*special edition*
Celebrating 30 years of Freedom
! not advised for younger readers !
30 years ago, Romania was still led by Ceausescu and controlled by his communist rule. With “Securitate” (private communist force) members at every corner, fear had been dominating the state for decades.
Constantly, civilians had to prove their dedication and loyalty to their dictator through rallies, representations and ceremonies. The communist rule had infiltrated itself into every aspect of quotidien life including education, economy as well as the workplace and Romania’s industry.
On the 16th of December 1989, when Ceausescu came out of his palace, now situated in Piata Revolutiei (Revolution Square) in Bucharest, to give a long-awaited speech to his ‘devoted’ people, he was interfeered by cries, shouts and boo-s. It was chaos. Never before had the people had the courage to dis-regard and dis-respect him in such a manner.
From there onwards, it has become history. So loud, profound and effective as well as violent, did the revolutionaries become that Ceusescu and his wife were forced to retreat within the walls of the building and desert the terrace from which they had intended to give the speech. However the unrest did not stop there. Angered and grieving young men managed to pass the guarded doors and infiltrate the base floor of the palace.
In response, the Ceausescu-s had to flee. A helicopter took flight off the roof and into the distance as thousands upon thousands of people were cheering his departure and calling him treacherous names.
The so-called ‘story’ (as we do not know for sure exactly what happened) goes to say that the helicopter driver, faking safety damages to the aircraft, dropped the dictator and his wife in the middle of a deserted road and fled. Elena, Ceusescu’s wife, threatened a sole driver, at gunpoint, to drive them to the nearest military station.
Upon arrival, betrayed and decieved, they were immediately captured and imprisoned by soldiers, at Targoviste. Nowadays, keeping hindsight in mind, Romanians tend to call the following Ceusescu trial a “mock” trial or a “kangaroo” one. This is because, in under 24 hours, the verdict was declared, and both Ceusescu and his wife were condemned of national treason and an execution was to follow.
Temporarily obliterating the 10-day-from-judgement-rule, the firing squad, on the 25th of December 1989, opened fire on the couple even before arriving at the designated execution location.
Modern Romanian views vary drastically when asked about the 1989 revolution. However most agree that more visible change should have been achieved in the 30 years that followed.
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Yes, for 30 years we have had freedom, however what we have achieved with it, I can not say…
In order for a historian to dischypher the past he calls onto documents, articles and pieces of written or verbal expression in general. However, since the revolutionary invention of a photographing machine, pictures now behold the core of the past: a direct time-jump into the desired era.
The 1989 revolution, was massively televised, photographed and captured from as many angles as humanly possible. Because of this widespread use of photographic technology as well as the utilisation of the media to spread itself throughout the country, it has been entitled the first ever “televised revolution”.
Photographs are said to behold more power than words just because it is physically easier for a human brain to imagine something that is presented to him or her directly in front of his eyes rather than needing to imagine it first-handely.
These photographs have become impregnated into the minds and souls of Romanians across the globe. They represent nationalism in all its strength and grandeur. It shows them that there is always hope, and that with strong will, the impossible can be achieved.
Photographs that capture such writing have become iconic. They seem to surpass time and re-present ideas and thoughts of the past generation that fought for who we are today.
For instance, this photograph, in all its simplicity – a man holding a protesting banner – has impacted and reached thousands if not tens of thousands of people world-wide. Not only is the beholders’ message strong, clear and direct, but the photograph perfectly captures the fear and caution with which people at the time felt was needed when expressing their ideas.
Images such as this wake up, even in the most peaceful ones of us, a feeling of remorse and grief towards the state upholding such a stand against tranquil protestors.
In this photograph, one can also observe a man holding up a ‘peace-sign’ or the equivalent: two fingers. Despite the modern-day direct link between the sign and its meaning, the hence created “V” stood for Victorie (Victory). That alone adds to the magic and deeper meanings of the picture.
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A nation that does not know its history is like a child that does not know its parents.
The Revolution hit romania at its very core and at the right time.
30 years later, here we are discussing it, expressing our opinions and views upon the events using social media and the internet and we should be thanking them for that.
Ever since the 25th of December 1989, Romanians have developed a platform for the to express themselves and expand into the rest of the world as a prosperous and blooming country.
Laura Ionescu
Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of hARTS magazine
hARTS magazine 