adult, when he was 19 years old).
The engineer Gologan Andrei is originally from the city of Iași, but at present (being the general director of the enterprise "Mecanica" in the industrial area of the city of Vaslui) he lives in an apartment in the center of the city of Vaslui. Gologan Vasile is boasting that he is relation of the general manager: Gologan Andrei.
He atoned only two years of the 3-year prison sentence. He benefited from conditional release (from the penitentiary located on the southern edge of the city of Pascani). He was not able to abstain from a new theft from homes. He intends to commit a new theft together with Vlad (aged 18) and Dumitru (aged 19). These three "boys" research various areas of the city of Braila in order to find out who are the rich or very rich people, who of them have vacations and where they will spend this vacation, what kind of neighbors they have and what are their relationships with them, etc. During 3 years, Gologan Vasile (together with Vlad and Dumitru) managed very well to steal from dwellings (from houses, apartments, villas) and to sell the stolen goods at a good price.
But Gologan Vasile is again caught in "glaring infringement of the law" and sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Law Court of city Iași , then sent to the penitentiary near the city of Vaslui, named "Avicola" Penitentiary - because it is located near the poultry farm - known to the public as "Avicola" farm. Here he will be appointed as the head of the room (for room 32).
When I first entered the room 32 Gologan Vasile was the head of the room. Two months later Gologan learns with surprise and stupefaction that he will be replaced by Cezărică. He can't believe that will lose the function. He does not hate Cezărică, but he cannot accept the situation of being a simple prisoner. He begins to utter words, phrases and curses specific and established in prison folklore. He is a gypsy man and gives great importance on the words in the sexual field. The other gypsy men in the room react promptly, with despair and consternation when they hear (from Vasile) expressions of disgust and insult:
- Vasile, Vasile! Stop it! they apostrophize him.
But Vasile does not stop and continues in the same tone. Then he says:
- I know what I should do! and he retreats in silence, with gnashing of teeth and staring blankly with red, dilated eyes. During the night, Vasile Gologan gets out of bed, rushes to the window, breaks the glass and takes some shards with which he tries to cut his belly.
At this moment, all the prisoners in room 32 wake up suddenly...with fear, confusion and wonder. There are some voices with impulses, inducements, prods and advice, the main voice being: “Trigger the alarm!”. The guardian from the corridor shouts in a very loud voice: "Alarm!". Immediately three militiamen come armed with machine guns (AKM type) and rubber batons. They are prudent and calm, trying to be diplomatic with Gologan:
- Citizen Gologan! Your gesture is childish. There are some ones who lose ministerial positions and are not upset. Did you want to commit suicide?
The cuts on the belly are superficial, just some scratches.
For suicide attempt, Gologan will be subjected to psychiatric treatment and then sent to "lock-up" for 7 days as punishment.
Of course, in "lock-up" the conditions of detention are much harder than usual.
Very calmly, Vintilă looks towards the agitation of those in the room.
15. Anghelie Cezar (often named "Cezărică") has a very good physical condition, is robust and very tenacious when confront other men. He is originally from the town of Bârlad: a rugby player and a respected man in the slum. He has a habit which he can not abandon: to go to the center of a city (Bârlad, Vaslui, Bacău, Focșani, Brăila, Galați, etc.) and "to cause a scandal". It is not very difficult to provoke a scandal in the center of any city. The scandal turns into a fight (with punches and kicks). When the fight is at its height - Cezărică tries to steal the wallet with money from the pocket of one of the brawlers. When he manages to steal a wallet with money - he quickly leaves for a slum of the city (so that he not to be arrested by the Militia). When he does not manage to steal a wallet - the brawler (owner of the wallet) goes to the Militia and denounces Cezărică. His delinquency has the name: theft, or robbery, or attempted theft, or attempted robbery. Sometimes the Militia manages to arrest Cezărică and then draws up a penal file against him (other times it is unable to arrest him).
Cezărică is now the new chief of room. He displays his knowledge gained as a felon.
- I walked a lot around the country that "to get to know the homeland"!
