Radio România Internațional

Tag: children

  • Plans for child protection and higher birth rate

    Plans for child protection and higher birth rate

    A year ago, the Bucharest Government adopted the National Strategy for the Protection of Children’s Rights, and now the Parliament has passed the Law according to which 2025 will be the Year of the Child in Romania. The authorities say that they are preparing a series of measures to support children and to promote their rights, especially of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The law passed by Parliament at the beginning of this month provides for several lines of action, including the organization of events dedicated to the social, educational, cultural and civic development of children, as well as the allocation of specific funds to support these initiatives and the prioritization of investments in infrastructure aimed for children.

     

    Although there is specific national legislation, a clear strategy and an action plan called the European Child Guarantee in all EU member states, by adopting this law, the Romanian officials say, Romania is taking an additional step forward. The UN special representative for combating violence against children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, is of the same opinion. On a recent visit to Romania, he appreciated the significant progress made in the field of child protection and rights, as well as regarding combating violence against minors in the last two years. Moreover, he believes that this initiative is an example of good practice and that such a year dedicated to children in several countries could stimulate global investments in child protection. Romania has key achievements in child protection and well-being, with multiple strategies, plans and legislative reforms in this field, the UN official said. I believe that Romania is in an excellent position not only to continue to lead these efforts domestically, but also to become an example in child protection at international level, he also said. However, the UN representative emphasized that the country still faces numerous challenges in this field.

     

    On the other hand, at a round table held on Tuesday in Bucharest, the problem of increasing birth rate in Romania was also addressed. In this context, Government representatives say, infertility must be included on the public agenda and a national strategy is needed to help women and all couples who want to become parents, to support them through fiscal and economic measures, as well as through adequate access to all health services. According to official statistics, infertility affects, globally, one sixth of the adult population. In Europe, for example, it is estimated that around 25 million couples have infertility problems. According to the authorities, low birth rates and increased infertility have such effects that, unless measures are taken now, could lead to irreversible phenomena. That is why, the birth rate is and will continue to be a priority, the Government representatives say. In this context, the Minister of Family and Youth, Natalia Intotero, said that the in vitro fertilization program is functional and will be extended, as it responds to the alarming decrease in the birth rate and the financial problems faced by families in Romania.

     

  • August 24, 2024 UPDATE

    August 24, 2024 UPDATE

     

    CONVENTION Romania’s PM Marcel Ciolacu was reconfirmed as leader of the Social Democratic Party on Saturday, and officially nominated as the party’s candidate in the presidential election. In his address on this occasion, he presented the platform for which he hopes to win the president seat: a 10-year plan with 3 strategic directions: industry, agriculture and services. He argued that with its unity, the Social Democratic Party has managed to regain the confidence of Romanians, and that he offered Romanians “a president for all.” The party last won a presidential race in 2000. In their speeches, the Social Democrats teased their partners in the ruling coalition, the Liberals, and mocked the incumbent president, Klaus Iohannis. The first round of the election is scheduled on November 24, and the second on December 8th.

     

    UKRAINE The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Ukraine’s Independence Day. According to the Romanian presidency, Iohannis voiced his appreciation for the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces and civilians in defending their country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to provide constant, predictable and multidimensional support to Ukraine until its victory and further on in its reconstruction and European integration process. Iohannis emphasized that the security cooperation agreement signed by the 2 countries in July, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, proves that Romania’s support is not circumstantial, but long-standing, predictable and transparent.

     

    CROPS The European Union’s maize output will be smaller because of the drought and extreme heat in Romania, whose crops will be 30% lower. Estimates for the EU’s maize output were cut from 63 million tonnes, as reported last year, to 60-61 million tonnes, which is still above the level in 2022, when the drought affected the entire continent. Romania’s output is expected to drop from around 11 million tonnes last year to less than 8 million this autumn. In France, favourable humidity levels kept maize crops in a generally good condition, and the increase of the areas under crops should ensure higher output, namely over 14 million tonnes. In Poland, smaller areas under maize crops may lead to a 13% drop in output, while in Germany the crops are estimated to be 2% lower.

     

    PENSIONS The National Liberal Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition in Romania, proposes new amendments to the Pensions Law, so as to address the situation of pensioners whose benefits have been cut down in the latest revision. The Liberal leader and Senate speaker Nicolae Ciucă said the law should not have retrospective effect, and confirmed that the pensioners whose benefits have been cut down on paper will not benefit from cost-of-living adjustments for several years, although they will not be paid smaller amounts. According to official data, over 700,000 pensioners have received decisions by which their benefits have been cut down. These include workers in hazardous conditions, such as coal miners, engine drivers and nuclear industry personnel, who were able to stop working before the standard retirement age. Also at a disadvantage are people with disabilities, where the revised benefits are smaller by as much as 60%, for instance for the visually impaired. Hundreds of people are already asking for explanations from the authorities. They have until September 1 to appeal the decisions, and may even take the matter to court.

     

    MUSEUM The Bucharest Children’s Museum has reopened and is waiting for visitors with new guided interactive tours. The most recent of them shows kids the secrets of physics and chemistry. Entitled “The School of Magic – Wizard’s Castle,” it helps children understand physical and chemical reactions in a setting that reminds them of the Harry Potter universe. Apart from the School of Magic, children can enjoy 3 other tours – one devoted to the great ocean explorers, one to the human brain and one to classical fairytales.

     

    TENNIS Monica Niculescu (Romania) / Hanyu Guo (China) have qualified into the doubles finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico. They defeated Tereza Mihalikova (Slovakia) / Olivia Nicholls (UK) 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 10-4. Niculescu and Guo won the match in 2 hours and 10 minutes and received USD 28,720 and WTA 325 points. In the final on August 25, Niculescu and Guo take on top seeded Giuliana Olmos of Mexico and Alexandra Panova of Russia. (AMP)

  • July 28, 2024 UPDATE

    July 28, 2024 UPDATE

     

    CHECKS – Romanian border police officers have carried out, since the operationalization of the eDAC application until now, more than 557,000 checks to establish the legal status of persons and to prevent and combat possible illegal acts, the app being used including by the mobile teams in the field. The most recent case was reported two days ago, when, following checks conducted in the departure area of the Henri Coandă International Airport found a man who could not present his documents, declining his identity verbally and presenting a photo from his mobile phone, of a Pakistani passport. Following the checks carried out, it was established that the man was in Romania illegally.

