3. Romania: Part of a series of three stories from east Europe revealing the complex lives of people with HIV, published in The Black Sea and TOTB. “I am not a victim,” says communication specialist Monica from Bucharest, “but a person was has survived and can have a normal and healthy life.” Visual by Andrei […]
Tag Archives: Bucharest
Shot in the Revolution, pimped out by her mother, lost to drugs and now homeless, Sanda is one of countless victims abandoned on the 25th anniversary of Romania’s uprising. A feature published in The Black Sea I am sitting in the attic office of the French-Italian charity Parada, which trains homeless people from Bucharest into circus performers. Alongside me is the […]
A failure in Romania’s brutal architectural planning of the 1980s has transformed a massive hole in Bucharest into an anarchic expanse of natural and urban coexistence. A feature published in UK online magazine City Metric. Pictures copyright Helmut Ignat The communists wanted a reservoir. The capitalists wanted a casino. The city got something else entirely. “No one […]
A comment piece published in Romanian on contributors.ro As a father of a three year old son living in Bucharest, I am often asked: is this city a safe place to bring up children? Of course I answer: Yes. Why? It is full of lovely old women who will kiss and pick up my child, […]
Bucharest’s pedestrianised old centre is filled with concrete tubes stuck to the ground and covered in pebble-dash. It is unclear what is the purpose of this urban furniture in the Romanian capital’s buzzing hub of beer, pizza and prostitution. But the public reacts to their presence by chucking trash inside them. The tubes […]
Racism is widespread through all major Romanian political parties – so there is no need for a far right movement to emerge. A feature written with Stefan Candea and published in EU Observer Snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures descended on Romania in February, gridlocking the roads, isolating villages, killing pensioners and causing panic […]
“A girl came to us who was sexually abused and she wouldn’t talk about it – but she came to the dog and talked to the dog about what happened – not caring that the adult was listening, but the relationship was with the dog and the dog was her confidant. A lot of issues […]
Bugs! Depravity! Bodily fluids! Experiencing romance and nightmare on the overnight train linking Romania and Moldova – a travel blog published in The Black Sea The means of transport to Moldova from the west are limited. There are expensive flights and overcrowded buses, but for those looking for a retro-chic experience of real travel, there […]
An English version of a comment piece published here in Romania’s top news and opinion website, Hotnews: http://www.contributors.ro/editorial/zece-motive-pentru-care-propunerea-romaniei-de-a-ucide-in-masa-milioane-de-caini-nu-va-functiona-si-doua-motive-pentru-care-s-ar-putea-sa-functioneze/ No one wants dogs on the streets in Romania. In a country with up to two million loose canines, no one is standing on a pedestal in the centre of Bucharest shouting We Want More Dogs! We […]
A feature documentary on strays dogs in Romania I directed, now available on Vimeo, executive produced by Ovidiu Dunel-Stancu. In the first five days of release the film gained over 5,000 views from over 100 different countries and the number of viewers are still rising in their thousands. Romania is once again in a dilemma […]
Michael Bird Writer & Journalist 