He got to know his homeland through thefts, robberies, deceptions that he committed starting from a young age. He especially knew the prisons of the homeland.
The promotion of sports in Romania was one of the important features of the Romanian Communist Party. As team sports, they were thoroughly sustained: football, men's handball and rugby. (As individual sports they had a great affirmation: tennis, female gymnastics, athletics, kayaking and canoeing, boxing). A very good physical condition was a reason for admiration, respect and envy from other citizens. Cezărică benefited from the respect and admiration of many inhabitants of the city of Barlad - because he has a very good physical condition, especially strength (being a rugby player). As a recidivist (repeater delinquent), you will gain knowledge about the life in the penitentiary, possibilities of adaptation, vocabulary specific to prisons, other various expressions and words (with special meaning), etc. Cezărică's own praise is: physical strength (and physical resistance), playing chess, women (as fiancees), knowledge of the specifics of prison, sometimes money and fun, etc. At one point he tackled the issue of illegal border crossing (from Romania to Yugoslavia, then going to Austria) - being interested in emigration.
Now he talks about the dream and the meanings of dreams. If you dream of candy (sweetmeats), it means that you will receive the "H", meaning the death penalty. The letter corresponding to the death penalty in the Penal Code is "H". The adjacent expressions are: "They gave him the <H>"; "They gave you the <H>"; "They will give him the <H>" etc.
- An individual dreamed of candy and the next day they gave him the <H>. The candies are the bullets. He foamed at the mouth, his face changed and he was not able longer to speak. They gave him the <H> because he dreamed of candy! The death is not a very big punishment, many try to commit suicide but are not able. You can make a knife out of a spoon and cut your veins with it... In a gesture of dementia, many begin to rub the tail of the spoon against the concrete floor, always, always, from morning to night. What to do with the knife thus obtained from the tail of the spoon? To commit suicide! Or to hit someone who bothers you! The worst and most humiliating thing is to die in prison. At least to die somewhere in a hospital, "outside". Or even to be shot by the firing squad - after they gave you the <H>.
16. Vlad Calinciuc changed his life right at the wedding: he drank a lot, happy that he got married, then he had the impression that his father-in-law is not enthusiastic enough and does not enjoy himself enough. His dissatisfaction (regarding his father-in-law) degenerated into a "heated" quarrel, then into a fight. A future brother-in-law of Vlad Calinciuc, aggressive and nervous, punched him. There were: nervousness, swearing, blows with fists, swearing again, threats and reproaches, incitement to violence, use of knives and causing injuries, irritability, excitement, the great and terrible anger of Vlad Calinciuc who used the knife, hit several men (with the knife), and he killed a brother-in-law (with a knife blow to the heart). The High Court of the city of Vaslui convicted him: to 18 years in the prison…
In the present: he is annoyed when is listening any dialogue, he gives the impression that he will speak and will express a point of view, he waits patiently for each speaker to finish his speech, but in the end he doesn't say anything. He sometimes mentions about Christmas, Christmas Eve, butchering pigs. He is delighted and impressed when someones talk about winter customs. He looks dangerous, but he's just a shadow of the former bridegroom.
17. Priest Pamfir is 35 years old, his eyes are large, expressing sadness, regret and at the same time wonder; he has a thin face, and his whole appearance reveals a long and heavy internal turmoil. He was convinced that his wife is faithful to him, but he was wrong: she betrayed him for another man. He was not able to control his anger and jealousy and killed her with the knife after several fatal blows. The High Court of the city of Vaslui convicted him to 18 years in the jail. His great regret for the deed which he committed determines him not to eat anything (only to drink water). He looks towards an imaginary place where there is no jail or prisoners. He is polite to other ones... He always remembers his wife and sighs for her, sometimes is weeping, being very grieving and sad. The psychiatrist Georgescu Andrei recommended him medical treatment (proper for patients with psychic problems), but he refused any treatment. He knows that God has punished him for his horrible deed...