     

    CHILDREN – The total number of children in Romania who had both parents working abroad was, at the end of March 2024, 9,039, some 719 less compared to the the previous year, according to data supplied by the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption (ANPDCA). Also, the number of children with parents working abroad dropped to 61,007 at the end of March, from 64,936 on December 31, 2023.

     

    FUEL – The average price of a liter of gasoline in Romania increased by 5.1% compared to last month, and the average price of a liter of diesel increased by 4.7%. In Bucharest, a liter of standard gasoline is sold at prices between 7.35 lei and 7.49 lei, and a liter of standard diesel is between 7.44 lei and 7.57 lei (1 euro is the equivalent of around 5 lei). Romania is currently in third place in the European Union among the countries with the cheapest gasoline, after Bulgaria and Malta, and in fourth place in terms of the lowest diesel price, after Bulgaria, Lithuania and Malta.

     

    RACE – Romanian pilot Simone Tempestini is in second place, out of over 100 crews, in the Rally di Roma Capitale, the fifth stage of the European Rally Championship (FIA ERC). Romania’s national rally champion eight times, Tempestini won stages 5 and 6, the latter being the longest of Saturday. Born in Italy to Italian parents, Tempestini has been living in Romania since he was 14 and became a Romanian citizen in 2016, the year he was also world junior champion. (EE)

     

  • May 17, 2024

    May 17, 2024

     

    ECONOMY Confidex, the index that measures Romanian managers’ confidence in the local economy, has reached its highest level in 4 years-52.5, according to the latest relevant poll. Companies in the services sector are the most optimistic, followed by IT, constructions and retail firms. At the opposite pole are businesses in agriculture, energy and industry.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania’s Foreign Ministry and the Permanent Electoral Authority have put together the Guidelines for Romanian voters in polling stations abroad for the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 9, 2024. The document answers the most frequent questions concerning the organisation of the ballot: who can vote, the identity documents required for voting, the opening hours of polling stations, the voting procedure and the operation of the IT system monitoring voter turnout and preventing illegal voting. Citizens can find the guidelines on the ministry’s website. The foreign ministry, via Romania’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, organises 915 polling stations for Romania’s members in the European Parliament, over double the number of stations opened for the European elections in 2019. Romanian nationals who live or travel abroad temporarily will be able to cast their ballots in any polling station abroad, using Romanian IDs valid on the day of the vote.

     

    HUMAN TRAFFICKING The government of Romania has put together a national strategy against trafficking in human beings, under which the authorities intend for Romania to have a national system to counter human trafficking operational by the end of 2028. The strategy rests on 4 core pillars: prevention, punishment, protection and partnership, and the novelty is an integrated governmental mechanism to earmark funding for victim protection and assistance. According to the National Agency against Human Trafficking (ANTIP), since 2005 as many as 19,000 human trafficking victims have been reported in Romania, and 4,000 traffickers have been convicted.

     

    STUDENTS A government resolution sets out the overall enrolment figures for public undergraduate and higher education units in Romania in the 2024 – 2025 academic year. The document sets the number of students to be enrolled in preschools, primary, secondary and high schools in the country, including for Romanian nationals living abroad, and for foreign citizens under bilateral agreements and unilateral commitments. Romanians living abroad will benefit from 1,900 places in undergraduate education units and 7,065 places in public universities, with a total of 800 monthly grants. For foreign citizens, 1,800 places have been earmarked in undergraduate education units and 4,430 in higher education institutions, with a total 1,710 monthly grants. Enrolment plans also include special places for minors who have applied for or received protection in Romania, and for stateless minors officially recognised as residing in Romania, the government explained.

     

    CHILDREN The Romanian health minister Alexandru Rafila said on Friday in Iaşi (north-eastern Romania), that preparations are under way for receiving Palestinian children to be treated in Romanian healthcare units after being wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza. Alexandru Rafila, who did not disclose the number of beneficiary kids, stated that they will be brought to Romania under the EU Protection Mechanism. He also said the exact date of arrival cannot be made public at the moment, but that the children will reach Romania “in the very, very near future.”

     

    INVESTMENTS The government approved a number of road and railway infrastructure investment projects. Over EUR 2.2 bln will be spent on revamping the approx. 150 km Focşani – Roman railway route in the east of the country in the next 3 years, a spokesman for the Cabinet announced. According to him, a rough EUR 200 mln has been earmarked for the revamping of a 42-km long segment of the A1 Bucharest-Piteşti motorway in the next 48 months.

     

    NATO The Romanian Defence Chief of Staff, gen. Gheorghiţă Vlad, took part on Thursday in Brussels in a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session. Topics of strategic relevance were discussed, including the implementation of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, the state of play in Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and NATO’s continued support for Ukraine. Gen. Gheorghiţă Vlad emphasised “the need to develop national and regional mobility corridors to ensure smooth and quick transit of troops and materials at the times and to the places requested by the Alliance.” (AMP)

  • Radio drama for children

    Radio drama for children

    A priority mission of the Radio was to educate and bring culture to everyone. Children are a generous audience and shows for them have always been the focus of the management and journalists. Radio drama has enjoyed a real success, being supported by the efforts of those who wrote scripts or adapted classic texts, of actors and directors and of the technical teams. All of them wrote the history of the radio drama for children, they left those memories that future adults have. In Radio Romania’s audio library one can find reference works from the history of radio drama for children, created by important authors.

     

    The writer Silvia Kerim was also a radio journalist and devotedly worked on dramatizations for children. She started her job in 1961 and joined a department with quality people who were trying to escape the political ideology of the time. In 1998, Radio Romania’s Oral History Center interviewed Silvia Kerim and found out how the journalists with the children’s radio drama department were able to maintain the quality of their product: “I was assigned to work in a very pleasant place for me, it was called Theater for Children on the Microphone. I was lucky because most of the plays that made up the children’s radio drama repertoire were stories. They were derived from classical literature, so the ideological lie did not really fit in there. The actors were big names of Romanian theater, the directors were also very good so that compromise and lies didn’t really fit.”

