Archives

From Nine O'Clock: Musica Coronensis Festival at Brasov The bell of the tower from Piata Sfatului will toll again on Saturday, after over 50 years. The event is part of a music festival organized by the Evangelical Church from Romania, Brasov Parish and the Embassy of Germany in Bucharest. published in issue 4539 page 12 at 2009-10-16 According to the director of Brasov History Museum, Radu Stefanescu, the ceremony of the “Forgotten Bell,” which dates from the year 1690, begins on Saturday, at 11.45 h., when five musicians... [Lire la suite]

From Jurnalul National: Forged Identity – highway to EU 15/10/2009 Fake identity cards can easily be obtained in Romania and Bulgaria, and many illegal migrants use them to reach Western Europe. By Adrian Mogos in Bucharest, Dobrych, Byala, Timisoara, Aachen and BerlinJune 2009, undercovere voting for elections for European ParliamentFor a few hundred euros, I obtained a new Romanian identity complete with a new name of Turkish origin. For the next few months I was no longer Adrian Mogos, but Murad Alin Erdogan... [Lire la suite]

Excellent articles in Financial Times regarding Roumania and its dealings with the recession: honest, open, informative...and TRUE! Makes suuuuch a nice change. Please read Bucharest Battles Against the Crisis. And then when you've finished that, do go and read another in the same newspaper (September 28) Foreign Investors are Bullish About Pigs. Thank you FT!

Oskar Pastior(1927-2006) was born in Sibiu, Roumania, speaking the out-moded German of his fore-fathers. He said that he had this multilingualism to thank not only for the insights it gave him into the possibilities of writing, but above all the associated "relativisation of normative thinking". In 1945 he was deported to a Soviet Labor Camp in the Ukraine after the Red Army took control of Roumania; he spent five years there as part of Roumania’s reparation for having sided with Hitler. This experience, he says, provided... [Lire la suite]

From evz.ro, another marvellous article on Herta Muller.

Dear Everyone, Teodor Maries has kept my thoughts occupied these last few days. I have tried to find as much information about the chairman of 21st December Association, but there is very little in English.The fact that this man, now on his 70th day of hunger strike, continues to receive so little media coverage is something of an enigma. Even in the Roumanian press, he hardly gets a mention. Just a few videos on Youtubes where he is interviewed by Pro-TV. Nothing much else. See below from Ziua: Bucharest seeks justice in... [Lire la suite]

Nowhere on this article does it use the word 'gypsy' or 'roma' or 'rroms'. Nope. What do they say? "Roumanian people" is what. Shame on you, Canadian press. The photo comes from the Roumanian site Ziare.com, where one finds the original story and the afore-mentioned pix obviously to differentiate between the Roumanian population and the criminals - gypsies, naturally: 7 roving theft suspects arrested Last Updated: Friday, October 9, 2009 | 11:21 PM AT Comments10 Recommend7 CBC News Shelly Fogoa said the thieves... [Lire la suite]

More great news! Why could Roumania not award Doina Cornea a prestigious prize of their own. What is the highest honour one can bestow on a Roumanian citizen? The cross of the Royal House? How long has that existed and who else has won it? This is somewhat embarrassing for the Roumanian government who do not seem to recognise such bravery, determination, courage and honour. Prizes should be handed out in bushels in the country of my heart: Teodor Maries, Ana Blandiana, Herta Müller, Monica Lovinescu, Virghil Ierunca, Doina Cornea and... [Lire la suite]

Dear Everyone, Wow, what a few days it's been...Herta Muller winning the Nobel prize for literature for one thing (see below post). No one deserves it in the literary world more than she, and I am so, so glad that for once, the Nobel Prize has gone to someone who writes like a human being rather than a brain on legs. Herta Muller's books are rarely found in English and so maybe this will catalyse a mass-translation project. Here's hoping. My one sadness is that having been so rejected, annihilated, horrendously persecuted and... [Lire la suite]

What marvellous news! This excellent author, so persecuted under Roumanian communism, heavily censored and spied upon, followed even as far as Germany, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Rarely have I heard of anyone who deserves it more than she and I am unable to tell you how thrilled I am. Herta Muller Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature New York Times By MOTOKO RICH and NICHOLAS KULISH Published: October 8, 2009 Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German novelist and essayist who has written widely... [Lire la suite]