Cav's Place

This post will cover nearly two weeks, starting on January 27 with the creation of the event page for the snow removal action scheduled for Saturday, February 1. Little actual information was posted until the next evening, but it was clear that somebody needed to do something about the sidewalks, seeing as the authorities seemed to only care about the roads, and only the main ones at that, and most other people preferred to simply complain instead of picking up a shovel and helping out. Of course, considering the size of the city and the expected turnout, not much could be achieved in the no more than five hours of actual work that the listed schedule included, but such an action could serve to show people that they can, and perhaps should, take matters into their own hands.
Admittedly, a few did so even before the event, the most notable case being that of a student, Iulian, who made the news after creating a page, on January 28, where he announced which area he’ll be trying to clear each day. However, while many “liked” his initiative and posted comments to show their appreciation, very few came to actually help out, and some of those who saw him at work were asking what does he gain by it or complaining either that he wasn’t doing the work properly or that, by taking it upon himself to help, he merely encouraged the authorities to do even less for the people in the future. From what I could see, he was not discouraged by those comments, stating that what he does is, in fact, a protest, against the authorities as well as against the people’s indifference and this mentality that makes most simply stay home and complain instead of actually doing something about what bothers them.

The actual action started at 10 AM on February 1, when people started gathering outside the Theater exit of the University Square metro station. Only a few of us were on time, but about 25 had arrived before we actually split in teams and left in different directions, around 10:30 AM. Nearly all brought their own shovels as well, which was unexpected considering the fact that many messages posted on the event page were from people asking whether they’ll find shovels there if they’ll take part, since they don’t have their own. No idea whether that still held true for those who arrived even later, however, since most estimates mentioned a total of around 50 people taking part and one of those who may be considered organizers even said 80, most being one, two or even more hours late and sending messages or calling to ask where the teams were in order to join one.
While we were waiting for people to gather and a couple of reporters were trying to take a few interviews, we were rather surprised to see city workers suddenly arrive in the area as well and start clearing the snow in earnest. Since this started only a few minutes after 10 AM and they seemed focused exactly on the area where we were gathering, telling us to clear away since they couldn’t do their job because of us, it was rather obvious that this was happening precisely because they knew we were going to gather there at the time, and probably because they wanted any cameras to see them as well and therefore paint a picture contradicting the accusations that the authorities do nothing about the problem. Thankfully, the gendarmes were much friendlier, a couple of negotiators stating that they appreciated our initiative and asking which areas did we plan to cover so they’ll be able to send a few teams to protect us in case anyone will mean to get in our way.
It should also be noted that an urgent appeal posted by a dog shelter outside the city made some of us initially say we’ll go there instead, after gathering in front of the Theater, since they were saying they’ll take care of transportation. However, after all of two people wrote their contact information in the document created for this purpose, it was decided not to rely on the others who simply posted a comment saying they were interested in going and the idea was dropped, though the equipment that had been donated to us for the day was sent there instead. As one of the two who added their contact information in that file, I definitely intended to go, but I can understand the decision and take comfort in learning that some 30 people actually were there that day and most of the work could be be completed, giving those poor dogs a chance to survive.
As such, I ended up in the last team that formed, and we went to the Timpuri Noi metro station, first clearing some paths around one of the exits. Admittedly, I’ll say that area was already rather manageable, but we did that largely to get ourselves into a rhythm, as then we split into smaller groups and moved on to clearing a path on both sides of the bridge, the sidewalks there being far worse, moving aside a large pile of snow blocking access to a crosswalk, and actually creating a way to cross another sidewalk that was under about a meter of untouched snow, people needing to walk on the street in that area. All of this was mostly finished around 2 PM, at which point some left, those of us who didn’t spending a few more minutes widening one of the entrances to this last area we cleared and taking a few more pictures before leaving as well, by 2:30 PM. If only we knew how city workers will shit on our work…
Interestingly, on top of the comments we heard, people ranging from thanking us or being shocked that anyone is willing to do something like this to wondering who’s paying us, saying we’re wasting our time or complaining that we’re not doing something right, we also had an older man dig some oranges out of his shopping bag and offer them to us, insisting when we didn’t want to accept, and another person come to bring us a bottle of hot tea, simply stopping the car next to us to hold the bottle out the window and driving away as soon as one of us took it. In addition, and somewhat sadly, seeing as it implies that people simply volunteering to help out is so rare it becomes particularly significant when it happens, several television stations, at least one radio station, plus one or two newspapers and news sites, sent reporters to cover the event, some seeming absolutely shocked by what we managed to do with that sidewalk that was completely covered in untouched snow in particular.
Since I can only offer specific information, and pictures, from the area I was in, I’ll also add links to some more pictures posted by others, who were in teams that covered other areas and which were obviously very active and successful as well. As far as I’m aware, most of those also scattered after they considered their work done for the day, so the planned “after” group shot, scheduled for 4 PM, when the original plan called for all of us to return to University Square, didn’t serve much of a purpose anymore. In addition, while one of those who may be considered organizers offered to pay for hot tea for all of us, as far as I’m aware all of those who were on the team I was in refused and I’m not sure if he found anyone else to accept the offer, though he did seem set on returning to University Square at the end.

