Saturday, January 21, 2012

Revolution in Romania!

Protest in Bucharest
Taken From "The Observer"
That's right there is a protest happening in Romania. "Revolutie in Romănia!" is all one hears now days. With protester lining the streets at night, and the news being covered in gruesome scenes in Bucharest one really has to wonder what happened? Romania government is a Republic and it's chief of state is President Traian Basescu. Currently, right now, the Romanian Economy has had a downturn; the rate of
Protest in Bucharest
Taken From Good Morning America

conversion from a US dollar to a Romanian Leu is about 1 dollar = 3 Lei. The conversion rate from a Euro to a Leu is 1 Euro = 4 lei. On January 12th the revolution started with the resignation of a highly respected government public health official Raed Arfarat, also the founder of the Romania's Emergency Medical Services. The protest started in the capital of Romania, Bucharest, and now has lasted a week and spread like wildfire. It is all across the country, even in my small town Ramnicu Valcea. President Basescu was elected December 20th of 2004 he was a, "Man of the people," but now people are frustrated with the public wage cuts, slashed benefits, higher taxes, cronyism in state institutions and widespread corruption.
Bucharest Protest
Taken from "The Observer"
 By Sunday thousands of people were storming University Sqaure in Bucharest in protest. Over a dozen are injured and hospitalized including journalists, policemen, and protesters. The prime minister gave a speech about a new health-care bill after visiting a policeman who was hospitalized because a brick was thrown at his head. In Bucharest the protest has turned from a peaceful protest to a protest in which now the media can no longer cover it. The press was forced to leave University Square on Saturday, due to the violence.  The news is filled with very disturbing scenes of violence and fires burning in the middle of the roads.  Policemen throw tear gas and flares into the crowd. Things since then have calmed down. The Revolution in Ramnicu Valcea was significantly smaller and significantly more peaceful. The protester gathered around the main clock, or the city center square. They held signs and Romanian flags, and then they walked down the street.  Overall it was a very eye opening experience to see the revolution; it shows how much Romania has suffered in the past couple of years. They have only been out of communism for 22 years and are still trying to get their feet back on the ground.

No comments:

Post a Comment