     

    As in any place, people are the ones who make things work and Silvia Kerim had open-minded colleagues: “In the Theater for Children on the Microphone department, I had Eduard Jurist as my boss, from him I learned what it means to be a modest boss, not to boss people around, and to pay equal attention to younger and older editors alike. In that department I had colleagues such as Vasile Mănuceanu, a gifted writer called Călin Gruia, Mioara Paler who, at one time, was the head of the children’s shows section and to whom I owe the joy of writing for children. They had an intuition of my love for children, they felt my desire to write for children.”

     

    Silvia Kerim wrote scripts for children’s radio dramas and remembered how important the childhood stories told by her parents were for her: “I was given the task of processing some stories that were poorly translated from Chinese or Japanese literature. I worked on such stories and short stories that had a meaning of their own. Retelling them, I realized that I put a lot of my imagination in them, and that, at a certain moment, I could write the stories that were running through my head and which, in turn, had a magical root. My mother used to tell my brother and I stories every night when we were very small, night after night. In general, the first part was “Snow White”, I think that for an entire year I listened to “Snow White”, either in episodes or shortened. And if my mother somehow messed up on a detail, we would both hurry to contradict her and remind her that, in fact, it was not character x that had done and said this or that. The second story was, in general, about animals that my mother loved very much, as did my father for that matter. Both parents passed on to us this love for animals.”

     

    During the years when Silvia Kerim was giving life to children’s stories on the airwaves, the communist regime was forcefully indoctrinating the audience. But the journalist chose to oppose the ideological rudeness in a subtle way: “I definitely want to say that such an attempt, in the case of my texts, was quite difficult. I never wrote the word “pioneer”, the words “party”, “pioneer”, “hawk” never appeared in my scripts. My scenarios and stories are sad stories with poor people, with grandparents dying, with the most expensive pie being apple pie or with the most pleasant dessert being toast with plum jam. I have always thought that there are many more unhappy and orphaned children than rich and spoiled children. And that these stories should reach them. At a time when we had to write only about happy children, who, in the name of the party, were growing up healthy and without worries, when they had to deal with writings in which the reality appeared quite sad and hopeless, it was not too easy for a text to pass censorship.”

     

    Radio drama for children was a miracle through which radio reached innocent minds. And the people who made it possible passed on what they had received. (LS)

  • April 18, 2024 UPDATE

    April 18, 2024 UPDATE

    REPATRIATION A group made up of 20 children and two teachers who were blocked by the latest heavy rainfalls in Dubai are to be repatriated on Friday on board of the plane, which also carried Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to the region. We recall that a Romanian delegation headed by Ciolacu is presently visiting the region. Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, says that the Romanian Foreign Ministry is making efforts to repatriate all the Romanians affected by the storms and flooding affecting the Emirates. According to her, a group of compatriots have already been brought to Romania, whereas a second one is still in Dubai but is keeping in touch both with the ministry’s representatives and with the air carrier. Referring to the situation of the group of children, members of a traditional music ensemble, the head of the Romanian diplomacy says they have been brought to Adbu Dhabi with support from Romania’s General Consulate and will leave for Bucharest tomorrow.

     

    SCHENGEN The European Commissioner for Home Affairs Yilva Johansson has voiced hope that a certain date will be set this year for Romania and Bulgaria’s fully-fledged accession to the Schengen zone as proposed by the European Commission. While in Bulgarian capital Sofia, the EU official held talks with both the Bulgarian Interior Minister, Kalin Stoyanov, and the Romanian one, Catalin Predoiu. In late March, Romania and Bulgaria joined Europe’s border-free area only with their air and maritime borders. Controls are still being carried out at the land borders.

     

    ABU DHABI The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is paying a working visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and Friday. An important objective of this visit is the consolidation of the economic component, with an emphasis on attracting Emirati investments. The Prime Minister is to meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, with other senior Emirati officials, with representatives of relevant companies in the United Arab Emirates, as well as with members of the Romanian community there. The agenda of the visit also includes a plenary meeting of the delegations, during which there will be an exchange of bilateral documents in areas of common interest. The PM Ciolacu stated that he wanted to strengthen cooperation relations with the United Arab Emirates, from a political and economic perspective. ‘Romania continues to attract Emirati investors in the air infrastructure, the modernization and expansion of Otopeni Airport being a viable project of our collaboration’, said Marcel Ciolacu. He added that projects in the fields of digitization, energy and agriculture also correspond to Romania’s interests. In the first part of his tour in the Persian Gulf area, Marcel Ciolacu had discussions, on Wednesday, in Qatar, on economic topics. He stated that he wanted Romania to become the entry gate of this state’s investments in the European Union.

     

     

    SUMMIT President Klaus Iohannis said that he wanted to solve as quickly as possible the problems that the Romanian citizens still have at the airports of some European countries, despite the fact that Romania entered Schengen with air borders. The statement was made before the European summit in Brussels, where a report requested by the Council mentions the need for the total integration of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area, as a measure that will boost the single market. The Council’s agenda includes the situation in Ukraine, a country that needs more military aid and is facing problems in the energy infrastructure, following the Russian bombings. The European leaders will also discuss the tense situation in the Middle East, generated by the crisis in Gaza and the tensions between Israel and Iran.

    (bill)

     

  • New rules on energy drinks

    New rules on energy drinks

    A draft law that bans selling energy drinks to minors, in order to prevent and fight the effects of such products on people’s health, was endorsed on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies with 238 votes in favour, one vote against and 12 abstentions.

     

    This initiative was delayed in the Senate for longer than we had intended, said the Social Democrat Alfred Simonis, the interim Chamber Speaker and the author of the bill, according to whom “at the moment we have serious indications, research and discussions that we had with parent associations, teachers, NGOs concerned with this topic, which tell us that there are a lot of energy drinks that are used by children ‘by the gallon’, in and out of school, which is not beneficial to their health.”

     

    Alfred Simonis: “It hasn’t been easy for us to win this battle against a highly profitable and very rich industry. And I promise that next week we will also endorse a bill banning the sale of electronic cigarettes to children, and I can assure you that in the forthcoming period, as soon as possible, we will also ban slot machines, in big cities, in towns and in the countryside.”

