Welfare and Values in Europe: Transitions related to ...303175/FULLTEXT01.pdf · Welfare and Values...

Welfare and Values in Europe: Transitions related to Religion, Minorities and Gender (WaVE)

ROMANIA Megdidia Case Study Report - D9

Nicoleta Zagura

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3

1. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………..5

2. Presentation of the town…………………………………………………….……...5

2.1 Introduction .................…………………………………………………...5

2.2 Brief presentation of the majority and the minority presence………....…6

2.3 Brief presentation of the local welfare system………………….........….11

3. Context and timeframe……………………………………………………..….......15

4. Methods and sources………………………………………………..……….…......16

4.1 Choice of groups….....………………………………………………..…..16

4.2 Methodology...............…………………………………………….……...17

5. Findings……………………………………………………………………..……...18

5.1 Examples of cooperation and cohesion between groups.……….………..18

5.2 Examples of tensions/problem points between and within groups…….....21

5.3 The ‘grey areas’ in between…………..…………………….……………..23

6. Analysis: emergent values…………………………………………..…………........23

6.1 The analysis of values with regard to the “welfare areas”………….....…..24

6.2 Relation of revealed values to religion, minorities and gender……..…….30

7. Policy recommendations: local, national and European Union levels……….........32

7.1 Mechanisms and practices leading to cooperation or

cohesion on local level…..............................................................................32


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7.2 Mechanisms to avoid tensions or conflict…………………………...…....32

7.3 “Direct” and “indirect” activities……………………………………........32

7.4 Preliminary policy recommendations………………………..……………33

References…………………………………………………………………………......34

Web references………………………………………………………….….…….…....36


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A short introduction on Islam and Europe to the research work on the Romanian town of Medgidia By Martin Hauser The Romanian case: positive aspects and the pressure of transition

You may imagine this marvellous picture of villages and towns near the Black Sea coast where mosques and churches are located in a peaceful neighbourhood. What becomes visible and tangible through the research concerning the Romanian town of Medgidia is that the Islam and Christian churches – especially the Romanian Orthodox Church – have been cohabiting for centuries. Through this long adaptation process a viable situation has been created. However, we have to be aware of the fact that in Romania Islam has been only a minority and, historically speaking, for a long period it had the right to build up mosques only and exclusively in the Black Sea area. We may mention as well that cohabitation in this case did not and still does not mean any “mélange” of creed or faith; every group has remained faithful to its own convictions.

The peaceful situation, which also existed under Communist rule, could come under pressure, if in the present period of transition the Muslim part of population grows for different reasons as society is changing in many places.

A very interesting fact is that Romanian legislation included Islam as an officially recognized cult and creed from the very beginning of modern Romania. This situation remained unchanged in the Communist period. All this may be very interesting and even surprising for Western Europeans. Western Europe

The historical evolution and situation of continental Western Europe is different enough from the Eastern one and – especially – from the Romanian paradigm.

At one level, Karl Martell and the Reconquista signified for the West the limits of Islamic influence and rule. This changed for continental Western Europe significantly only in the second half of the 20th century and there is a continuous influx of Muslim people.

At another, namely philosophical and mental level, the influence of Islamic thought upon Western Europe via the Western European universities was fundamental in the second part of


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the Middle Ages. And so, Islamic thought became even co-responsible for the beginning of the process of secularization and secular thinking in the West.

The – philosophically and politically speaking – very secularized West may be able to accept Christian faith and Islam, standing side by side as personal traditions, attitudes or options of parts of its population. This may also happen because of the mentioned connection between Islamic thought and the philosophical and mental evolution of the West, even if this connection remains often hidden and is not in the awareness of many intellectuals.

However, if Islamic influx means new theocratic manifestations of Islam – some kind of imitation of Islamic Republics – at the political, cultural and religious level, in the end, Europeans will react. Given the present situation, we must recognise some kind of uncertainty with regard to the future of Western Europe from a political, cultural and religious point of view. But also in the Eastern part of Europe, for instance in Romania, our changing world can annihilate even favourable situations of the past.


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1. Abstract

The following report presents the research results of the WAVE project by the Romanian team. The research was conducted from July 2006 to December 2007 in the city of Medgidia, situated in the Eastern part of Romania, in the Black Sea Region. Its cultural and religious diversity illustrates the multicultural aspect of modern Romanian society. The city is composed of two large national (and at the same time religious) communities: the Romanian Orthodox and the Turkish-Tatar Muslims and a few other minority groups, such as the Orthodox Roma and Muslim Roma, also called Horhane. The most vulnerable group, dependent on welfare services, is the Horhane community; many of them are living only from welfare state allowances and occasionally from the welfare services offered by the Pentecostal Church and the “Open Doors” Foundation. Other groups of people dependent on welfare also include pensioners, families of more than two children, and people with disabilities. The study illustrates the different ways of transition from a Communist social system to a new welfare structure that did not define itself clearly; it specifically shows the problems that the population of Medgidia are facing during this long process of transition from one social and economic system to another.

2. Presentation of the town

2.1. Introduction

Medgidia is a small industrial city located in the Eastern part of Romania, not far from the Black Sea, in the Constanta region belonging to the Dobrogea Country. The name of Medgidia comes from the name of Sultan Abdul Medgid, the founder of the city (who ruled between 1839 and 1861). The population of the city of Medgidia includes 44,843 inhabitants, of which 35,554 are Romanians, 8,122 are Turks and Tatars and other minorities, such as gypsies and Old Rite Russians (Lipoveni). There are two large religious communities in Medgidia: 35,228 Orthodox (most of which are Romanian and Roma) and 8,168 Muslims (mostly Turks and Tatars) (http://www.emedgidia.ro). The other religious communities are: Roman-Catholics (Romanians coming from Bucovina and Transylvania), Greek-Catholics (Romanians from Transylvania), Pentecostals (Romanian, Roma, Horhane Roma - former Muslim Roma, and Turks), Baptists (Romanian, Roma), and Adventists (Romanian, Roma).

The city is quite specific in that it represents an interesting cultural and religious syncretism between Christians and Muslims with diverse customs and traditions. The French writer Jules Verne was so impressed by the colourful image of the city that he situated the action of one of his stories, “Keraban the Terrible”, in Medgidia. By the end of the 19th century the region was characterised, not only by writers, but also by anthropologists, such as Swiss researcher Eugene Pittard, as a bridge between East and West, where one can find an exotic landscape of Muslim and Baroque buildings. The unusual geometry of the architectural landscape can still be observed on the old city streets of Medgidia. The colourful character of 19th century


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buildings that reminds us past times and old Empires, dominated by grey buildings raised during the Communist period, speak of the unfortunate history of this place.

From this mixture of architectural styles in the small city centre one can easily feel the diversity of characters and people living in the city. The streets are as different as their inhabitants: some are recently renovated, others are immersed in mud. There is abundant luxury next to deep poverty: on the streets one can observe very expensive cars, motorcycles, vans, as well as, horse carriages.