Moving on, an ongoing event that must be mentioned is an exhibition dedicated to the issue of fracking, which hosted, and will continue to host, various debates and film viewings related to the topic, the debates and presentations I saw announced as having taken place during the period covered by this post being on February 5 and 7. The exhibition itself opened on January 30 and is set to last until February 23, though it will be closed each Monday and Tuesday. Strangely enough, the actual opening event only took place on January 31, when people were asked to bring open recipients, fill them with water from the fountain found in front of the building the exhibition takes place in, and deposit them inside, as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the victims of water exploitation. This event was initially scheduled for January 29, but the organizers believed that the weather will discourage most from attending at the time, so they delayed it until the blizzard was supposed to end and also kept the exhibition closed on that first day, though they opened it the next, for those who wanted to visit sooner.

To briefly mention several other events that took place during this period, I should start with a very small protest against the new Penal Code that took place across the road from the Government building on January 31, starting at 4 PM. It was announced on extremely short notice, only a couple of activists seemed to have noticed it and anything having to do with the courts is highly suspicious, from the point of view of the average protester, of being associated with the President, so only a few people attended. There were messages stating that another protest on the same theme was supposed to take place the next day, starting at 3 PM, but that would have made it overlap the snow removal event and I haven’t seen any information about it since.
On February 3, after a small number of activists occupied the headquarters of Minvest Deva for several hours, to protest against all the cyanide mining operations set to start in Romania and show solidarity with those who fight against similar projects elsewhere in the world, Alex posted that he heard rumors that people were to gather in Bucharest as well, in front of the Theater, from 5:30 PM. He claimed to not even know for sure why people were asked to come, though he assumed it was to show solidarity with those activists, so it was no surprise that only a few actually showed up and even he only got there around 6:30 PM. I went to have a look, out of curiosity, but saw no more than about 25 people, if you include the hunger strikers and exclude the dozen or so who’re there every evening to protest solely against the President and who are very much at odds with the rest of us, who attack both sides equally. Since I don’t know what happens there on a regular evening, such numbers may even be rather normal, and either way people soon started to scatter, some regrouping in the underground passage but not seeming to truly expect anything to actually happen that evening, so I eventually left as well and heard nothing more of it.
Next, a minor television station that actually supported the protesters since the start of this movement asked people to gather in a bar on February 4, starting at 4 PM, to await a decision that would have reduced the number of Romanian free-to-air channels that cable providers are required to include in a package to the ten that have the most viewers. Plenty of protesters were highly suspicious of directly associating ourselves with this television station in such a manner, but some known activists and groups promoted the event and then shared an article that included quotes from some of the speeches made there that evening. That’s all I know about what actually happened, however.
Also on February 4, a call to send messages to the Romanian MEPs was posted, asking them to vote in favor of amendment 27 of the 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy Policies, which would have urged local and regional authorities to not allow the exploration or extraction of unconventional fossil fuels. That same post also included the first mention I saw of a call apparently made since January 31, asking people to write their representatives in the Romanian Parliament and ask them to vote in favor of the anti-fracking laws put forward by a few of them.
Since I’m at messages, another one, this time coming from the Association of Young Ukrainians from Romania and Bulgaria, was posted on February 6 and asked people to donate bandages, warm clothes, sleeping bags, blankets and other similar items until February 12, as they will be collected and sent to the Ukrainian protesters. And I’ll also add here that, on February 7, the United We Save page created an event overlapping the one created a month ago and scheduled for the next day, explaining that it was merely a result of popular demand, as that event was created by another page and many protesters kept asking why doesn’t this “official” page of the movement show up as host, as they were used to seeing it.

Last but most definitely not least, February 6 is Rosia Montana’s Anniversary, celebrating the fact that the oldest document mentioning the town, named Alburnus Maior at the time, is dated February 6, 131. For the fourth year in a row, this day was marked by special events, this time taking place in more than 40 cities across Romania and the world, obviously including Bucharest. Viewings of films related to Rosia Montana, a photographic exhibition reflecting the cultural patrimony of the area, debates about the future, with and about those who oppose the mining project, and a concert made up the day’s schedule here, the event taking place at the Romanian Peasant Museum and admission being free. Products made by the locals, including sweets, socks, bags and alcoholic beverages, were also available for purchase, proving that the area can have a future, and people can earn a living, even without mining. In fact, it should be simply said that such events prove that the area can have a future, seeing as open-pit mining and the tailings left behind offer none in the long term.