     

    The new legislation prohibits the sale of energy drinks containing various combinations of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals with at least two stimulant compounds such as caffeine, taurine, carnitine, guarana and others within the premises of education institutions, healthcare units or of care centres for underprivileged people.

     

    Using such products has even lead to deaths among underage people, MP Diana Stoica (Save Romania Union) emphasised:

     

    Diana Stoica: “The National Public Health Institute has presented us with extensive research. Adverse effects include sleep disorders, anxiety, increased blood pressure, facilitation of diabetes and even sudden death.”

     

    The short and long-term effects of energy drinks are extremely harmful for what we call harmonic development and functional development, prof. Mihaela Bălgrădean, Ph.D., with the “Marie Curie” Emergency Children’s Hospital, told Radio Romania:

     

    Mihaela Bălgrădean: “The body responds immediately to the ingestion of a substance, it forms or develops a type of metabolism that will later on impede the normal development of the body. These energy drinks that we are discussing today only damage the normal operation of the body.”

     

    The bill introduces fines of up to EUR 6,000 for the businesses that violate the provisions, with repeat offenders set to have their operations temporarily suspended. (AMP)

  • Children in the tumult of history

    Children in the tumult of history

    Tyrannical political regimes, wars, genocides, displacements, pandemics, natural disasters have been the greatest trials that history has subjected individuals to, and with them, the society. The history of the 20th century is a champion in abusing the individual in all ways. In the confrontation with the ravages of time, children, the most sensitive and helpless beings, suffered the most. Romania’s history is no exception to the rule, as, in the 20th century, it recorded all the mentioned types of brutality. Innocent children in Romania, like all the children all over the world, paid too high a price for the tyrannical history.



    The Oral History Center of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation has recorded disturbing testimonies of children’s suffering in times of austerity. During the Second World War, in Northern Transylvania occupied by Hungary, the Jewish population was sent to concentration camps.



    Grigore Balea, a Greek-Catholic priest, in 1997 remembered how he witnessed terrible scenes when Jews were put on trains. His mother tried to offer a bucket of water to a Jewish family of 9 children awaiting deportation: One of the Hungarian soldiers who were guarding the Jews punched my mother in the back of the head. I will never forget my mother’s pain when she saw a population taken without any fault. Neither I nor my mother were present in Vişeu, but I found out that they were separated there. They put the little children on one side, on the platform, and the mothers on the other aside, and that’s where the tragedy started! The children were crying on the platform and screaming, the mothers on the other side were also crying.



    Ileana Covaci was from Moisei, the place where the Hungarian army massacred several dozen innocent ethnic Romanians in October 1944. She recalled being deported to Austria by the Hungarian authorities, following a criminal investigation which she had nothing to do with: The Hungarian gendarmes came at night and took us out of the bed. We were minors, me and my younger sister, and they took us against our will to the Council and locked us up until morning! And I cried. They did not tell us why they did that. My father and mother also cried, they said that the girls were taken to work, that they don’t steal. After they released us, they told us that they would take us to Austria for three months.



    Ana Darie from Săliștea de Sus, Maramureș, told how her daughters suffered because their father was an opponent of the communist regime, instated on March 6, 1945: They threw the girls out of school, only one of them could study. The girl kicked out of school befriended a Romanian teacher from Baia Mare, and she taught her outside the school system until she finished secondary school. And I had quite a lot of difficulties. When she went to high school, those from the Peoples Council threatened her, told her that if her father was a political prisoner, she could not study. But the school principal helped us, and the girl could study until she finished high school.



    Imprisoned for 13 years in the communist prison in Aiud, Sima Dimcică had left three minor children at home. Upon returning, the reunion was mutually awkward: I arrived home where I had left three small children: one was only 6 months old, the middle one was 3 years old and the oldest was 5 and a half, almost 6 years old. When I was released and went home, the older one was 19-20, the middle one was 16 years, the youngest 13-14 years. I was ashamed, I was ashamed of them, they were ashamed of me. Where’s mom? I ask them. In Aiud! Yesterday, the police chief from the village came with a telegram and told mom to urgently report to the Aiud penitentiary. At nightfall we went to bed. I couldnt sleep a wink. All night I was thinking what to do? When I arrived home in Sinoe, my wife arrived in Aiud. For what reason I don’t know even now. They did that on purpose, to make us worry, they sent us on a fools errand.



    Ion Preda helped a group of anti-communist partisans led by Toma Arnăuțoiu. Imprisoned and harassed for the rest of his life by the political police of the communist regime, in 2000 he assessed the consequences of his own decisions: I’m sorry that the children suffered because of me for years. The younger girl was taken to the orphanage, she stayed there for several years. When I came home they sent her back home, she continued high school and later married an aviator. I’m sorry that I lost the years of my youth, the most beautiful years of anyone’s life. But, on the other hand, Im proud of my creed for the country as it was: free, honest, democratic, not a dictatorship, with its citizens enslaved. (LS)

  • Working abroad and its effects on children

    Working abroad and its effects on children


    For over 20 years now, since labour migration started to spread among Romanians, one of its most dramatic consequences has become apparent with the children left behind in their home country, in the care of the grandparents or other relatives. While many of the parents take their kids with them when leaving the country for various jobs in the EU, there are also lots of cases of families torn apart when one of their members takes a job abroad.



    Save the Children Organisation has long warned about this situation, and a recent survey provides updated information on the scope of this phenomenon. Based on data collected in July-September 2022, the survey indicates that nearly one-quarter of the children up to 17 have had a parent working abroad. Of these, in 61.5% of the cases only the father had been or was still away for work, and in 20.4% only the mother, but 18.1% of these kids were left at home in Romania while both their parents were working abroad.At present, over 500,000 children are in this situation, most of them at very young ages. On average, mothers leave after the children turn 6, while fathers usually leave for work when the kids are much younger. As for deciding to leave, the survey indicates that children are consulted even though they are still very young. Anca Stamin, of Save the Children Organisation, has more details:



    Anca Stamin: “83% of the adults we interviewed said the kid had been involved in the decision. The children themselves, however, say they were involved in a much smaller proportion, 63%, and we tend to believe the children. Moreover, almost one-third of the kids who have been asked, that is 31%, say that when asked, they did not agree with their parents leaving. I would also like to emphasise that, unfortunately, the survey revealed what I was saying earlier, namely that most kids in this situation are not covered in the records of social assistance services. Basically, only 39% of the childrens families say the social assistance service is aware of the kids status. Meanwhile, schools have been informed in 57% of the cases. So what we do know is that neither schools, nor social services have complete information in this respect, and that parents or families are rather reluctant to declare that the parents are away for work.”



