The money circus and me

The English version of the article is in the continuation of the Romanian version.

Abia azi am putut sa ies de sub patura de neputinta si sa imi fac curaj sa scriu. Pana acum nu am putut fi decat un spectator, decat o pereche de ochi ce priveste la franturi de realitate, si un creier care proceseaza informatia ce se perinda in media. Trebuie sa recunosc, prima data cand am apasat PLAY pe un video cu protestatarii din Romania, un fior si un ciudat sentiment de bucurie m-a cuprins. Cuprinsa de o neasteptata emotie patriotica, mi-am zis "Da! Da!, pentru prima data ceva se petrece!" In sfarsit exista o traire, o reactie la tot ce am inghitit pana acum. In sfarsit s-a trezit o farama de constiinta nationala ce a spus: "Stai putin! Nu!". Cred ca o revolutie va incepe? Nu. Cred ca protestele vor fi din ce in ce mai mari, iar din ce in ce mai multi romani vor fi implicati? Probabil nu, dar tare mult sper ca urma de solidaritate pe care inca o posedam sa nu se piarda in oceanul propagandist promovat de media.

Dar cum stau lucrurile de fapt? Pentru ca suntem copii ascultatori ai mamei FMI, este de la sine inteles ca vom asculta de fiecare ordin. Prin urmare am redus salariile bugetarilor cu 25%, am limitat numarul angajatilor din sectorul public, si am hotarat, asa ca inceput de an, sa schimbam legea sanatatii. Cu totii insa stim ca toate aceste decizii pe care demnitarii tarii le iau nu tin cont de nici o culoare de situatia actuala in care Romania se afla. Bun, si ce anume spune noua lege a sanatatii? In linii mari, casele de asigurare vor trece de la a fi gestionate de stat, la a fi private, iar romanul de rand va trebui sa isi achizitioneze asigurarea de sanatate care poate fi obligatorie sau voluntara. Asigurarea obligatorie acopera doar ingrijire de baza, ce de fapt inseamna aproape nimic, iar asigurarea voluntara poate fi extrem de benefica pentru asigurat, dar surpriza, costa. Si poate costa de la 30 ron pana la 50 de euro pe luna! Si acum vine intrebarea pe care sunt sigura ca o aveti in minte? Cum isi poate permite romanul de azi asa ceva? Raspunsul: Nu poate. Nu atunci cand nu are un loc de munca, sau cand munceste dar nu primeste salariul cu lunile. Mi se pare absurd ca cei care ar trebui sa ne apere interesele cel mai bine  sunt mai mult decat dispusi sa ne arunce in gura ucigatoare a falimentului.

Cireasa de pe tort a fost bineinteles repunerea in functie a lui Arafat, strategie clara din partea presedintiei de ne arunca un os, de a ne determina inca o data sa inchidem ochii neputinciosi si ignoranti. Ma intristeaza faptul ca presa din Romania duhneste a coruptie si propaganda, si desi aceasta nu este o problema neaparat nationala, constituie un pericol deosebit pentru romani. De ce anume? Pentru ca romanul nostru nu se raporteaza la situatia economica si financiara internationala, pentru ca romanul peste 40 de ani nu foloseste internetul pentru a analiza fapte si contexte din surse diferite si pentru a obtine cat de cat o perspectiva obiectiva asupra genului de informatii ce ne inunda creierul zilnic. Romanul de rand ajunge acasa dupa o zi de 12 ore de lucru, si in cel mai bun caz deschide televizorul sa asculte stirile (in cazul in care Steaua nu are vreun meci) de la Antena, ProTv si altele (fiecare din aceste posturi sunt puternic influentate politic). Romanul nostru nu are nevoie de o revolutie a violentei, sau o revolutie a armelor, el are nevoie de o revolutie a cunoasterii, de largire a propriului orizont, de o revolutie culturala. Romanul nostru trebuie sa arunce ochelarii de cal, sa iasa din mlastina ignorantei si sa va priveasca lumea cu ochi vii si critici. Cand romanul nostru va fi treaz, atunci intr-adevar se va simti o schimbare. Pana atunci, somn usor!

Today I was finally able to shake the cover of helplessness that I surrounded myself with and actually write.  Until this moment, I could only be a spectator, a pair of eyes that watches fragments of reality and a brain that processes the information circulating in the media. I have to admit, the first time I watched a video with the protests happening in Romania, I felt an unexpected thrill and a strange feeling of happiness took over. Overwhelmed by this strange patriotic emotion, I told myself “Yes, yes! For the first time in so many years, something is happening!”. Finally, I can see determination, a reaction to everything that we, as a nation, suffered from.  There is finally a shred of national consciousness left, a shred that makes people say “NO!”.  Do I believe that a revolution will start? No. Do I believe that these protests will intensify and more people will engage into this solidarity movement? Probably not, but I really hope that the last trace of national solidarity that still exists inside Romanians doesn’t go extinct into the propagandist ocean originated by the media.

Because we are well behaved children of mother IMF, it is clear that our nation will follow every single order without blinking an eye. Therefore, we have reduced the budgetary wages with 25%, we have reduced the number of employees in the public sector and starting this year, we have also decided to change the law that governs our health system. So what does the new law say?  Basically, the insurance companies will stop being governed by the state and will become private, forcing every Romanian citizen to buy their health insurance (which is mandatory and voluntary). The mandatory insurance will cover only the basic medical care (whatever that means), and the voluntary insurance can be very beneficial for the patient but surprise, surprise, it costs.  This voluntary medical insurance can go up to 50 euros a month, which is clearly affordable to a person that is making approximately 300 euros. And now comes the inevitable question. How will Romanians afford this? They can’t! It seems absurd to me that the ones that are governing us, the ones that should defend our interest the most, are the ones ready to throw all of our country right in the gut of the ruthless monster of bankruptcy.

  The cherry on top is, of course, the reinstating of Arafat’s position within the Ministry of Health, clear presidential strategy of distraction, strategy of throwing the ignorant nation a bone to chew on.  What saddens me is the fact that all Romanian media reeks with corruption and propaganda and the Romanian audience is constantly exposed. This matter is not at all a national one, but it seems to be particularly dangerous for the average Romanian citizen. This happens because our average Romanian is not in the pursuit of truthful information, is not at all interested in filtering the information that is being fed to him, he is not interested in getting an objective perspective on the kind of information that floods his brain on a daily basis, and most importantly he is not interested in analyzing the international economic and financial context that influences the situation in our country. Our Romanian citizen does not need a violent revolution, he does not need a revolution of authority and power. He needs a revolution of knowledge, a revolution of the mind, a revolution of critical thought. He needs to pull himself out of the ignorance swamp and look at the world with wiser eyes. When our nation’s intellectual consciousness will rise again, there will be a real change. Until then, sleep tight and keep on dreaming!