Even if Medgidia is diverse and pluralistic as it was in its past, the relations between groups are in a permanent change. The Orthodox and Muslims are the most influent groups in public life, characterised as traditional groups, they are fighting against the invasion of Neo-Protestant Churches, such as Pentecostals, Jehovah Witnesses and Baptists. During the last year of the research we came across a conflict situation between Romanian Muslims and foreign Muslim organisations from Arab countries.

After 1989 Medgidia faced the collapse of its local economic and social infrastructure that had been maintained by the Ceausescu regime. The local cement and wine industry, the most important economic factors of the city, started to become weak and unproductive, raising the level of unemployment in the city. This phenomenon was illustrated in statistical terms, but also in the Romanian media, but until nowadays nothing concrete has happened to alleviate the situation. The social stability of the city also affected the Roma community, who were formerly forced by the Communist regime to settle down and to integrate in Romanian society by sending their children to schools and finding a place to work; they have started to migrate once again with horses and carriages, refusing to send their children to school. This has increased the rate of begging, crime and illiteracy.

Nowadays the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, in partnership with the Pentecostal Church and the “Open Doors” Association, started a campaign to integrate Horhane children into schools.

2.2. Brief presentation of the majority and minority presence

The old city centre of Medgidia gives the impression that time has another dimension. With the exception of the French Lafarge cement factory and the Fruvimed wine factory, nothing visible and important is happening there from an economic point of view. A foreign person in the neighbourhood is treated with respect but from a distance. As in all small cities in Romania people know each other and the city is characterised by the attitude of “us” (the native inhabitants of the city) vs. “them” (the other), a term defining people who also live in the city, but who are recent arrivals from other cities or places. An engineer I interviewed started his story saying that: “I do not belong to this city; I arrived here 40 years ago, forced by circumstances...” (2,M). Even after 40 years of being a citizen of Medgidia he is still viewed as a foreigner in the city. The fact that people differentiate between native inhabitants and others indicates the patriarchal and conservative character of the population and its


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hermetic character. This attitude of “us” vs. “them” is manifested, not only in the social, but also in the religious life of the city. Traditional churches, such as the Christian Orthodox Church and the Mosque, are hardly accepting towards the “Neo-Protestant” churches (the Pentecostal, Baptist and Adventist Churches in Romania) that appeared in Medgidia after 1990. They view these churches as cultural or philosophical movements, welfare organisations, but NOT religious institutions. The majority of the people from an Orthodox or Muslim background link their religious values to historic ideals, to tradition, to local customs, to family history, and to respect of the ancestors. It is considered a shame for them to leave their traditional beliefs and go to another church from a country with a more recent history and religious tradition.

Both communities, the Romanian Orthodox and, Turkish and Tatar Muslims are traditional religious groups from the area, sharing the same history and its continuous changes and challenges. The first Tatars from Crimea arrived in Dobrogea at the end of the 18th century (starting in 1783), after being persecuted by the Tsarist regime; the second movement of Tatar refugees from Crimea took place in the beginning of the 20th century. Most settled in Medgidia and contributed a lot to the development of the city. The Turkish and Tatar Muslim community is very important from an economic point of view and visible everywhere in the city. In the beginning of the research the Turkish and Tatar Muslims were going to be included as a minority group, but due to their strong visibility and economic presence in the city, it seemed more accurate to consider them as a second majority group, like the Romanian Orthodox. Also, the Turkish and Tatar Muslims and the Romanian and Roma Orthodox share in common religious and historic values and we can speak about a certain cohesion in the area of welfare.

The main religious groups in Medgidia are as follows:

Christian Orthodox: This is the largest religious community with 35,228 members. Most are Romanian, but there are also Roma and Makedons (few persons) (http://www.emedgidia.ro/).

Muslims: This is the second largest group with 8,168 persons, of which most (8,122) are Turks and Tatars, the remaining being foreign citizens from Turkey and Arab countries (http://www.emedgidia.ro).

Roman-Catholics: Approximately 142 Romanians (http://www.searchromania.net/parohii-35/constanta/medgidia/_1/) from Bucovina and Moldova. There are also some Italian and French citizens (developing business activities in the city) that occasionally visit this church. Some members of the Greek-Catholic church are also part of this community.

Pentecostals: Approximately 70 baptised members and Horhane (former Muslim Roma), Romanians and some Turks. According to the Roma social assistant from the Megdidia City Hall there are 700 Pentecostal Roma in the city. (http://www.betleem.ro/en/vision.htm).

Baptists: Approximately 70 members (unofficial data, www.graiuldobrogei.ro).


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Adventists: Approximately 58 members (http://www.biserici.org).

Old Rite Orthodox (Stylist Church): The number of members is not included in any data base. People going to this church are Lipoveni (Old Rite Russians), as well as, some Romanians.

The main national groups present in Medgidia include the following:

Romanians represent the majority group in Medgidia and amount up to 35,554 people. This is an official number provided by the National Institute of Statistics (http://www.insse.ro). This number was contested by the Roma party “Partida Rromilor”, as they stated that many Roma declare themselves Romanians (approximately 5,000 persons). Most Romanians are Christian Orthodox, but there are also Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists, Old Rite Orthodox, Roman-Catholics and Greek-Catholics.

Turks and Tatars represent the second national group in terms of size, amounting to 8,122 people. This number includes only the local population of Turks and Tatars, thus excluding 4,000 - 4,500 Horhane (who in some cases declare themselves Turks). Turks and Tatars from Medgidia are Muslims (http://www.emedgidia.ro).

The Roma are the most difficult to estimate in Megdidia. According to official data from the National Institute of Statistics there are 497 Roma in the city (http://www.insse.ro). But the leader of the political party of the Roma minority, “Partida Rromilor”, has provided a different figure: 6,000 Roma in Medgidia, of which 4,500 are Horhane, 500 (maybe more) Orthodox, 700 Pentecostals, and the remaining not belonging to any church.

The Lipoveni are Old Rite Russians who settled in Romania in the 17th century. There are 40 people in Medgidia, who belong to the Old Rite Orthodox (Stylist) Church that is independent and separate from the Romanian Orthodox Church (http://www.emedgidia.ro).

Other nationalities in the city include Macedonians, Greeks, Armenians, Hungarians, and Jews. They are invisible and their number in not so great to be included in any statistic data base (there are only a few persons for each nationality).

Characteristics of the majority Church:

The Romanian Orthodox Church is a very significant and observable actor in Romanian society. Its impact on public life is important from a spiritual as well as from a political perspective. Local Orthodox Priests are participating in City Hall meetings and their opinion plays a decisive role in many issues. There are 3 Orthodox Churches and 2 Chapels in Medgidia. Romanians are identifying themselves with an Orthodoxy that is for them not only a religion, but also a history, cultural identity and an ethical code of behaviour.

Muslims could be characterised as the second majority group in Medgidia; they have 2 mosques and a theological seminary. As the Orthodox Church, Muslims are connected to political and social events in the city. Imams are invited to participate in City Hall meetings


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and other social activities. But after a declaration by Imam Osman Aziz, Muslims from Romania are not supposed to be involved in political life (http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/vor-salva-preotii-clasa-politica-de-pacate/344342).