    The fact that parents fail to notify the authorities with respect to the children left at home makes is difficult for the authorities or NGOs to step in in case of problems. And the survey run by Save the Children highlights the additional risks facing the children left behind by their parents who work abroad.



    Anca Stamin: “Data reveal a major difference between children from families with migrants and children in families without migrant workers, in terms of risk behaviours. Among the former, there is a 38% chance of exposure to explicit sex and porn online, and a twice as high risk of becoming aggressive with other children and of drinking alcohol. Similarly, they are vulnerable to smoking and substance abuse. All these take place in the context of no parental control, easy access to devices, lack of communication with the parents or caretakers, and, on the other hand, in the absence of good health education. These negative behaviours are also a form of expressing the negative emotions that children feel after their parents have left the country. We have been working with children in this situation, and many of them feel abandoned or even guilty for their parents leaving. Even when parents mean well, it is a mistake to tell children they are leaving for the kids sake, because they place an additional burden on the child.”



    Communication is key in preserving family ties, and todays digital revolution makes it a lot easier. Most parents, for instance, keep in touch with their kids via video online platforms, and only 19% of them only speak over the phone. Also, 45% of them talk to their kids every day, and 15% of the parents speak several times a day with their kids. But unfortunately, there are also cases where communication is less frequent: 33% of the parents only talk to their children every 2-3 days, and 7% of them once a week. Even worse, 20% of the teenagers who have a parent away for work only speak with them once a week or less. Andreea Penescu is 12, and her father left for work to Switzerland when she was 2. This is how the sixth-grader communicates with her father:



    Andreea Penescu:”Over the phone, via text messages. When he has a holiday or there is an occasion, he comes home, although we rarely see each other. Most often we talk on the phone or via messages. Its not a very close relationship, but I wouldnt say its a cold one either. I mean, we stay in touch. Its okay, but I am a lot closer to my mum.”



    Andreea also says she never visited her father in Switzerland, and this summer is the first time she has an opportunity to spend 2 weeks with him there. As for why her father left, the girl says it was in order to improve the family financial situation. But although things are better now in this respect and she would have rather her family stayed together, Andreea is not considering moving to Switzerland:



    Andreea Penescu:”Its not that we couldnt. But I dont want to, and I think mum doesnt want to, either, because we have our lives built here in Romania, step by step and day by day. I have my friends and my school here, my mother has friends and co-workers, and I know it would be quite hard to start all over again, with a new language, a new life, a new lifestyle.”



    Although Andreea seems at peace with the current situation and although she does well in school, the Save the Children survey shows that a parents migration leads to a 62% chance that the kids performance in the first few years of school will be rather poor. (AMP)


  • Increased penalties for drug trafficking

    Increased penalties for drug trafficking

    The Romanian legislators have tightened the penalties for drug trafficking. According to a draft law adopted on Wednesday by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, cultivating, producing, manufacturing, offering, selling, distributing, transporting, procuring, buying, possessing or other operations regarding the circulation of dangerous drugs, without having the right to, are punished with imprisonment from 3 to 10 years and the prohibition of certain rights. If the respective acts involve high-risk drugs, the penalty is 5 to 15 years in prison, and if the victim dies, the penalty would be 15 to 25 years in prison.



    Also, introducing or taking out of the country, as well as importing or exporting dangerous drugs, are acts punished by imprisonment from 5 to 15 years and the prohibition of certain rights. The law mentions that the goods and means used in the illicit manufacturing of drugs can be used for educational purposes, by making them available to training units of the law enforcement staff or by using them in campaigns for raising awareness of the risks associated with drug use.



    The draft law also provides that the act of the person who intentionally carries out illegal operations with products likely to have psychoactive effects, claiming that they are authorized according to the law, or whose sale is permitted by law, is a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, if the act does not represent a more serious crime. At the same time, the advertising of any products, credibly claiming that through consumption they produce psychoactive effects, represents a crime and is punishable by one to 5 years in prison.



    The draft law was also adopted by the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case. It had been re-examined at the request of President Klaus Iohannis, who had requested a clearer regulation regarding the substances newly mentioned in the law, such as ethnobotanical substances.



    The state has the greatest responsibility in combating drug trafficking, believes Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR deputy Szabó Ödön: Indeed, children are among the victims, and we should have centers for the recovery of these children and provide support for families. The competent state institutions must fight this crime throughout Romania .



    The age at which young people in Romania are tempted to use drugs is decreasing, and this is one of the major concerns of specialists in the field. According to them, the consumption of narcotic substances at young ages is influenced by their entourage and curiosity. They propose, among other things, adapting the institutional response to the new trends of the drug consumption phenomenon and co-opting the civil society in the specific activities. (LS)

  • A fresh turn for children’s literature published in Romania

    A fresh turn for children’s literature published in Romania


    The Fairy-Tale Association of Writers for children and teenagers is a professional association. It was established in 2018 and it seeks to promote contemporary Romanian literature for children. The Association also supports creators and facilitates the access of children coming from underprivileged families to books and tales. Due to the numerous ongoing projects, thousands of children and youngsters had the chance to meet their favorite writers and their works, in libraries, schools, museums, community centers or bookfairs and festivals. Each year, the Fairly Tale writers travel to villages and underprivileged communities, in a bid to meet children there, staging creative workshops and making book donations as part of the Fairy Tale Caravans. The LittleLit Festival the Association has organized connects literature for children written in Romania to the international one, while the educational resources the Fairy Tale writers create support pupils, teachers and librarians. This year, the Fairy-Tale Association has held a series of educational workshops which promoted friendship, inclusion, diversity and tolerance. The workshops have been tailored for children aged 6 to 20, living in several rural localities across Romania. The workshops are part of the project Play Your Book! which kicked off with a book-raising campaign. We sat down and spoke to one of the founders of Fairy Tale Association, writer Victoria Pătrașcu, about the role of the Association and about the workshops held this year.