18. Csaba Sutto is Hungarian from Covasna county. The city of Sfantu Gheorghe is the residence of this county. Most of the inhabitants of the city are Hungarians, only a quarter of the total population being Romanians. Csaba Sutto has an exceptional physical condition, being the champion of Covasna county in freestyle wrestling (and ranked among the first in this sport at the national level). Very proud, sometimes arrogant - he is a star in the Hungarian community. He has a fiancee (Csilla) who is very beautiful. Sometimes Csaba Sutto is envious and jealous (when Csilla talks to other men). One day he found out that Csilla has a friend (Istvan) whom she loves. Being overwhelmed by the rage and the irrepressible impulse for revenge - Csaba Sutto uses a knife with the intention of hurting Istvan. He hits him somewhere to the left of the navel, but one of Istvan's colleagues announces the Militia that comes and arrests Csaba Sutto. The accusation came from Istvan (then from a prosecutor) is: attempted murder. He sustains with vehemence that he did not intend to kill Istvan, but the Law Court of the city of Sfantu Gheorghe sentenced him to 7 years in prison for attempted murder.
Here in the penitentiary, he continues to show immense hatred towards Istvan:
- When I will go out the prison - I will find him and I will take out his eyes of orbits, I will blind him and let him with the white walking-stick...for the rest of his life! he says with determination, firmness and some ferocity.
He spent most of his time in "lock-up". He beat inmates and guardians.
- After a 7-day stay at "lock-up" - it seems to you that time passes quickly in the room! he says.
Although most inmates get out of prison early, that is, they are released on parole, Sutto has spent six and a half years in prison. He will stay here for another six months, that is, he will come out exactly on the term provided by the court. As a former sportsman - even now he does daily maintenance exercises. His family sustains him and brings him, whenever he has the opportunity, a package of food and vitamins. He is a very good chess player, even better than Vintilă. He speaks English and is thinking of fraudulently crossing the border to get abroad.
19. Aurel Balica is from the town of Odobești. He is almost 60 years old, but he has not abandoned the habit of stealing. He spent many years in prison, he has many stories to tell, you could write a novel about his adventures. He boasts that he had a good life in some Romanian prisons in the past. In addition, he says that he had a good life also in freedom, that is, he did not work, but he stole and had a lot of money... He tells about many methods of stealing, from individuals or from the state, with many details, comments, observations and warnings... He spent several years in many prisons in Romania. In the last 5 years, he did not manage to steal many objects and a lot of money, but he was investigated by the Militia and beaten very badly with a rubber stick.
He has a start (sudden movement) - of fear and bad memories - when he sees a rubber stick. Several militiamen beat him badly last summer… He always talks, always, always... For any theme, for any subject, he has many stories, details, explanations, various references, clarifications, etc. He belongs to the category of those who committed many delinquencies and were convicted many times. This is a reason for praise and arrogance. He knows what is the life in prison, he is not a beginner. Like a sergeant in the army who is superior to soldiers - he is also superior to beginner prisoners… Some inmates listen to Aurel Balica's words with interest and attention …
20. Vasile Roman had about the same destiny and the same life as Aurel Balica. He doesn't talk much, but he finds that he has expiated a 5-year prison sentence and has forgotten the reason for that punishment! He probably had too many penal sentences and forgot the reasons for each of them. He is the assistant of the head of the room and often shows authority and arrogance.
They are now discussing about punishments, accumulation, "tails" and mergers. There is a lot of talk about militiamen, prosecutors and judges, about investigations.
"You can lie in court, but you can't lie at the police", is a saying from the folklore of penal prosecutions.
21. Mircea Brateș is from the city of Bacău and was convicted for cigarette smuggling. He sold cigarettes B.T. in the city of Bacau. (B.T. come from the words "Bulgar Tabac").
He went (once a week) to the border between Romania and Bulgaria, especially to the town of Giurgiu, where he had as friends some border guardians. They sold him B.T. cigarettes for 9 lei a pack, and he sold these cigarettes in the city of Bacau for 15 lei a pack. His "business" was very good, but the Militia found out about "smuggling", they arrested him, investigated him... He was sentenced by the Law Court of Bacau County to 2 years in prison.
