A young Romanian

1989, Bucharest, the Revolution broke out, Ceauscescu is murdered and it was discovered in France, through numerous reports, the horror of those years of dictatorship and communism. The country is poor, the images of orphanages and children glue sniffers shocked public opinion. The psychological damage is enormous, but the hope is reborn. It's time for change. Since then the country has undergone great changes. The end of communist regime, the Securitate and uniformity gave way to liberal capitalism, free speech and corruption. And even if some regret Ceauscescu years, this painful past is far from the Romanian youth, more pragmatic and materialistic benefits than their elders.

In France, we remain rooted to certain clichés: Romanians are still considered the poor is too often associated with the negative image of beggars, who arrived in recent years in Paris. However, since 1 January 2007, Romania is part of the European Union.
Through this story, I wanted to do a portrait of Romanian youth 20 to 30 years in his daily environment, on the edge of its entry into the EEC.

Rarely sought, little involved in political issues or in associations, it is, with 20% of the total population, the lifeblood of the future Romania. Who are these kids, what are their desires, their dreams, their concerns?
A sometimes disturbing finding a youth who has experienced two diametrically opposed economic systems in less than 20 years.

Most graduates become Eastern Europe, young Romanians prefer their professional future. Money is often the sinews of war, and many choose their studies according to what they can bring them a good job being a well paid job. Hard to blame them when the average salary is 200 euros per month, with which they often help the parents and grandparents miserable pensions.
Skilled manpower, mobile, multilingual young Romanians are little affected by unemployment. By their skills and motivation, they deceive the foreign companies that install more and more in urban centers. Rural youth, for their part, dismiss small agricultural jobs to try their luck in the city or abroad, particularly Italy and Spain.

Orthodox for a large majority of her youth to practice their faith 35%, well above the years of dictatorship or any religion was tolerated, but reduced to privacy because of the unlawful nature of his proclamation. After 1989, ideology was of a religious, including in school curricula. However, having faith, which is often a response to social insecurity, does not mean trust in the religious institution because many priests supported the rise of communism in Romania.

The generation of 20-30 years would forget Romanian history, including its history gypsy, but she is confronted in his daily work, school, corruption and communist mentality still stubborn wishing that all wages are the or the same existential journey is set in advance. Part of this youth chose to dive in any liberal, convinced that Romania is still the best country for Romania because everything remains to be done. Globalization mark the original boundaries of these choices, while others argue quietly, choosing more original ways, more marginal, more random and also create new trends in society.

Emmanuel Blivet 2006.