December 1 is Great Union Day, the national holiday of Romania, which commemorates the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians, which declared the Union of Transylvania with Romania. It’s no Fourth of July or even Bastille Day, but a lot of people here celebrate it. Not people my age, or those the age of my parents, but the elderly are quick to raise the flag in front of their homes. There are military parades, which a lot of people attend, but yet again, they do so because grandma said they have to.
To me, December 1 is not a day of celebration. I look back on the events of that day and I get sad when I see all these people united in photos. It’s a bit like feeling nostalgic for something you never felt.
My nation united once more since 1918, which is when the union happened, and that was during the 1989 revolution, which essentially ended Communist ruling. The Romania of today, however, is anything but united. In Communist Romania, the date of the national holiday was set to August 23 to mark the 1944 overthrow of the previous government, and like everything back then, it was strict.
Eastern European communism was different than today’s communist China or communist Cuba, and those who did not follow the rules suffered. Both of my parents were born in the midst of communism and were attending university at the time of the revolution. They got by just fine, they even had happy childhoods, and nor I or my generation blame today’s adults for not doing something sooner. It was a scary time back then. But now it’s over and has been over for the last 27 years.
We now live in post-communism, which is certainly better, but the past still affects a great number of people every day. Although we live in a democracy, it’s not the democracy you’d think it would be. There’s one word and one word only that best summarizes Romanian politics: corruption. And while that is certainly something that wouldn’t have happened back when communists ruled (oppression was more their thing) and albeit quite democratic, we’re getting nowhere by allowing such people to lead us.
For those lucky enough, life can be easy. We have to fight hard and have, and can accredit that experience to our past. If you’re smart, financially stable and have been exposed to open-minded thinking from a young age, you can go places. But not everyone has those three things: some are smart but are unaware of what incredible things there are outside their community.
Much like it was decades ago, living in a completely different political system, things are hidden from us.
Nobody thought it was going to be easy, but we essentially failed to rebuild our nation since that day in 1989. When borders opened up, our most brilliant minds left, to countries across the world. And ever since, incredible people have left their home countries behind, in search of a place where people will appreciate them. We all want change to happen, but those of us capable of changing things often leave and never look back. I know I’ll do that too, because I can’t fight alone, and I’ve got no one to fight alongside. In order to start a revolution, we need to be united first. Have a great Union Day, Romania!