Other inmates and their delinquencies:
22. Giosan Petru: usurpation of official qualities - that is, he presented himself as a prosecutor and started a substantial penal investigation (in the city of Vaslui);
23. Iovănut George: theft from a freight train car;
24. Zamfir Nicolae: theft from state property (theft of hay from a
State Agriculture Enterprise);
25. Balan Gheorghe: poaching;
26. Cercel Ilie: embezzlement;
27. Corosan Dumitru: homosexuality;
28. Debren Ivan: rape;
29. Budai Alexandru: deception;
30. Cozoroc Vasile: forgery and use of forgery (in documents of the company where he worked - being an accountant);
31. Andreescu Ion: theft from a state enterprise;
32. Panait Andrei: rape;
33. Georgescu Vasile: fraudulent border crossing;
34. Istrate Ion: fraudulent border crossing;
35. Dobre Dan: fraudulent border crossing;
36. Prale Ivan: theft of medicines;
37. Cămărășescu Vasile: attempted murder;
38. Ciocoiu Marius: theft from homes;
39. Mutu Ștefan: theft pork from his cousin;
40. Cercel Lucian: car accident;
41. Szilagy Sandor: rape;
42. Enășescu Adrian: robbery;
43. Alexiu Vasile: forgery and use of forgery in the accounting records of a craft cooperative;
44. Colocioiu Costică: embezzlement.
etc.
Andrei Condurache comes late in the evening from the kitchen. It's a heated atmosphere there because of food preparation, there is much perspiration caused by the steam and the heat. You must keep cleanliness... The mosaic is washed frequently and then wiped with a dry cloth. Each one takes a bath whenever needed. For this purpose, there is a shower room nearby.
For the food product obtained from corn flour, there are several names in English:
- hominy;
- mush;
- maizebread;
- boiled cornflour.
The name "maizebread" is not entirely correct (because it is soft and sticky - as opposed to the bread).
The name "mush" can be a reference to the food product obtained from cornflour, but not as a finality, but as an intermediate stage in the preparation of maizebread.
The name "boiled cornflour" is the closest to reality...We will always use the name: "boiled corn flour (maize bread)".
Vasile Fieraru is from the city of Galati, he practiced boxing for several years and has the allure of a solid man.
He was assigned to prepare "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" every day... "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" for all the prisoners in the penitentiary. His work is hard. Thus:
- a large cauldron in which water boils and cornflour is poured. When the mush is somewhat boiled and there is a possibility that the composition in the cauldron to seethe intensely - the cook Fieraru Vasile pours another amount of corn flour. The contents of the cauldron will continue to boil (not for long time)... Then he mixes (with force and speed) the mush in the cauldron until it becomes homogeneous and consistent. The paste thus obtained is left to boil for a while until it becomes almost solid. Then the fire in the stove is turned off and the "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" is left to cool. Finally, it is cut into cubic dollops, obtaining the famous "cubic clays". The portion for an inmate is a "cubic clay".
Fieraru Vasile finished his work. He is sweat and has a red face. He's going to take a cold shower…
He sees Andrei completely naked. A lad…rather a lass, a maidenly figure, with round and pink legs. It's like a girl... An beastly instinct arises in him and then completely dominates him. His temples throb and twitch, his heart is pounding, his mind is dim and foggy and he can't see anything else than the tender and pink body of Andrei. He approached him. Andrei turns his face to Fieraru Vasile and wants to say something.
- Either you stay to fuck you or I beat you black and blue!...Fieraru says with hoarse, cavernous voice of mad desire.
And without waiting for an answer, he punches him hard in the chest, knocking him down.