Characteristics of national/ethnic minorities:

Roma

The position of the Romanian Orthodox, the Turkish and Tatar Muslims and ex-Muslim Romas, named Horhane, is quite different. In the Communist period (mainly from 1950 to 1957), Horhane nomadic communities were established in Medgidia and their members felt “as the minority” from the very beginning. During the Communist regime this community was affected by restrictive laws that did not allow them to live a nomadic life and to practice their traditions and rituals (http://www.divers.ro/focus_ro?func=viewSubmission&sid=7277&wid=37452). They were hired by the Communist regime to work in agriculture and construction. Education was obligatory and they were forced to send their children to school, which can explain why some representatives of this minority are in public positions nowadays. After 1989 they started to ignore the rules imposed by the Communist regime and many of them pulled out their children out of school. Currently there are many young people, aged between 28 and 30 years that have never been to school and do not know how to read and write (9,M).

At the present time the Horhane constitute a controversial national minority, which is obvious in daily life. Their identity is connected to the Ottoman Empire and they are also called “Cenghene”, a Turkish name for Tzigan, denominating the Roma. Because they refused to practice sacred bath rituals and to renounce eating pork and drinking alcohol, this community was rejected by the Turkish and Tatar Muslims (4, M). Only 4 representatives of this minority go to the mosque and all four of them are women. As in Romanian society religion plays an important role, especially for ritual celebrations such as weddings, births and funerals, it was necessary for this Horhane community to substitute their ancient beliefs with another religious practice. Many of them started to occasionally visit Orthodox Churches, while some others started to go to the Pentecostal Church, so now there is also a Horhane priest in the Pentecostal Community of Medgidia and its surroundings (10, M). Motivated by the welfare services offered by the Pentecostal church many representatives of the Horhane community are joining this congregation. It seems that the only structures that have started to keep them together and to socialise them are the -Protestant Churches and “Open Doors” Foundation.

Nowadays, the Horhane are in Medgidia a group of people characterised by needy families, poor housing, high rate of unemployment, early age of marriage (girls 13-14, boys 15-16), high rate of illiteracy and low level of social integration. Alcoholism and poor hygiene are the factors that are pushing this minority to the margins of society.

Because early marriages at 12-15 years are illegal in Romania (marriages are legal for girls aged 16+, and for boys aged 18+, http://www.avocatnet.ro), the Horhane do not have


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marriage certificates so their children are technically from illegal marriages and thus rarely have a birth certificate. Even if they have a birth certificate, mothers rarely declare the name of the father in the papers because from their point of view it is better to have the status of a single mother in order to receive some help from state institutions. Without these legal tools it is difficult for the Horhane to obtain any social benefits or a legal place of work (7,F).

The Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance is working very hard to register Horhane children in order to give them birth certificates and integrate them to public schools (7,F). They also try to convince the fathers that it is important to recognise their paternity (on legal papers and birth certificates) and take care of their children. According to the perspective of the other minority groups, such as the Lipoveni or the Makedons, they consider that the state is investing a large amount of money to “force” the education of the Horhane, thus ignoring other underprivileged groups (11,M).

Immigration:

Immigration is not a very visible phenomenon in Medgidia. Some Turkish professors and imams settled over the last few years in Medgidia in order to teach about Islam in the Muslim college. Even the director of the college is a Turkish citizen.

Emigration:

Emigration is a well-known method for survival in Romanian society. As the average salary in Romania was 270 Euros per month in 2007 (http://www.roportal.ro), many Romanian citizens are immigrating to Western Europe in order to find a better paid job. According to the data provided by the Medgidia Public Centre of Social Assistance there are at least 500 families with children whose parents are working abroad while grandparents are taking care of them (7,F).

Religious minorities:

Pentecostals, Adventists, Baptists

Labelled by Orthodox believers as a Neo-Protestant Confession, rarely accepted as a Church, characterised as a heresy or a philosophical movement, Pentecostals, Adventists, Baptists are a recent phenomenon in Medgidia. Neo-Protestant Churches were established after 1990 with the assistance of Romanian believers from Transylvania (where the Neo-Protestant Church has a longer history). They are visible actors in terms of welfare activities. They organise summer schools for Horhane children, education activities for young mothers, family counselling and health education.

Neo-Protestant Churches seem to be fairly welcomed by the Horhane community, mainly because of their unclear belonging into any religious system existing in the city. They are rejected by Muslims because of not -respecting religious rules, they are tolerated by but not


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assimilated into the Orthodox community. The Neo-Protestant Churches offer to their members and believer welfare services, as well as educational and social activities that are in great demand in a post-Communist society of transition and economic and educational instability. The Neo-Protestant Churches in association with the “Open Doors” Christian Foundation are the most visible welfare actors in the city (http://open-doors-foundation.org/). Their activities are coordinated through the Public Service of Social Assistance and the results are visible, not only in statistical terms, but also in the fact that together with the City Hall they have renovated a building for Horhane minority (http://somethingismissing.com/wst_page4.html).

The key factor that is making the welfare activities of Neo-Protestant Churches possible is the support from their communities abroad, namely cooperation with Canadian and American foundations (http://open-doors-foundation.org/).

2.3 Brief presentation of the local welfare system

The Medgidia welfare system is similar to that at the national level in Romania: the main responsibility for providing welfare services is held by the local authorities represented by the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance. Also there are some NGOs and Foundations that are offering welfare assistance both on a regular and occasional basis. The active NGOs in Medgidia include the following:

• The “Open Doors” foundation: a Christian organisation that brings together Baptist and Pentecostal Churches in order to offer to the community regular welfare services. Their activities have been developed in partnership with the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, local schools and the hospital. Their presence in the city is quite visible because of the fact that they have contributed to the elimination of illiteracy among the Roma community. They have also been the first organisation offering systematically food and education to a group of Roma children from very poor families.

• The “Ingerii Pazitori” [Angels of Care]: an NGO that has not developed its activity because of lack of funds. Initially it offered assistance to children infected with AIDS and developed AIDS prevention projects.

• The “Tuna” foundation: it was created in 1995 by an association of Turkish and Romanian businessmen in order to provide welfare services to underprivileged categories of people regardless of their religious or national background. It is the most visible Muslim welfare related organisation, not only in Medgidia, but also in Constanta and Bucuresti.

• The “Taiba” organisation: it has constructed a Mosque in Medgidia, but its activities have been contested by the Mufti of Romania (see section 3).

• The “Batranete si speranta” [Hope for the future]: an association created by the Orthodox community in order to help elderly people in need.


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There are few other welfare foundations that are not visible, such as the Association of Roma parents, the Association of Volunteers, the Association of Entrepreneur Ladies; they develop and provide occasional welfare services.

Role of local government:

The local welfare organisation is the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, functioning under the auspices of the City Council of Medgidia. It is funded by local government and under the authority of the Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family (http://sas.mmssf.ro/serviciiSociale.php). It offers assistance, especially during the winter period, to more than 4,000 persons (mainly heating their apartments and houses, while also helping people with disabilities that can hardly leave their houses during the winter) (http://www.emedgidia.ro).

