La multi ani, copii!

1 juin 2013

Romania celebrates International Children's Day today - a special event to honour and protect children around the world, but particularly at home.

The International Day for the Protection of Children has been observed in many countries as Children’s Day since 1950. It was established by the Women’s International Democratic Federation during a congress in Moscow. The day also has its origins at the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva dating back to 1925. It was established universally in 1954 to protect children working long hours in dangerous circumstances/conditions and allow all children access to education. Brave Malala Yousafzai, the little girl shot in the head by the taliban on 9th October 2012 for standing up for education, freedom and self-determination comes immediately to mind...

Why June 1st, though? Well, because the Chinese Consul-General in San Francisco gathered a number of Chinese orphans to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on this day in 1925, coinciding with the conference in Geneva.

Please see photos HERE of how countries across the world are marking the day. They are exceedingly moving.

In 2011, a report by the EU statistical office Eurostat showed the highest percentage of children in the EU at risk from poverty or social exclusion to be in Bulgaria (52%) and Romania (49%). Appalling, shameful results... The report showed the huge influence parental education levels have on risk of poverty among children. Across the EU, nearly half of the children with parents of low education were at risk from poverty, while for a medium education level, the figure fell to 22.4%. Children of highly educated parents were at the lowest risk from poverty; some 7.5% on average in the 27 EU member states.

In Romania, reported Romania-Insider in February of this year, the effect of parental education level on risk of child poverty is much more pronounced. More than 78% of children with low education level parents are deemed at risk, while the rate for those of medium education level parents is 27.3%, close to the EU average. The risk of poverty among children of highly educated parents in Romania is pretty low at 1.8%.

The events, parties, picnics and exhibitions dedicated to children today are lovely, but what about the rest of the year? What are we doing to change this dire situation? How far have we come since the appalling orphanages under the Ceausescu regime were revealed to the world? And what about the adoption laws? Where are we with those? If you don't know, please read THIS or THIS. Whatever their origin or ethnicity, children do not ask to be born, certainly cannot choose the environment into which they end up and are forced to live, and they are 100% reliant on adults to give them what every child has a right to: love, safety and education. No child asks for more - and they shouldn't even need to ask.

Here are some associations dedicated to helping children in Romania: Romanian Children at Risk, Gradinitsa (I can personally recommend this association highly, lead by the amazingly hard-working and tenacious Lydia Bloch) and Hearts Across Romania. If anyone can recommend more, please let me know and I will add them here. The association I belong to, Enfants de Roumanie, is not online due to fears of weirdos doing nasty stuff over photos of children, but you can sponsor a child in Maramures for 25 euros a month (anonymously or not) which will keep him/her either at our creche in Sighetu Marmatiei from Monday to Friday, or in a famille d'accueil because he/she is unable to live at home for probably a myriad of reasons - just contact Enfants de Roumanie, 1 rue de la Rhune, 64500 St. Jean de Luz, France (or me) if you would like to become a marraine/parrain or simply send a donation. For more on the creche see photos on the left of this text in the albums section, or visit my other blog 'Back in Paris', here, here and here.