Andrei collapsed on the mosaic pavement. His mind is troubled and a mixture of fear, helplessness and repulsion swirls in his head. He tries to come to his senses and find a way to escape from the aggressor. He is paralyzed with fear, his body is soft and helpless, he tries to get up but his legs do not obey him. He looks around desperately, the image of that animal which humiliated him terribly, who made him such a vile proposal, appears. The hatred and the anger are swirling in his head. He no longer feels the pain in his chest caused by the hit as with sledgehammer of Fieraru. He suddenly jumps up and runs to the door shouting at the top of his lungs: "Help!", "Help!". The guardian near the shower room hesitates for a moment, then triggers the alarm. Three guardians come to see what happened. First they ask Andrei about what happened. They consider that Fieraru's deed is not serious and ask Andrei to go to room 32. Then they question Fieraru about the incident...
The scene in the kitchen became known to all the inmates.
The guardians forbid Andrei to go to the kitchen, but they still keep Fieraru at the cauldron with "boiled corn flour (maize bread)". No one else is able to prepare "boiled corn flour (maize bread)" for the inmates.
Arriving in room 32, Andrei Condurache tells his mischance to other ones.
- I've never heard something like this! he confesses. But you...did you hear something like this?
The recidivists with big punishments have a discreet smile each one. "What we to have heard?" They know many things, they have seen many things and even have done many things. (About homosexuality!).
- You probably have a relationship with Fieraru which started once in the past! they say in a serious and gentle tone. Andrei is vexed, full of perplexity and surprised, amazed, astonished , bewildered. He has red face and became stuck, he can't say anything.
He is completely helpless and looks around and everything crumble over him. The recidivist ones collect their thoughts in silence, with gravity.
“What good times in the past!...” they say, remembering with nostalgia those times.
There was a period of time when some prisoners worked in the fields (harvesting corn) and they did not live in the penitentiary, but in some old buildings which were once boarding schools for the pupils of vocational schools.
They say that there were minor detainees (boys under the age of 18) who were sexually abused by some recidivists. They consider that those times (when they sexually abused some minor detainees) were very good times… It begins an ample and intensely argued debate (conversation), sprinkled with numerous memories. Something was triggered in the minds of the prisoners who had big sentences and spent a long time in various penitentiaries. They want to say that their life was rich, full of events, that they have a lot of knowledge, and stories to tell. A kind of pride of homosexual rises from Gologan, Cezărică, Roman, Pleșanu and Rogoz. The stories are told one after another, in a continuous chain, all accompanied by comments, opinions and exclamations of bravery.
Poor Andrei “made himself” small and unimportant. He does not exist for anyone in the penitentiary, especially in the room 32. After three months, he will benefit from conditional release and will go home. For now, some recidivists are harassing him with bad words. They (the recidivists) suggest that, however, there was a homosexual relationship between Fieraru and Andrei. For the clarification of the situation and the elimination of any doubts - it would be good that Andrei to accept the test with paper cone - in order to see if he is a virgin.
- What paper cone? bursts out Andrei after so much insistence.
Some recidivists explain (with many details) how to perform the test with the paper cone…
Another prisoner who has connection with homosexuality is Ene. He is caught in the middle of the conversation and obliged to confess. He says he was lured by some actors from Luden. They invited him to a luxurious apartment, gave him expensive drinks. He was sexually abused. The abuse was repeated: the second time, the third time, the fourth time. Then he was abandoned. Because the homosexuality was punishable by law, and he had sexual contacts with other men - he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison…
Răducanu used to take sleeping pills and pills for mental disorders. He regularly knocks on the iron door of the room to ask for treatment from the medical assistant. He receives two pills per day. He does not consume these pills, but collects about 30 pills (during two weeks). There are signs that Vintila told Raducanu to collect 30 pills, promising him several packs of cigarettes in exchange for the pills. So: Raducanu gave Vintila 30 pills (which are indicated for mental illnesses) and received 4 packs of unfiltered cigarettes. Vintila wants to show the other inmates how to proceed for suicide (unlike Gologan Vasile's attempt). Vintilă approaches the guardian who just entered the room and displays the pills: “Because my life is very bad and I don't have the necessary resources for an acceptable living and I have not any reason to live – I now swallow these pills” - says Vintilă and swallows all 30 pills.