Its mission is to organise and to provide a sustainable local welfare system, to facilitate the relationship between governmental and non-governmental organisations in order to provide social welfare to the population of Medgidia.

The support offered by the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance includes the following services and allowances (money).

Family allocations (financial assistance) distributed to the following social groups:

- Children (according to Law nr. 61/1993) - Families (according to Governmental Decision nr.105/2003) - One parent families (according to Governmental Decision nr.105/2003) - Newborn children (according to Law nr.416/2001) - People in need of work (according to Governmental Decision nr.26/1997 and Law 272/2004) - Parents or guardians taking care of a child under the age of three Social Care includes services offered both in terms of money or goods to persons or families whose income is insufficient to cover basic needs; it includes the following: - Assistance to persons on a minimum salary (according to Law nr.416/2001) - Assistance for paying heating costs for a house or apartment (according to Governmental Decision nr.5/2003) - Assistance for the acquisition of heating systems for persons on a minimum salary whose apartments or houses are heated by gas (according to Governmental Decision nr.91/2005) - Social assistance to refugees Allowances (financial assistance) are also accorded to: - Blind persons and persons with disabilities - Working blind persons and persons with disabilities - A person supervising or assisting someone with disabilities


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- Children and adults infected by AIDS According to statistical data estimations by the specialists of the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, approximately 4,000 residents of the city use their help to heat their houses during the winter period. Approximately 500 families require psychological assistance for their children because one or both parents are working abroad and the grandparents are facing difficulties in replacing their parents. The main social problems that require the help of the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance are connected to poverty, unemployment and illness and the people requiring this type of help do not belong to a specific group.

Minorities and the public welfare system:

The minorities in Medgidia have access to the public welfare system only if they have been registered in the official documents of City Hall (if they have birth certificates, identity cards, etc.). The main problem of the Horhane minority is that only in the last few years have they started to accept the idea of cooperation with local authorities in order to register the birth of their children and have identity cards (10, M). The City Hall hired a representative of the Horhane community in order to facilitate the dialogue between them and the representatives of local government. The Horhane representative from the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, together with his colleagues, also helped by “Open Doors” Foundation, started a campaign for issuing legal documents to the members of Horhane community. The procedure was done in order for them to have a legal status and be able to receive social assistance consisting both of money and social services. The biggest surprise was to discover that after obtaining identity cards most of the “new citizens of Medgidia” disappeared, as if they had never been there. After a while only few of them came back from Western Europe and this in order to take the other members of their families with them.

At this time, the Horhane members that have remained in the city are living mostly on social assistance. They are also helped by Neo-Protestant Churches. One characteristic of this minority is the fact that they do not seem to take any personal initiative as they wait for help from the “outside” and they are also not united among themselves and do not seem to help each other.

The Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, together with “Open Doors” Foundation, and Neo-Protestant Churches started a campaign of Horhane integration in the society and developed a literacy programme for children and their parents. They also cleaned up their houses and also developed a health education programme. During a summer school organised by the “Open Doors” Foundation, a teacher was invited to teach in their native language and to help them study in order to be admitted to public schools. During the last few years approximately 37 Horhane pupils have joined the public schools. This is the first sign of their social integration (8,F).

The Horhane as well as the other minorities in the city have free access to public services, such as education, medical assistance and emergency services. Even if they do not have any


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documents they are admitted to emergency and medical services. During the process of issuing belated birth certificates for Horhane children (in order to integrate them in public schools), representatives of “Open Doors” Foundation have been taking care of them and a specialised teacher is working with them every week (8,F).

Other minority groups such as the Lipoveni (Old Style Russians), Makedons or Greeks rarely require any social help. They are not visible in the statistical data of the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance (7,F).

Role of majority church:

Orthodox. The role of the Orthodox Church in welfare provision has more of a spiritual dimension. The Orthodox Church is not a wealthy church and after 50 years of Communist persecutions and oppressions it is redefining itself. During the Communist period the Church’s welfare contribution to society that had been founded by Queen Mary of Romania (1914-1927) together with the Red Cross was abolished. Only in 1990 did the Social Assistance Department reopen Orthodox Institutes and Universities in Romania. At this time there are no visible signs of any organised social assistance by Orthodox Church, but there are some signs of reform and reorganisation, including the Orthodox community of Medgidia: the city’s Orthodox believers have founded an association “Batranete si Speranta” in order to help elderly people that require assistance at home. Volunteer women (aged between 30 and 50) are currently helping 20 persons who mostly do not have a family or whose families are not living in the city 12,F). One of the women who is offering this type of assistance noted that “all of us have old persons in the family; from the Orthodox point of view it is our mission to take care of our parents, as they took care of us” (12,F).

Muslims. The situation of Muslims is different compared to the Orthodox. After 1990 the Muslim community in Medgidia started to be sponsored by Turkish associations. The Muslim Seminary was reopened under the auspices of the Turkish Government. There are 2 Muslim foundations developing activities in Medgidia: the Tuna and the Taiba. The deputy of the Democratic Union of Muslim Turks-Tatars from Romania (DUMTTR) declared that these foundations are developing their activity independently from the Democratic Union of Muslim Turks-Tatars from Romania (a political party). The activities of the Democratic Union of Muslim Turks-Tatars from Romania are based on political and educational motives and are strongly supported by the Mufti of Romania, Muurat Yusuf. They are organising educational activities for young people in Mosques and in the Cultural Centre of Democratic Union of Muslim Turks-Tatars from Romania; they also have a women’s organisation within the Union that offers social assistance activities. The members of the DUMTTR are Romanian citizens and they represent the largest part of the Romanian Muslim population.

The Tuna Foundation is financed by a Turkish businessman and offers welfare assistance to students from underprivileged families. They have educational and social assistance centres in Medgidia and Bucuresti (http://www.tuna.ro).


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The Taiba Foundation is financed by Muslims from Arab countries; they offer financial and social assistance to members of the Muslim community. Every year they offer a sponsorship to some pilgrims wishing to travel to Mecca (http://www.taiba.ro). The Taiba Foundation is mainly focused on supporting members of its own religious group.

Compared to Neo-Protestant Churches the welfare activities of these two Muslim Foundations, are quite different: their activities are not provided in cooperation with the local authorities and their welfare services are not very clear and transparent publicly (10,M).

3. Context and timeframe

EU related conflicts

After Romania entered the European Union in 2007 a great number of unemployed Romanians (legal or illegal) left for Western European countries. This wave of migration was uncontrolled before Romania entered the EU, but after becoming EU citizens the status of Romanian citizens in the host countries changed: as members of the EU they could no longer be deported to Romania. There were two separate and highly publicised cases of Romanian Roma citizens who were arrested after murdering two Italians in Rome (http://www.italymag.co.uk/2007/news-from-italy/general/immigration-row-as-romanians-arrested-in-rome-murder-hunt/). After these cases of murder both the Romanian and Italian governments began a campaign against illegal migration. Suddenly the Romanian population working abroad was faced with having to deal with a severely negative image created by the media. Declarations by some political parties in Italy about the intention of the government to repatriate certain illegal Romanian workers raised concern among families from Romania that are surviving solely on the money they receive by members of their families working abroad.