    Victoria Patrascu:



    “Fairy-Tale, the Association of writers for childrens and teenager books is an association which, ever since it has come into being, in 2018, has sought to support creators of literature for children in Romania and, especially, to facilitate the access of children, and mainly those living in underprivileged areas, to contemporary literature for children. We shall not refrain from admitting that quite a few of the communal libraries have an outdated or a limited amount of book supply, and the children living there do not get round to reading contemporary stories, that is why they do not find themselves in the literature they read. Obviously, they also do not have the chance to meet writers of contemporary literature. On a number of occasions we found out those children had been literally taken aback by the fact that we, the writers, were alive and kicking, we were living human beings, we were writers of our time. Every time we went there, our encounters with those children are extraordinary, and in the long run they are impressed with the tales we tell, thereby discovering how exactly they can tackle literature. Our project, Play your Book!, one of the most recent ones, starting off from the tales, seeks to enable us to play and learn at the same time. I held workshops in two localities in Dambovita County, in Conțești and Titu. The meeting we had in Conțești was extraordinary. There is also a community of traditional Rroma population and I interacted with a great many Rroma children who came to the library for the first time, and on that occasion they discovered that fabulous world of books, of stories or drawings, many even got an access pass for the library, and we were brimming with joy because of that. Allow me to also mention the fact that we were not alone in our undertaking, we had two extraordinary partners, namely EduCab, the Communal Libraries Network and the Arthur Publishers, the one who helped us take new books to those places and reshuffle the already outdated book supply we found there.”



    “Play your Book !” continued with the work on a pedagogical kit, prepared by the women members of the Fairy Tales Association. It is an important project, meant to offer educators and librarians alternative methods to explore the stories which as part of childrens literature. Through this pedagogical kit that will be given out to a great many librarians, teachers, primary school teachers and cultural educators, the project caters for the dissemination of the European values and encourages critical thinking in as many communities as possible across the country.



    One of the women writers, founders of the Fairy Tale Association, Victoria Pătrașcu, is a writer of books and plays for children. Victoria Patrascu had her debut with The Day Sleep Ran Away, brought out by the Nemi Publishers in 2008 and the Book for Children Publishers, 2017, the book that enjoyed a real success, being subsequently turned into a stage play, featuring the Momolino troupe, or into a radio drama, as a Radio Romania production. In 2012, Victoria Patrascu published an anthology titled The Dwarf Oak Tree, the Best Father that Can Be, brought out by the Childrens Book Publishers. The book was a finalist as part of the Ready for Press Gala. In 2013, The Oak Tree, the Best Father that Can Be was turned into a radio play and broadcast by Radio Romanias National Radio Drama Desk. In 2017, the volume was awarded the Excellence Prize for Childrens Literature, awarded by the Itsy Bitsy Radio Channel. Other books for children followed. Aaaaa Love Story and the Little Notes Chance, brought out by Cartier Publishers, TiriBomBamBura, Five Rolling Stories, brought out by the Guthenberg Books Publishers, Letters from Lapona, Zuralo and the Charmed Little Wheel, Zuralis Song, Gaston Tomberon, the hero of Acheron, The Untamed Women, A Recipe for Courage, Ariadnas Amazing Journeys. Victoria Patrascu is also the author of The Little Pretzels Adventures, brought out by the Univers Publishers and The Dragon Number 32.



    With details on her writers undertaking, here is Victoria Pătrașcu herself.



    “I have been trying hard that, apart from the activities I am involved in, with the Fairy Tale Association, I should find time for myself to write. The most recent story I wrote is The Dragon number 32, it saw a rather belated launch as part of this years edition of the Bookfest Bookfair in Bucharest and I was very happy when, yet again, I had a face-to-face meeting with the children. It is the story of a streetcar, rolling from the city center to the outskirts and somehow connecting the two worlds. It is a streetcar where little girl equally discovered the real and the fantastic Bucharest, since many times, children, when they look out the window, can see more things that we, the adults, can see. It is a story inspired by my daughter and by the rides I took to her school, by the people I met for many years, in streetcar 32. From that streetcar, connecting Rahova to the city center, I saw so many derelict yet still beautiful buildings, blocks of flats looking like bedrooms or giants, for the little girls in the story. It is a very touching story, also speaking about the homeless people who sometimes live in the belly of Dragon number 32, a story that can open many debates with the readers, a book that was sensationally illustrated by Mihaela Paraschivu.”(EN)






  • Femininity and Childhood in Modern Times

    Femininity and Childhood in Modern Times

    Romanians
    gave up the Oriental style and fashion and quickly adopted Western fashions
    radically changing their dressing style and the interior decorations of their
    homes.




    Women
    quickly embraced the Western trends and proved to be the main promoters of
    these changes in the Romanian society. Furthermore, the change in mentalities
    allowed women to get more involved in social activities destined for children
    and not only. So, in the first half of the 19th century children
    benefitted from improved education and standard of living in comparison to the
    previous generations. Well-off families in the aforementioned principalities started
    hiring German, English or French tutors for their children, which replaced the
    previous Greek private teachers they used to have. Bourgeois families in these
    two regions inhabited by Romanians had their own approach in the education of
    their offspring. Here is now at the microphone Nicoleta Roman, researcher with
    the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History:

    There was the emerging bourgeoisie, made up mainly of traders trying
    to imitate the aristocrats in these regions. And in this case, these children’s
    childhood was somehow protected by the involvement of their parents who
    invested in their education in order to improve their status and the status of
    their families. And it was that investment that made the difference between the
    children coming from the rich families and aristocracy and the rest.