The guardian releases the alarm. They contact (by phone) the County Hospital. An ambulance comes to penitentiary for th hospitalization of Vintila (in the “reanimation” section). The physicians will make him intense treatment, including washing stomach. After 3 days Vintila will come back to the penitentiary. As punishment (for his deed) he will be introduced into “lock-up” for 7 days…
Often I have health problems, especially stomach pain. From psychic point of view - I also have some problems. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by illness.
The food is very bad:
- in the morning, as breakfast, a slice of bread;
- at lunch we receive only one dish, a kind of soup obtained from potatoes, or beans, or rice or cabbage, always without meat;
- as supper we receive boiled pearl barley.
I started smoking (cigarettes without a filter). Anyway, the atmosphere is almost unbreathable because of the cigarette smoke. I was assigned to read the brochures of the General Directorate of Penitentiaries which have the purpose to re-educate the delinquents now in detention. Various cases are presented, from thefts and robberies to rapes and murders, all commented by Militia professionals. Their tone is one of reproach and blame, a kind of opprobrium that totally discriminates the prisoners, giving credit to the idea that all those at liberty are very correct and moral, without any stain, and the act of justice was carried out with the greatest fairness.
The almost unanimous opinion is that this statement is not entirely true. Most of the prisoners know that:
- there are some guilty people in the freedom and
- some innocent people in the prisons (that is: victims). The communist regime often generated injustice. (The perception of this injustice is not always correct; some journalists from Radio "Free Europe" are much more vehement and critical for the communist regime in Romania. They often mention that there is an "Iron Curtain" around Romania...).
There is probably a little humor when some ones say:
"Laws are for the small and stupid people! The big ones break the law, and the clever ones slip through the law!"
I am reading, reading, reading, reading. "The law protects you if you know it and respect it!"
The laws are probably made to defend the communist system and no one will see any dignitary of Romanian Communist Party, or any officer of Political Police or even a
militiaman in the prison.
The discussion "slipped" in the direction of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his people nearby.
- You will ever pay for all these misfortunes! says Nicu, a prisoner sentenced to ten years in prison for embezzlement - with fierceness, grief, anger, sullenness, distress, nervousness, almost with hatred. He has an amputated leg and wants to be strong until he will be released from prison.
Who is Nicolae Ceausescu in this year 1987? He is a communist dictator, greedy for political power. In fact, he already has maximum political power: general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party, president of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Supreme Commander of the Army. There is, for him, the cult of personality. Some ones adore him and glorify him, like a god...
You can endure even 10 years in prison if the conditions are acceptable and you have the prospect of a good life after release, or you can endure a short time in the most miserable conditions. Unfortunately, the situation is completely unfavorable for those who have to expiate five, six, ten or eighteen years: miserable conditions and long periods of detention…
What is "the place for walk"? It is a place similar to a park with flowers, having a circular shape with a diameter of 12 meters, with high walls around (2 meters high). Inside there are paths for walking and many flowers. The prisoners in room 32 have the right to go to the "walking place" every day (and to stay here for about half an hour). These are the best moments of detention, here, in the "place for walk": we look at the sky and the sun, we see the flowers, we breathe fresh air, we move more freely than in room 32, the nervousness and aggression of some prisoners decreases a lot...almost you may hope for a better day tomorrow. A prisoner from the neighboring room (number 31) tells with passion and humor how he tried to reach the border by "swimming" through the snow. There were 5 boys and 4 girls, they went for about 4 hours through the snow, but they didn't manage to cross the border because the border soldier was very vigilant. "Next summer we will try again to cross the border illegally. Crossing the border leaves your head but enters your blood" he says with cheerfulness and optimism…
Mereuță Ștefan was the bravest of all those who tried to cross the border illegally. He calculated this amount of food for two weeks (time needed to reach Austria). He bought an important amount of dinars (money that circulated in Yugoslavia). He went to the old place for crossing the border - and without problems he reached Serbia. He did not stop in the town of Vrsec - where the Police were very frequent. Walking on foot he started towards Austria. He slept in the hay, in some abandoned house or in the forest, he walked on side paths and never on the main road, he stopped to fill his water bottle, and sometimes he dared to enter some stores to buy food. He was dressed in jeans and a sport shirt, he had a Serbian figure, he knew very well the geography of Yugoslavia, especially the larger rivers and the railways, he went for a while on the freight train and thus ended up near the border with Austria. There is a place with three neighbors: Slovenia, Austria and Hungary. He arrived at this place, but instead of entering Austria, he entered Hungary (where he was arrested by the Police...). Then he was "delivered" to Romanian authorities…
From the outside of the penitentiary comes inside the penitentiary an infectious disease which affects the stomach and the belly. The inmates in the penitentiary learned that there are hundreds of people hospitalized (because of this disease) and that you must take antibiotics for healing. The penitentiary does not give any antibiotics for healing, each inmate must survive without pills, with his own health resources.