This situation also affected some families from Medgidia. In a city with a high rate of unemployment, finding a good paid job is the main problem according to a young specialist: “what is the hope for the future?” was the question of a mother with a daughter working in Italy (15,F). The conflict in Italy was enough to raise a lot of questions in the Romanian media about people working abroad and their economic influence on the local economy, welfare and family. Psychologists started to talk in the media about suicides at an early age (between 15 and 35 year olds) as a result by the fact that members of their families are working abroad and their children are missing them (http://www.roportal.ro).

EU related cooperation

In November 2007 the Lyceum Nicolae Balcescu in Medgidia, in cooperation with the city hall, organised the “YES” event dedicated to the environment and sustainability. The Young European School conference, “Europe…your future”, is a movement that brings together teachers and students from Europe. Groups from Belgium, Estonia, France, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Netherlands participated at this event in Medgidia. It was a unique event for a small city to have young guests from all over Europe and it was a


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great honour and a sign of the fact that “we can also make a positive contribution to the EU family through our culture, knowledge and education” (19,F). The event was a success in terms of receiving positive international relations and promoting national cultural and religious values.

Romanian Muslims vs. Arab Muslims

In the spring of 2007 there was a conflict between the Mufti of Romania, Muurat Yusuf, and two Muslim NGOs, the “Taiba” and the “Mesajul” [The message], during the meeting of the “Shura-I Islam” (Synodal Council of Muslims). The Mufti refused to recognise the diplomas of some students that had studied Islam in Arabic countries and had received financial assistance from the “Taiba” and one of its branch organisation “Muslim Brothers”, accusing them that they had studied “the wrong interpretation of Koran, inciting Islamic extremism ” (http://www.muftiyat.ro/). This conflict was covered by local and national media, increasing popular interest in the Muslims of Romania. This event was unfortunate for the research study because after this “explosion” in the Romanian media, the representatives of the Medgidia Muslim community that were originally very friendly and cooperating during the interviews, started to become suspicious and reserved during subsequent discussions.

Social relations

In September 2007, 61 workers went on strike in front of the City Hall of Medgidia because their company was bought by the Lafarge Cement Factory and they were dismissed from their jobs (http://www.standard.ro/articol_12352/). Unemployment is a real problem for a small city such as Medgidia, where it is hard to find good work opportunities. This phenomenon is connected to the strong emigration factor in the city.

4. Methods and sources

4.1 Choice of groups

For the in-depth research I have selected 3 representative national (ethnic) groups: Romanian, Turks-Tatars, and Roma (Horhane) and according to religion: Orthodox, Muslims and Neo-Protestants.

In the beginning of the research the Turkish-Tatar Muslims were going to be included as a minority group in the city, but given their strong visibility and economic presence in the city, it seemed more accurate to consider them as a second majority group, like the Romanian Orthodox. Also, the Turkish-Tatar Muslims and the Romanian and Roma Orthodox share in common religious and historic values and we can speak about cohesion in the area of welfare. The Neo-Protestant Roma are mostly an excluded group.

Every national group corresponds to approximately 80% of a religious group:

The Romanian majority is Orthodox (www.emedgidia.ro).


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The Turkish-Tatar community is 99% Muslim (www.emedgidia.ro).

The Horhane (former Muslim Roma) started to convert to Neo-Protestant Churches but, there are no clear statistics on their affiliation to the Pentecostal, Baptist or Adventist Churches.

The most vulnerable group from all those mentioned above is the Horhane. They are going through, not only a cultural and educational crisis of identity, but also their religious identity is also lost between two realities: the Orthodox and the Muslim. The Neo-Protestant Church seems to be for them a “salvation solution” offering them the possibility to receive assistance from both directions: welfare and religion.

4.2 Methodology

During the research, the field work was done through interviews and observation of all categories of people: working and non-working, young and old population. Interviews were conducted with both groups (3 groups meetings at the: Cultural Centre of the City, the Democratic Union of Turkish-Tatar Muslims from Medgidia and the Public Service of Social Assistance) and individuals (27 interviews). They took place during meetings with representatives of local authorities, local religious leaders or political leaders at the church, at school, in city stores, cafeterias, taxis, city markets, and local public transport. Interviews cited in the text are coded with a number indicating the interview number, followed by the letter M or F indicating male or female.

The applied research methods of used included the following:

General observation of the people and their lifestyle.

Content analysis of documents and texts in city archives, the local library, local, regional and national newspapers and web sites. Thematic analysis in terms of needs and values, social identity, hope and trust in the future, etc.

The data was collected from various groups: religious groups, national groups, political parties and NGOs in various locations such areas in the Old City Centre, the CFR Quarter, the “Alibaba Quarter” and the North Quarter.

The research took place in two different time periods: the first interviews were conducted in the summer of 2006 and the research was focused exclusively on the Muslim community. Another round of field research took place in the spring and autumn of 2007 with an extended focus on Neo-Protestant movements, the Roma community and the state welfare structures in Megdidia.

One particular difficulty in the Romania case study was obtaining reliable statistical data on percentages of minorities in Megdidia.


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When talking with representatives of the Roma minority, as well as, with representatives of other groups, they all mentioned different data than those published by the official web sites of the City Hall (http://www.emedgidia.ro/) and the National Institute of Statistics (www.insse.ro/).

Also information on the welfare activities of Muslim NGOs that are developing activities in the city varied during the different stages of the research due to the conflict that took place in March 2007 between the Muftiat, the institution of the officially organised authority of the Mosque and a Muslim NGO (see section 3).

5. Findings

5.1 Examples of cooperation and cohesion between groups

The observable examples of cohesion and cooperation in the field of welfare are the projects coordinated by the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance, the “Open Doors” Christian Foundation and the Neo-Protestant Churches. Their common effort to increase the level of welfare assistance for the Horhane community is visible and positive. Their effort to bring together the forces of all national and religious groups from the city in order to help the Horhane children gave good results. About 37 Horhane children were integrated in public schools (Group Interview no. 3).

Increasing “organisational cohesion”:

As far as the local governmental welfare institution, the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance is not able to carry out the huge demand of welfare assistance needs (7,F; group interview no. 3) so local NGOs has been invited to cooperate with governmental structures.

An experimental short-term project of collaboration between the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance and the “Open Doors” Christian Foundation in order to provide free meals to poor families during the week-ends, turned into an important project of social assistance for Horhane families based on the cooperation of many institutions, both governmental and non-governmental (8,F). This cooperation resulted in a project of material and financial help collected from members of all groups in Medgidia in order to help Horhane children live in clean houses and to have new clothes and necessary supplies for going to school.