    The issue of childhood
    in the rural areas in the first half of the 19th century is still
    under the scrutiny of the historians. However, what is known for certain is
    that the struggle for survival in that area didn’t prove beneficial to the
    process of transformations of Wallachia and Moldavia in early 19th
    century. Changes in people’s outlook on childhood and the status of women were
    quite sluggish in the rural world and the young boyars who were the engine of these
    changes had their own outlook on education, mainly supervised by their mothers,
    who thus become the promoters of new ideas in this area. Here is again at the
    microphone Nicoleta Roman:






    We should not forget to mention the
    young generation of revolutionaries of 1848 or their associates who had made it
    to major positions in state structures. They had different approaches in terms
    of education and a series of state-funded social policies regarding education
    or social assistance started to emerge. The growing interest in children
    education shed a new light on childhood as compared to the previous years,
    making children more visible in society. There was also that feeling of
    national identity and the C.A. Rosetti – Mary Grant couple was a case in point.
    That was a cosmopolitan couple who loved their children very much and tried to
    instill this feeling of national identity in them, including through the names
    they had given to them. Their first daughter was named Liberty and we’ve learnt
    that the aforementioned feeling was also shared by their friends, the Golescu
    and Bratianu families. So, the elite changed and so did its approach to children
    education. The spirit of the 18th century had been replaced by one
    focusing on how those children could represent the nation better and how they
    could assume the values of a certain nation.




    Journalist, writer, political leader
    and revolutionary Constantin Alexandru Rosetti aka C.A.Rosetti in 1847 married Mary
    Grant, a Scotswoman who was working as a governess. The couple was to become an
    example not only for their cosmopolitan style but also for the fact they tried
    to fairly share the household tasks and chores. They had a joint contribution
    to their children’s education and worked together over their publications. Mary
    Grant rapidly adopted the ideals of modernizing the Romanian space at that
    time. And as Nicoleta Roman pointed out she wasn’t the only woman changing her
    status in those years.


    There was in early 19th century a tendency of
    professionalizing some aspects in a woman’s life. The woman could become a
    midwife, a teacher or a babysitter. These were paid activities and started
    being integrated in the state system. So women started taking off from the
    private field and finding their own way in life without giving up families or
    households. They started gaining public recognition. At the same time, women
    from the upper classes got involved in the process of founding charity
    associations and charity actions. Some of them got involved in the process of
    editing various publications. The 19th century saw a significant
    improvement in terms of women’s involvement in society than the previous one.     (bill)

  • Events on the International Children’s Day

    Events on the International Children’s Day


    The
    International Children’s Day is celebrated on the first day of the summer
    season, in Romania, but also in many other countries around the world. It is a
    perfect opportunity to celebrate childhood, one of the most precious periods of
    time in everybody’s life. According to the French-speaking, Romanian-born playwright
    Eugene Ionesco, childhood is a world of miracles and wonder, of the creation
    bathed in light, emerging out of the darkness, indescribably new and fresh, and
    amazing. On June the 1st, all over the country, events dedicated to the International
    Children’s Day were staged. The little ones were invited to take part in contests,
    workshops, open-air performances and parties. Children enjoyed their celebration
    time at the Radio Concert Hall as well; Radio Romania’s Children Choir gave a
    concert, but before that, a comics workshop was held, which captivated the
    participants. Children in schools across Bucharest were challenged to take part in the
    creation of comics, starting off from the ideas suggested by the
    coordinator of the Radio Tiddlekins collection, Alexandru Ciubotariu. In the graphic artists’ community, the
    collection is known as Ciubi or the Square-shaped Cat. Also, the Parliament Palace opened its gates to children. They were welcomed by the speakers of the
    Two Parliament Chambers, entered politicians’ offices, the meeting rooms and
    were given details on the activity of Romania’s lawmakers.

    The Romanian Senate
    took the opportunity to launch the Senat junior.ro online platform,
    where information is made accessible to children as to how the Parliament works and what the laws are. The
    Senate Garden was especially decorated for the little ones. They had balloons,
    cakes and gifts, but they also visited the stands created by the numerous
    embassies and institutions. As they visited the Government building, Romanian
    children as well as the refugee Ukrainian children took part in a drawing and painting
    contest, whose theme was peace, friendship and love. At the end of the contest,
    children were awarded symbolical prizes by the organizers, they were given
    books and candies. Also in Bucharest, the BookFest International Book Salon
    took off on the very day of June the 1st. On the International Children’s
    Day, the Salon staged numerous events dedicated to the little ones, also
    celebrating the French-speaking literature through books and comics, all that
    staged against the backdrop of the Council of the European Union’s French Presidency.
    Elsewhere around the country, in Oradea, in the north-west, the State
    Philharmonics Orchestra gave a special concert, including cartoon movie
    soundtracks. In Arad, also in the north-west, the International Children’s Day was
    celebrated in several districts through interactive games, entertainment music
    recitals, modern dance and aerobic gymnastics, but also through educational activities.
    The south-eastern Romanian city of Constanta marked the International Children’s
    Day through puppet theater stage shows, magic and face painting. In Focsani, in
    the east, more than 2,000 children and athletes took part in a flash-mob, in a bid
    to set a new world record.

    (EN)



  • How we talk to children about the war

    How we talk to children about the war

    The complicated situation in Ukraine has brought out an extremely sensitive issue. Maybe we can keep our children away from a dramatic situation in our family, but we certainly cannot cover their eyes when they see terrible images of war. How do we explain to children the drama of war? How do we prepare them to deal with complicated situations that may arise later in their own lives? Do we filter reality or not?



    Heres psychologist Cristina Năstase’s opinion: “In a crisis situation, a child first and foremost needs safety. Lies, omission of information and false assurances cannot create safety. On the contrary. They deepen the uncertainty, throwing the child into a situation of total confusion, given that children can no longer trust their parents words. If parents don’t talk to children, they can somatize their distress, refuse to leave the house, become apathetic or, on the contrary, become angrier. Talk to your children as much as necessary, give them information, but not in excess. Give them only basic information, in a progressive way. Children need time to process. If a child asks a question about a certain situation, specific only to a certain event, it is important to answer that question alone and avoid enlarging upon the issue, but, still, show availability, a sincere openness, so that whenever the child has questions, he or she should know that the parent will answer it. If children come up with questions and parents deny them, children will be confused, they will think that the adult is lying, and the parents lose the opportunity to assure them that they are safe. But parents are supposed to be the children’s safe haven. Parents, especially of children aged up to 11-12 years, can filter and translate the information to make it accessible to them. They can reassure them, encourage them to let out their emotions, and be there for them. Not talking to them means letting them fill the narrative gap, and the child will think like this: if they hide this from me, it must be something serious, which leads to increased anxiety. If they dont tell me, it means they dont trust me, which leads to lower self-esteem. So, be honest and direct, but without extreme details.”