Vladimir Grădinaru thinks of the prospect of the death, but tries to be optimistic:
- If I didn't die in the penitentiary in Oradea, I will not die right now! Here the living conditions are better than in Oradea!
I get to know the fact that there are almost murderous places of detention, for example, the one in Oradea, used especially for those who tried to cross the border to reach the West. I find out that it's good in Jilava, that nobody dies in Jilava, but you can die in Craiova, Oradea, Galați or Dej. I also learn that there are tyrannical and demented commanders of the jails, absurd and evil, a kind of merciless torturers, insensible to suffering and even to death. In their opinion: the prison must be a punishment, you must "feel" that you are in prison. Not any kind of relief, not the slightest comfort, not even the treatment of some diseases.
- You must expiate your punishment. Did you die? I don't care!...
We recover with difficult from the illness which hit us in the stomach and the belly. Dănuţ starts to eat. In his special situation (after two weeks without food) he is now too greedy. He gobbles small amounts of food received from other inmates, but in total he eats too much. The effect of this greed is a very bad crisis. He is overcome with torments. His body is shaken by the crisis, his face is pale, and his eyeballs turn upwards. Some ones make predictions: he will die, he will not die! No one thinks to call a doctor, or at least the medical assistant. It's as if we've lost every trace of humaneness and reason. Dănuţ will escape alive from this difficult ordeal.
Some recidivists from the room 32 begin to tell about dramatic situations in which some inmates refused food (they did not want to eat), then, later (after 10-15 days) they started eating and had terrible crises. When to eat and how much to eat?
I start making a knife from the tail of a spoon. Sometimes I read about America or beekeeping.
A chess competition (type cup) begins in the room. There are 32 chess players at the beginning, then, after the eliminatory matches: they remain16 players, then 8, then 4: that is, semi-finals. Serafim Ipate has a sheet of paper and a small pencil, about three centimeters long, tied with a string to his shirt collar. He will keep the records of the matches. The strongest are Vintilă, Sutto and Gologan. I will reach the semi-finals without the three aces, who were defeated in the previous matches. I play the semifinal game with Aurel Balica. He throws himself into the battle with impudence with the intention of succeeding to defeat me as soon as possible. I capture a tower from him, then I continue to play cautiously and keep the gained advantage. He is very dissatisfied and nervous, he tries to trick me, even to intimidate me, but he can't do anything for his victory. I win the game with Balica and reach the final with Cezărică. He is very surprised that I reached the final. He was believing that I am not able to play chess. I am ambitious to give a good reply to Cezărică. I am attentive and make all the effort which I am able in order to play well. I wait for the mistakes of the opponent which inevitably come. I have a moment of inspiration and move a horse which "catches" three heavy pieces: the king, the queen and a tower. Then I win without problems and become the champion of the room 32. This my moral ascendant is not unimportant: I am looked with some respect by the others, I get a bed "at the ground floor" where I will stay alone, someone gives me a cigarette as a gift, and Vladimir Grădinaru enthusiastically praises the category of delinquents who have wanted to emigrate illegally from Romania (in which I am included). The inmate Cornel skillfully manages to trick Adam and get almost half of the package recently received (by Adam) from his family . Many inmates hate Adam because he was an informer (for militia officers) in the arrest room in the city of Barlad (some ones believing that he is an informer here in the penitentiary, too). (Cornel obtained salami, canned fish and cigarettes). The same Cornel says:
- I now eat boiled beans - which are very tasty. There are many people in Romania who have not (as food) boiled beans. Nicolae Ceausescu ordered to be exported abroad: cereals, vegetables, fruits, pork, beef, poultry and dairy products. There are many people in Romania who have not now (as food) boiled beans...