Representatives from Horhane families (especially women) have been invited by social workers to participate in literacy classes in order to improve their social status and in order to help them find a place of work. Consultant teams from the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance were assisted by the “Open Doors” Christian Foundation, the Neo-Protestant Churches and public schools. One of the leaders of the Democratic Union of Turkish-Tatar Muslims from Medgidia also extended some welfare assistance (group interview no. 3).

The integration of Horhane children in public schools:


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According to information provided by the National Centre for Sustainable Development (www.sndp.ro), governmental welfare assistance started to become weak and inefficient due to lack of skilled human resources: because of low salaries more and more specialists from this domain are leaving the country. Comparing the percentage of social workers in Medgidia (teachers, medical assistants, psychologists, etc.) between 1998 and 2003 their numbers have decreased continuously: in 1998 there were 845 social workers in Medgidia and by 2003 that number had dropped to 625 (http://www.ncsd.ro/ncsd-la21/AgLoc21_Medgidia).

This crisis and lack of in skilled human resources in the domain of welfare was one of the factors that influenced the growth of illiteracy, child abandonment, and child deceases among the Horhane community that is totally dependent on welfare assistance.

Local schools were not adequately prepared to help Horhane children integrate in primary classes. Horhane families are living along with horses and animals inside their houses and their children suffer from many diseases. There was a case of a girl coming to literacy classes who complained at school that the horse died inside the house and they have to bring it out. After asking for help from the City Hall, social services and specialised disinfection companies went to the girl’s home to treat the house and teach her parents how to keep their house clean (group interview no. 3; 8,F). Because of poor hygiene many children are bringing viruses to school and parents of the other school children are refusing to keep their kids in the same classes (7,F).

This situation resulted in a conflict between parents and social workers as parents noted that they are traumatising their children by keeping them in the same classes as the Horhane children. It was a difficult challenge for social workers to try to convince them that these Horhane children also deserve a chance for a better future. Finally they were accepted and nowadays many of them are achieving good results at school.

Nevertheless, the fact that NGOs and the Church was deeply implicated in this process of welfare assistance revealed the fact that governmental structures are not enough to guarantee social cohesion for this minority and to help them improve their status and life conditions and build a relationship with majority groups.

The school is the first and the best tool for Horhane integration into society. Through children that are coming to schools mothers can also come to school and participate in social activities. Sometimes both parents are taking literacy classes for older generations (7,F). The consequences of the integration of Horhane children in schools can also be seen among other members of the Horhane community: mothers are participating at health education courses and some fathers started to visit Sunday literacy classes. Some Horhane members have started working together in order to help social assistants clean their living quarters. It is important to note that without the help of the “Open Doors” Foundation and the Neo-Protestant Church this act of social cohesion would not have been possible to achieve. The Neo-Protestant Church initiative was followed by the other Churches and it was a good example of solidarity


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and cohesion: Muslims, as well as, Orthodox families donated clothes, school supplies, and toys to Horhane children.

The Neo-Protestant Churches and their influence on local welfare:

From the point of view of welfare related activities, the most visible religious group is the Neo-Protestant Church: Pentecostals, Adventists and Baptists. Their activities could be characterised as social and cohesive in terms of relations with other national and religious groups. They work together, as well as, with other religious groups and some local government institutions. Their activity is visible because of their social impact but also due to the media tools they put into good use:

Pentecostals (www.betleem.ro) have a web-site and their activities are posted on the internet. They have a well organised infrastructure and are efficient in terms of collaboration with “others”.

Adventists are noticeable in Medgidia. They do not have their own web site in order to advertise their activities, but a group website (http://www.adventistmuntenia.ro) designed for the whole region is posting all information on their activities. It is interesting to note that their activities in Medgidia take place in the City Hall and their attention is focused on education of health and family values (http://www.adventistmuntenia.ro/newstext.php?id=417).

In terms of cohesion with other groups we have to note the presence of an Orthodox priest at their conference dedicated to Family and Health Values. The Orthodox priest participated in the discussions and mentioned that there is the need for an important and shared effort for both churches to help the family institution.

The Baptist community is not visible in Medgidia.

The “Open Doors” Christian Foundation seems to be the liaison actor between all Neo-Protestant Churches and local authorities. Together they are working efficiently towards a very well organised work in the welfare domain. They organise summer holidays, events and workshops for the children from poor families, free medical assistance for the elderly, week-end classes for continuing education and free meals for Horhane children (20,F)

To conclude, in the beginning the Neo-Protestant presence was viewed as an alarming sign of the invasion of a globalised world into the patriarchal society of Medgidia. Its presence was seen with apprehension from the traditional churches of the city (the Orthodox and Muslim). Slowly, they have been accepted as a necessary actor in Medgidia society and they have found their own place on its map and in the area of welfare provision for the Horhane and other people in need. It seems that this small group of believers have contributed towards cohesion between different religious and national groups, also to the work of the local authorities and their strategy to provide welfare provision to people in need.


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5.2 Examples of tensions/problem points between and within groups

The conflicts or tensions between religious and national (ethnic) groups are not connected directly to welfare provision. Usually a conflict can appear between leaders of groups when they are discussing the epistemological value and meaning of welfare. According to the research a conflict situation emerged between an Orthodox priest and a representative of a Neo-Protestant organisation when the priest pointed out that the Neo-Protestant Church is “buying” believers by offering them welfare services (10,M).

The same situation occurred in the Muslim context: representatives of the Romanian Muslim community complained about the fact that Arab NGOs are destabilising the Romanian Muslim community by attracting members through welfare services and converting them to an “extremist” form of Islam (www.muftiyat.ro/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=139&Itemid=75).

Tensions concerning different religious groups:

As mentioned in part 2 the most noticeable conflicts in the city where between residents of the city and “newcomers”, that are perceived as “the other”. Memories from recent history when “the others” were the occupation partisans confiscating the land and properties of local wealthy merchant families of Medgidia are still fresh. Communist oppression, as well as, wars in the region has influenced the social attitude of local residents. During its difficult and unfortunate history the population of Megdidia trusted the “opposition” institutions and the core values of traditional society: the Mosque and its imam and the Orthodox Church with its priest. For them Islam and Orthodoxy are not representing only religious values; it is the city’s own history, identity, culture and ancient roots. This is why there is a tension between Orthodox and Neo-Protestant groups; it was not a violent conflict, but rather a theologically-based tension.

As for the Romanian Muslims and the Muslims from Arab countries, it was a conflict related to the social status and stability of Romanian Muslims. The Romanian Muslims are affiliated with Sunnite Islam. Mainly coming from Arab countries, “the others” belong to the Shiite tradition. The conflict emerged when the Mufti of Romania, Murat Yusuf, refused to recognise the authority of an NGO funded by Arabic countries (the Taiba [The Message]), as well as, the diplomas of Imams that graduated under the auspices of these foundations. This situation was a matter of disagreement between the Mufti of Romania and representatives of this NGO and the diplomatic missions of Arab countries that founded the scholarships for those Imams. The Mufti of Romania noted that the Pilgrimage to Mecca by Romanian Muslims, as well as, the publication of religious books connected to Islam should be coordinated by the Romanian Muslim authority in Romania, the Muftiat and its decision instrument, the Sura-I Islam (http://www.muftiyat.ro/). Through his actions the Mufti of Romania separated all uncontrolled actions and welfare activities by “newcomers” from the activities of the Romanian Muslims.