    Next Cristina Năstase will tell us how we should approach the subject of death with children of different ages and will also talk about the role of the parent in this equation: “It is recommended to start from what children already know, then they should be encouraged to ask questions. They should also be helped to share their feelings of worry, fear, anger, sadness and compassion. What’s the role of parents? To explain, depending on age, what war is. There are history books for kids that parents can get inspiration from, to give explanations to their kids. You can read them stories about battles in which the good wins. Or you can watch animated films or movies with them, adapted from history books. It is very good to play with your children war games, if this game is initiated by the child. The game helps them release their fear and project in the game their war-related fantasies, a game in which you should let the children be in control. Most likely, this game will be initiated by younger children and children of up to 9-10 years. Maybe with the older kids you can use strategy games or video games. Humor is an important resource, because it releases pressure, puts things in perspective and produces joy, and laughter has the potential to wave off fear and anger. For some children it may be enough. Others would ask if people who are fighting a battle die. And you will have to tell them the truth, and answer other questions related to death, because the fear of war ultimately boils down to the fear of death. You can reassure them that they will not die, and neither will you, the parents, because the adults from all countries are working to solve the situation, you assure them that this is not their responsibility, that they do not need to feel guilty, that they can play with their friends, and they can continue do everything they enjoy. Parents can tell children that themselves, as adults, feel the same emotions, worries, sadness, anger, and that they are sure that the war will not extend, that our country will not be at war. They can say that it is important to focus on what we have to do every day, that we can help those from Ukraine, that they can also help if they want to, that it is important to be united, that together we can resist better. Children will feel safe as the grown-ups explain them what is happening. They won’t let themselves be overwhelmed, they dont cry, theyre not terrified.”



    Psychologist Cristina Năstase also teaches us how to talk to teenagers about war: “The big children, the teenagers have a representation of what war entails. What consequences derive from this? They know this from books, movies, friends, history classes, and from TV. Never before has the war been so close. With them, parents need to check the source of information. To bring clear, logical arguments to help them calm down. You need to validate their emotions, accept when they tell you that they are not afraid, although their behavior says something else, to help them become aware of the relationship between their thoughts and emotions, to work with thoughts, to make them think rationally. You can share, as parents, your own views about the war, you can encourage them to talk about theirs. You can talk to them about how we can help refugees. Pick a time in the day when to talk about what changes have occurred in the course of events, if they appear more anxious than the previous day. Be open to discussions, but dont prolong them excessively.”



    Do not try to cancel children’s emotions, talk together about their emotions. Thus, children will feel safe and will learn about themselves, says Cristina Nastase: “Although they are difficult for adults, these conversations should take place. Such a dialogue should be seen as an open door to other future discussions on complicated topics. Adults must accept childrens emotions, not repress them, and find, to the extent to which this is possible, appropriate answers to their questions, so that the image they will process should be as appropriate as possible for their understanding. Do not forget that children can experience strong emotions, but not for too long. The better you master them, the faster they pass. By talking about fear, you bring it out and help the child calm down. Parents don’t have to have perfect answers to all the problems and questions. Analyzing a topic with children is the way to teach children to navigate through ambiguous feelings, to think difficult, complicated things through, which will increase their psychological resistance to them. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to say ‘I dont know’ and ‘I cant’. Showing ones own vulnerability, in a calm and self-controlled manner, is useful, because it encourages the expression of feelings.” (LS)

  • The pandemic and its effects on children

    The pandemic and its effects on children

    The negative psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the adult population is well known. Unfortunately, children also bear the brunt of its effects. Education experts, psychologists and parents alike have been signalling, ever since two years ago, the negative impact that the epidemiological situation has on children, especially due to the isolation they have experienced. Studies have now come to confirm it. Sociologist Ciprian Gradinaru tells us more about a recent report by Save the Children organisation: ”The situation should be analysed in a wider context. Indeed, these past two years have affected children, and not only them. We see that almost half of the children have been feeling lonely, sad, isolated and stressed. They feel this way because they have been isolated from their friends. Also, they had to be part of a completely new education system, which they never tried before. They received less information and their access to education was reduced. That is because some of them have had limited or no access to education during this period. For this reason, almost half of them say they feel unprepared for exams. 8th and 12th graders say they are under a lot of pressure, they are concerned about the upcoming exams and these are situations that experts in education and in related domains have anticipated.”



    In their turn, children seem to describe the situation accurately. Only one third of the 8th grade students say they feel prepared for the national exams. 31% of secondary school children say they have a lot to catch up, while one in two children says homework is more difficult than in previous years. For this reason, more children need assistance from their teachers and parents. 51% of students say this year they have needed more help from their teachers at school, 13% have needed private lessons and 9% have needed the help of a family member.”



    8th gade students say they needed private lessons more than their younger colleagues. Aware of the fact that they have a lot to catch up with in terms of study, they feel frustrated, angry, sad, stressed or tired, the Save the Children report says. Sociologist Ciprian Gradinaru: ”Parents have also been experiencing a stressing period, with a lot of tensions. Their work manner changed, just like their way of interacting and socialising. This is the perfect recipe for tensions within the family, which always affect children.”



    What makes children and adults feel sad and concerned? Ciprian Gradinaru explains: ”The lack of interaction and isolation are the main reasons why children feel this way. It is not just the education system that has changed, but many other aspects of their lives. Holidays were different and also the daily interactions with other children. Online interaction, which was already worrying before the pandemic due to the many hours spent on the internet, has now exploded in terms of time spent online and has brought along many disadvantages. These elements combined — the isolation, spending a lot of time indoors, not doing the things that children normally do — led to tensions, sadness and concern.”


    The study was conducted in March on around 1,900 children aged 9 to 18. (EE)