Invitation to ALL Diaspora defectors/self exiles:

[Vlad]

To those who escaped from Romania during communism:



We invite you to describe your adventures here.



Only God and History shall keep track of your dreadful stories.



It would be a pity for EU and the rest of the world NOT to KNOW what Romanians had to put up with, and the way they had to exile themselves, during the dreadful years 1945- 1989 and beyond.



Don't use real names, just give us your stories.



God Bless. Happy EASTER. La Multzi Ani. Happy Passover.

[webmaster]

Horror stories of Romanians trying to defect/run away from communist Romania, trying to swim across the Danube River into Yugoslavia.



Some made it, some got shot and drowned, some made it and were deported back to Romania by the Yugoslavs or by Hungarians.



Rumor has it that, when one of the channels pouring into the Danube was dredged, a lot of bodies were found. There was a big hoopla between the Romanian Gov and the Yugoslav Gov regarding the identity of those bodies. Neither party was willing to accept the responsibility and/or acknowledge the CRIME. Go figure.



I gave you a start.



Please follow up with your individual stories, may they be from crossing the border and/or the exiled life in CAMPS throughout Europe, such as the ones in Vienna, Rome, Frankfurt..etc



Let it all OUT in the OPEN people. It's about time the WORLD should find out about the shortcomings, brainwashing and misery of communism.

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

I really want to here these stories. Vlad, I also want to hear yours. It sounds like you've been through a delima yourself.

I have been reading up a bit on what all happened. About a week and a half ago, I read part of the transcript from Ceausescu's tribunal. That guy was a few quarters short of a dollar. The prosecutor noted the same thing and recommended he take a psychological evaluation (which might have saved his life) which he flat refused.

[webmaster]

I vaguely remember this family, back in the old country, and way back in time. Very nice family, ready to help at any given time.

They were neighbors of mine, same building.



All of a sudden, they disappeared. They went the Western EU way, via France, Canada, and England.



Came to find out, the old man B. (God bless his soul), did conduct an anti German propaganda from wherever he was at, during World War II, and therefore he insured his younger family immigration to various states, since the former allies, US, CANDA, UK, and France all granted him and his family, CITIZENSHIP, no questions asked, for the services rendered for the allied cause.



The rest of us, did not have it quite so easy.



There are many stories to tell, and write about.

This was just one of them.

[Vlad]

BEZA, by any chance???

[webmaster]

If I told you it is true, I would have to kill you. PERIOD.

[Vlad]

Ok..Here it is SHISH. Just because you are present and have been for so long a faithful user of this web site.

About oh..30 years ago I used to be a flight attendant for TAROM (The RO Airlines). Flew all over the world.

First flight to US.....Jumped ship. Never went back, except in 2001, 25 years later. You can fill in the blanks.

HOWEVER, regardless of how easy I had it in my self exile from the old country, others and most of Romanians did not have it this EASY.
It is their TURN to provide THEIR stories. Most of them are still AFRAID of the ROMANIAN GOV's reprisal. PERIOD.

If you don't see them jumping at a chance to tell their stories, it is because they are still AFRAID. GO FIGURE. And I kid YOU NOT. IT IS REALITY 101.
For God's sake. It's been what, 18 years..since the communist collapse?

Runaways from old Romania, and the old Eastern Block...are still afraid, OBVIOUSLY.

MAAAN...I wish they would wake up and start telling THEIR stories...
Your hair would gray out in a hurry. (not that I wish that to you )

Regards

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

That's sad.

Some people never get over trauma, others get over trauma fast. I myself don't experience lasting trauma. For me, trauma disappears along with the adrenaline rush. Others are not so good at it.

I can definitely agree with you on getting over it. Logically, the same government who filled Ceausescu full of holes is among the least of things to worry about. Romania is banking off of capitalism WAY to much to ever consider communism. The Romanian refugees have a better chance of being hit by Walt Disney then the Romanian government.

I do have an idea of the severity involved though. As I said before, I lived in Alaska during the cold war and we had Russians flocking over to Alaska and many of them had loved ones who were not so lucky.

It's interesting that the people living on the front line of the cold war saw the Russians with compassion and never seamed to be afraid of the Soviet Union in spite of the fact that military doing field training in populated areas (training to fight a war among civilians) was an every day thing. America's most potent weapon against the communist has always been the immigration office. I can imagine that is was just as bad and probably the same in Romania.



That reminds me Vlad, here are some pictures of that Russian village in Alaska I told you about.

I did some background reading on it and it's apparent that it's been around for a while before I lived there but was a magnet for Soviet Union refugees all through the cold war. Apparently, they had more enemies then just the Soviet Union. In Alaska, they were looked on as entertainment more then anything:



http://www.russiangiftsnina.com/photos.html



This article describes in detail how bizarre there culture is:



http://www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/a ... t_584.html

[Vlad]

Thanks