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Tensions concerning different national (ethnic) groups:

As seen from the above mentioned conflicts, the main issue is “whether to admit others in our society” Beyond these issues, the main existing tension, visible in all police reports, is between different clans of the Horhane Roma. Conflicts are usually the result of economic clashes or “love-related” conflicts in most cases. The custom of buying a wife at the age of 13 or 14 is still practiced in these communities. The Horhane Roma usually do not have any stable work and many of them collect scrap iron or do occasional agricultural jobs, while others simply beg, using it as a profession. This is why this group is the most unstable and often the most aggressive. The Horhane Roma can be characterised as a vulnerable and excluded group. After the fall of the Ceausescu regime no one was able to control their activities and they have been left alone to decide if they want to send their children to school. Most Roma parents consider it unnecessary to send their kids to school and see it as more convenient to leave them at home and to marry them off at an early age (at 12 to 14 years) (24,F). This is why there are many illiterate 25 to 26 year old Horhane Roma. This is the most unprivileged and excluded social group in Megdidia. Most do not have any type of identity documents so they do not exist in any official papers. Local authorities are making great efforts to identify them and issue them documents, so they can have a legal status, in order to be able to offer them social assistance. But not all of them agree to these actions (especially the male representatives of the group): to register their existence means to respect state legislation concerning marriage and social rules and to accept the obligation to send their children to school. All these rules seem restrictive to their community. The average age of marriage is between the age of 13 and 15. Marriages are decided by the families and officiated by the chief of the clan (the Bulibasha) after the bride is usually “bought” from her family.

The Public Service of Social Assistance made great efforts to convince members of the Horhane Roma to send their children to school. The “Open doors” foundation also gave its support top this and the situation has now started to change for the better at least for the younger generations. The problem at the moment is that after having been issued documents in order to integrate in the local community many Roma leave for Western Europe or Turkey (as many of them are familiar with a dialect of Turkish language). If their children are not old enough to work or to take care of themselves alone, they are often left behind with the other members of the clan. Many such cases were discovered during the research.

Concerning the religious values of the Horhane Roma, they have been rejected by the Muslim community because they refused to respect its norms. This explains how a rejected minority has progressively entered a Neo-Protestant Church (and also been marginalised by the majority). The Neo-Protestant churches have specialised in welfare services and this is one of the reasons for their success inside the Horhane Roma community. Besides social help the Horhane Roma has also benefitted from education and, according to the field research, these changes are becoming more and more visible. The female population is the most receptive to these changes and their behaviour indicates a glimpse of hope for a better future: many of them are making great efforts to keep their children in schools, while also starting to visit the


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church and enrol in literacy courses on a regular basis. For this small group education has started to become an accepted value and this is a great step for the future …

Finally I would like to present the opinion of a representative from the Roma party (9,M) who mentioned that most Roma are not declaring themselves Roma anymore: “their skin is 10 times darker than mine but at the census they declare themselves as Romanians. Why all these problems of identity? Personally I do not agree with the term Roma, it is a characterisation of a language that we speak (Romany), but we are Gypsies, Gitanes, Tzigani, not Roma! To be a Tzigan means a lot! To ignore the “conventional” way of being, to have an unconditional freedom, to sing, to dance, to travel and to enjoy this lifestyle means to be Tzigan. To have the spirit of adventure in your blood! Once settled you cannot define yourself as such from a cultural point of view. Many are declaring themselves as Romanians because of their lifestyle. They don’t feel as being Gypsy anymore! Roma is a solution also in naming the settled Gypsies, a politically correct notion that is losing a lot from the authentic spirit of a Gypsy. Then do you speak about dance, music, a specific kind of food that are all characteristic of our community? So you call it Roma dance, Roma music, Roma steak? Its sounds ridiculous! It’s an identity problem and every person has the freedom to solve it in his own way!” (9,M).

5.3 The ‘grey areas’ in between

The opposition between “our citizens” vs. “the others” is defining the status of the Medgidia population. There are different kinds of situations and then a conflict suddenly appears; but conflicts are quite a rare manifestation in the patriarchal life of the city. In times of crisis people act with solidarity and help each without differentiating what group residents belong to. A good example of solidarity was when a young girl from the Muslim community whose surgery in Germany was paid by donations from citizens of Megdidia.

Concerning the “grey areas” an Orthodox priest complained about Roma believers: “by the time they are alive, they have material needs and they go to Pentecostals because they have things to offer them, then they die and they are brought to Orthodox Church because of a funeral ceremony; for the past life they trust us more!” (25,M).

6. Analysis: emergent values

The evolving values of Romanian society could be characterised in two categories: personal and group values. After the 2002 census, the Romanian Orthodox Church was declared as the most trusted state institution (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71402.htm), which places religion and religious practices as the most popular group value in Romania.

Regarding the personal values of Romanians, a close analysis conducted by EUROBAROMETER in 2006 indicated that “human rights (47%), peace (52%) and respect for human life (27%) are the most important values in personal life” (www.ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb66/eb66_ro_exec.pdf).


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In the EUROBAROMETER 2006 report one specific value indicated by Romanians as being extremely important: it was “personal fulfilment”, reaching the rate of 27% in Romania compared to 19% in Hungary, 10% in Poland and 7% in Sweden (www.ec.europa.eu).

After a long period of “collective thinking” imposed by the Communist regime, Romanians finally started to think and to learn to act as individuals; this is why the value of self-fulfilment has started to become important. Of course this value is connected to many factors: better lifestyle, access to education, freedom of religion. Self-fulfilment or maybe the lesson of personal freedom is a recent lesson for post-Communist Romanian society.

6.1 The analysis of values with regard to the “welfare areas”

Family:

The majority of Romanians consider family as one of the most important values in society. Family is an important institution in the society and community of Megdidia as well. It can be characterised as an act towards belief in a better future and an institution of trust and hope. In a few instances of interviews in the in-depth study, after a first or even a second divorce people are still getting married, indicating trust in this form of cohabitation (2,M;21,F).

Public persons, as well as, colleagues from work and neighbours are much more trusted if they have families (21, F). Usually if a person from a small city such as Medgidia is not married and does not have a family many people will try “to help him or her” to find a partner and to get married in order to enter normality! In folkloric Romanian terms this situation is characterised mostly as “being married by old ladies”, describing a late marriage in order to fit in and “to be the same as the whole of society”.

The Orthodox Family

The average age of marriage in Romanian Orthodox families in Medgidia is 24 years for women and 26 for men. In the case of Orthodox Roma, the average marriage age is 18 years for women and 23 for men (City Hall Evidence Catalogue). Families are usually helped by their parents in purchasing an apartment or a house and if this is not possible they live with their parents. Recently the state initiated a housing programme for young families through the National Housing Agency (http://www.anl). But the number of persons benefiting from this service is very small: only 24 persons benefited in 2004-2005 from this programme and this number is very small compared to the great number of cases in need (http://www.administratie.ro/articolenou.php?articol_id=7761).