The doctor of the penitentiary is a miss major lieutenant. She graduated from the Faculty of Military Medicine (5 years) in Bucharest. She belongs to the Ministry of National Defense, but "was given" to the Ministry of the Interior. Her presence here is somewhat unnatural. She looks like a fairy among ogres, a saint in a cave with devils, a ray of sunshine in a dark cellar, the woman who changes the world and gives hope to the condemned ones. She has several apparitions, entering the room to ask us about health and living conditions…
In the eastern part of the penitentiary is the building with rooms for women (ladies and young ladies). The same worries, the same problems, the same hopes, the same dissatisfaction as those of men exist among women...
Vladimir Grădinaru looks towards the women's building and at the same time thinks of his wife. "When I will go home..." - and makes plans for the future.
Mereuţă always talks about the decree for amnesty and conditional release.
- There are too many prisoners in the penitentiaries. They must issue a decree for amnesty and conditional release! he says.
One evening in October, I hear someone shouting in the corridor at the top of his lungs:
- They issued a decree! They issued a decree! They issued a decree!
He runs from one door to another, knocks loudly in the doors and shouts for all to hear:
- They issued a decree! They issued a decree! They issued a decree!
Epilogue
In legal terms there is the word "reprieve" which means a forgiveness of one part of a penal sentence accompanied by conditional release. The decrees issued in this sense by the president of Romania had the name: "decree of amnesty and reprieve".
On January 26, 1988, Nicolae Ceaușescu will be 70 years old (because he was born on January 26, 1918). On this occasion he will issue a huge decree (amnesty and reprieve), thus:
- prisoners with sentences of 10 years or less will be amnestied, that is, they will be released from prisons, and their legal (penal) sentences will be erased from all records.
So, they will go home as completely innocent citizens. In fact, amnesty means forgetfulness. So, the Romanian state, by the will of its leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, will "forget" the delinquencies committed by these prisoners;
- prisoners with sentences of more than 10 years in prison will benefit from "reprieve", better said: conditional release. Their sentences will be reduced by half. For example, if a prisoner has received (from the Court of Justice) a punishment of an 18-year in the prison, this will be reduced by half. He will appear in the legal (penal) record as a prisoner with a 9-year prison sentence (and not 18 years in prison).
After this huge decree the prisons in Romania remained almost empty. Generally, there were (after January 26, 1988) 15 to 20 inmates in each penitentiary.
However, most people in Romania were dissatisfied that Nicolae Ceaușescu issued this huge decree (to release many inmates).
.........................................................................................................................
On December 25, 1989, the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceaușescu will fall - thanks to a popular revolt that started in Timișoara and continued in this city, but also in Bucharest and other big cities (revolt often called revolution). The list below presents the number of participants in the Revolution of 1989 who died or were injured during the events. The revolution of 1989 had a total of 1,166 victims in the cities declared martyrs:
Alba Iulia, Arad, Brașov, Brăila, București, Buzău, Caransebeș, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Craiova, Cugir, Hunedoara, Lugoj, Reșița, Sibiu, Târgoviște, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara.
- between December 17 and 22 were recorded 271 deaths;
- between December 22 and 25 were recorded 715 deaths;
- after December 25 were recorded 113 deaths;
- without an exact date were recorded 67 deaths.
On this historic day, Nicolae Ceaușescu and Elena Ceaușescu will be executed (by shooting) by a firing squad (in a military unit near the city of Târgoviște).
The End
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