A comment piece published in The Black Sea in English and Contributors in Romanian. Western Europeans cannot get enough of Romanian poverty. In photos. In news. In features. In TV shows. The appetite is immense. It has become the biggest tourist attraction in the country. Foreigners now plan minibreaks here, hoping for three-day fix of extreme poverty – […]
Tag Archives: Romania
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 […]
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 […]
Bucharest’s State Jewish Theatre is a testament to the survival of the Yiddish culture through the Holocaust, Communism and Romania’s uneasy transition to democracy – yet now is threatened with collapse. A feature published in The Black Sea After the second world war, the theater was a lifeboat for Jewish performers, says Rudi Rosenfeld, actor […]
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 report on the EU elections in May 2014, written with Stefan Candea and published in EU Observer Clientism, nepotism and corruption scandals among Romanian MEPs are set to contribute to a predicted record low turnout for the nation’s European elections. Romania’s leading parties are drawing up lists of MEP candidates which, with some exceptions, […]
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 […]
Michael Bird Writer & Journalist 