In homage: Mai bine mort decat comunist

The passing of Cristi Paturca has more elements to it than we in the west can ever know. For those of us who have connections with and love Roumania, his death resounds with great sadness, an echoing of enormous disappointment and nostalgia.

Cristi Paturca died aged 46 of TB, oesophageal varices and cirrhosis. He had no intention of ever giving up alcohol or cigarettes and was found dead at home in Drumul Taberei. He repeated several times that he did not want a burial, but instead preferred to be cremated and his ashes scattered at Pta Universitatii. Doru Maries says that the 21st December Association have taken care of everything. 

At the time of the 'lovilutie', he was a 25 years old musician who drank too much, smoked too much and perhaps hoped too much for a better future. He got together with a friend of his and the Imnul Golanilor, (for which he shall always be remembered) was born - an anthem which has been compared to the Marseillaise by some - in response to Iliescu's labelling of the crowds as 'golani' - good-for-nothing low-lives. Who could ever have imagined that Cristi Paturca would die before Ion Iliescu. Iliescu said today on hearing the news, "he died? Oh how sad. I'm so sorry. I knew he was sick. We would see each other at different anniversaries. Despite his songs I liked him. What he did at Pta Universitatii, he did from his heart and I cannot fault him for that. He was not driven by certain interests like others. This is one of the values of democracy and that is what Paturca was. may he rest in peace." What hypocrisy. Iliescu should keep quiet. He has no right to even mention Paturca's name. I can't believe that a journalist even gave him air space.

Even Cosma had to make a statement: "We met in 1990 and had a tough discussion, but in '98 after I came out of prison, we made up and stayed friends, I appreciated him very much." Da...sigur. Vorbe goale...

The state secretariat for the problems of revolutionaries gave Cristi Paturca an updated revolutionary certificate in February 2010 that meant a monthly allocation of 1800 lei. On 27th April, 2010, the presidential administration gave him the National Cross for loyal service '3rd class' for his 'high moral standards'... almost a mockery, mais enfin, bon. It took Basescu 20 years to honour him. 20 years. Either one does nothing for these brave people or one does far too much and turns it into a circus. Really, poor Cristi was gone a long time ago. Iliescu and his cronies managed to destroy everything that people like Cristi were out there fighting for. In the end, they gave their lives in one way or another - either there on the barricades or later through the sheer dying of the light...

The 'lovilutie' of 1989 was a light for so many at the end of what had been an interminably long, bleak tunnel. Hope enveloped a population imprisoned under communism for more than three decades. For the revolutionaries, it was life itself, the summit of their existence, the beginning of the rest of their lives. But twenty years on, what has been achieved? What has improved? How has life got better? Corruption has reached the point of no return, mitocani and badarani rule the roost, salaries and pensions along with morale are at an all-time low and the nouveau-riche never had it so good... Pe scurt, the lovilutie did not bring what was so desired, so yearned for and so dreamed of for the majority of the population.

With the death of Cristi Paturca, this point is rammed home painfully with no form of anaesthetic straight through the heart. Memories of the Pta Universitatii come flooding back. The dreams of a new, proud, braver future shatter like a stone smashing through a stained-glass window. The hope has dimmed so very greatly.

Tomorrow and the day after, Pta Universitatii will see people gathered in remembrance of Cristi. I expect they will light candles, sing, reminisce. I wish so much that I could be there too. For so many, this is an incredibly poignant and painful time of memories and grief. Part of me wonders whether the grief is entirely for Cristi or an amalgam of the lost hope and dreams his death has shone a light upon. Hope can vanish and perhaps not be missed until something like this happens, a button is pressed and the hole that it left suddenly becomes garishly obvious.

Perhaps Cristi's death will be a catalyst for that cry of indignation so very much needed. Perhaps it will serve as a wake-up call. Perhaps it will be a powerful Desteapta-te Romane! Perhaps memories of what was so hoped for but never achieved will be shaken by this sad, though not entirely unexpected, departure. If Adrian Paunescu's death last year caused such a clamour then surely Cristi's death should make an even bigger, far deeper impact. While Paunescu licked the boots of the Ceausescus, people like Cristi Paturca were fighting for their lives and for freedom...

I do so hope that his death can be as meaningful as his life and that those barricades were not for nothing. However people got there, whatever the mis en scene may have been, that hope was not a lie and the bright dreams for the future were very much present. May they not die with Cristi. May they be awoken once again. And may they give strength.

Imnul Golanilor

A fost odată ca-n poveşti, a fost în România,
O gaşcă mare de golani ce-au alungat sclavia.
Noi nu ne-am confundat nicicând cu oamenii de bine,
Numiţi şi neocomunişti, şi fără de ruşine.

Mai bine haimana decât trădător,
Mai bine huligan decât dictator,
Mai bine golan decât activist,
Mai bine mort decât comunist! (refren)

Vrem libertate, nu comunism şi nici schimbări de formă
Şi de aceea, securişti, să nu ne puneţi normă.
Noi nu vrem neocomunism, nici neolibertate,
Democraţii originale şi nici minciuni sfruntate.

Ne-aţi întrebat ce vrem aici, dar ştie toată ţara,
Noi susţinem punctul 8 de la Timişoara.
A căzut 473, ce ţinea TVR,
Legată în lanţurile ei, dar tot degeaba e!

Alegeri fără comunişti, fără nomenclatură,
Şi nu vă temeţi de golani fără coloratură.
Din cei care-au murit aici, ne-am reîntors năluci
Să nu mai fie cum a fost măcelul de atunci.

PS. Adevarul wrongly reported the medals bestowed on Cristi Paturca, omitting to mention that he was awarded the silver medal for "Zece ani de la prăbuşirea regimului comunist din România" by Emil Constantinescu in 1999. I do wish journalists would get their facts straight rather than misleading the public.

Comments

[Nicole]

Sorry to say that I didn't know who the composer of Imnul Golanilor was but I knew the lyrics of the song.It was a moment when the population was alive and empowered to change history. It wasn't going to happen and look at Bucharest today.. it continues to lose in front of history and, as Sarah wrote, it has been taken over by the usurpers from Videle, Ferentari, etc. - the mitocani and outright thieves.Iliescu should have shut up, he who had the impertinence to call the brave people rallying at Piata Universitatii "golani". Some other time he called journalists "animale". An insult to dogs and cats.
I hope that the meeting today will be well attended and I cannot refrain myself from comparing this rally with the memorial gathering for the bastard Paunescu, last year. Hope people will honor the memory of this Paturca, at least for the victorious (alas too hastily) cry of a generation his song still represents

[doina]

Sarah, your words are noy only very well chose, but you understand perfectly what happens.
Thank you veru much for understanding and expressing so well the feelings of many