From an Orthodox perspective marriage plays an important role in the social life of a person: it is a motivating factor to work harder in order to improve the wellbeing of the family. Love also plays an important role, as well as, having a child. Men and women are equal in terms of tasks and duties in the family. In the majority cases both members of the family work. The average number of children in these marriages is not more than 2 (25,M). Most kids are


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educated by their grandparents, but there are many families that hire a nanny or leave the children in kindergartens. The marriage institution within the Orthodox community is very popular. It is a trusted institution and in the most difficult moments of their life people are counting on family care more than on state assistance (14,M).

As far as love is accepted as one of the most important factors in the creation of a family, there are also mixed marriages between Muslims and Orthodox, recognised by both faiths. Marriages with Neo-Protestant members are not welcome and for a religious recognition of the marriage “the other” has to be baptised in the Orthodox Church (11,M).

The Muslim family

Within the Muslim community of the Turkish –Tatar population, marriage also plays a very important role. It is indicative of the maturity of a person and his/her desire to “build a better future” according to the Imam (5,M). The average age of marriage is the same as for Romanians: 24 for women and 26 for men. In most cases both members of the family work and the concern of the local Imam is that women are working too hard, thus ignoring the traditional values of the family, such as raising children and taking care of their houses. The average number of children is 2 (City Hall Evidence Catalogue). In many cases grandparents, instead of nannies or kindergartens, take care of the children’s education. Marriage is a very important institution and greatly valued by this community. Islam allows men to have more than one wife but this custom is not practiced in this community. Imams also recognise marriages between Muslims and Orthodox. In terms of unions with Neo-Protestant members, the attitude is the same as in the Orthodox case: they have to convert to Islam or Orthodoxy in order for the marriage to be recognised (1,M).

The Horhane Roma Family

The Horhane Roma are a special case in terms of family values. According to the Horhane Roma, family means to belong to a group (a clan). Parents decide the age and the conditions of a marriage and their decision is ratified by the oldest leader of the group, the Bulibasha. The average age for marriages is 13 for girls and 15 for boys (10,M). Usually the family of the boy “buys” him a wife from the same clan. Often there are cases of inter-marriages with cousins or even brothers from different mothers. The status of these girls is comparable to being slaves: they need to clean the house, take care of other children in the family, cook, wash and in many cases go begging. If a girl does not fulfil all these requirements she can be returned to her parents (even she is pregnant) and the boy of the family can buy him another wife. The state usually cannot do too much for these cases because many of these children do not officially exist. They live without any documents and this is the main problem that social workers face: they need to be able to identify them in order to help them. Also because of the low rate of literacy among the members of his community it is hard to inform them about opportunities on how to change or improve their status. The family according to this community is not one of a relationship between a man and a woman; it is rather one of a “clan” or a “caste”. If one were to ask a woman from this community who is the father of her


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child and why he is not helping out, she will most likely have difficulties explaining the situation. One of the objectives of social workers is to make men recognise their child, to create a family composed by a father, a mother and a child sharing the same obligations and responsibilities in the case of adult parents. According to records of local crime in Megdidia, the highest rate of conflicts are recorded in the areas where these communities live and these situations are motivated by tensions between “families” and “clans” (http://www.romanialibera.ro/a10755/primarul-medgidiei-implicat-in-scandalul-taxelor-de-protectie.html ; http://www.ziua.net/ct.php?id=40977).

Every “clan” has its own territory of “action” in terms of economic activities, entertainment and begging. If someone wants to enter the “other’s” domain, he needs to pay a protection fee, otherwise he will be attacked. Conflicts between clans tend to very violent and dangerous.

Concluding remarks:

For the population of Medgidia family seems to be a value connected to close human relations, socialisation and national and religious identity. Family is also important as an agent of welfare provision. After a study by the Gallup Organisation in August 2006, every 10th Romanian family was receiving money from family members working abroad (http://www.unicef.org/romania/ro/Raport_final_HAC.pdf).

In most cases that we studied in Medgidia, the value of family is connected to other values such as religion, education and well-being and it is extremely important for the hermetic society of a small city.

Education:

For the Orthodox education has an important role; it is a considered a tool in the struggle for a better future. The majority of interviewed persons consider education an important value and a useful way in building a future career. Parents invest a lot in their children’s education. Children are encouraged to study hard and special scholarships are offered by the city to pupils with good results. According to a male construction worker in Italy “it is a sacrifice to stay apart from my family and kids. I can see them two times a year. Now I regret that when I had the opportunity to study I didn’t and my effort working abroad now is to make money and to offer to both of my kids a good education” (22,M).

For the Muslims education is considered a key for success in life. Family education is considered one of the most important values. It is also important for this community to have a religious education; this is why the community organises for their children courses of religious education in mosques. Also, the cultural centre of the “Democratic Union of Muslim Turks-Tatars” offers dance, music and craft lessons; education is meant to preserve the cultural tradition and identity of the group. The religious and political leaders of the community encourage youngsters to study: inside the community they have developed a way


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of offering mutual assistance in order to provide more and a better education to the members of their community.

For the Horhane Roma education is a matter of time. In the last four years the Social Service of Public Assistance, the “Open Doors” foundation, local schools and Neo-Protestant Churches from Megdidia have reunited their forces in order to bring Horhane Roma children to school. Every year more than 40 children from this community are coming to school. An important factor is that their mothers are becoming aware on the role of education for their children as well as for themselves. There are 37 persons aged between 16 and 50 years that have registered to take literacy classes organised by the local authorities. Currently they even have a 47 year-old man enrolled in a third grade in school. But the highest rate of illiteracy remains among persons between 24 and 27 year-old. (9,M; 23,F). Until 1989 the Horhane Roma were forced by the Communist regime to go to school. After 1989 it was their own decision whether to go or not to school. Authorities considered it unnecessary to bring them to school by force. This is why within with people of generation of 6-7 year-olds in 1989 the level of education is very low or non-existent. Both the local and national authorities have started a literacy campaign for the Roma. The results are small but visible: instead of 8 expected people for a week-end literacy class in Megdidia (organised by local authorities and the “Open Doors” Foundation) there are now 37, indicating that they really want a change!

Concluding remarks:

Undoubtedly education is playing a role of cohesion and reliability in the Medgidia society. Its important value is recognised by the representatives of all national and religious groups. Its central characteristic of putting people together, without differentiating on the basis of the colour of their skin and religious belonging is the main factor for establishing dialogue and some social stability.

Health:

The value of health is connected directly to the public service of medical care, which is the most popular health providing institution in the Romanian society. Besides the fact that health state institutions are very crowded and not very modern in terms of equipment, people apply to use this service because it is free. The only category of free medical assistance that is not popular any more in public hospitals is dental care and gynaecology. Even underprivileged people go to private clinics in order to take receive dental care or gynaecological assistance (24,F).

Medical treatment in state clinics does not correspond to the patients’ health problems and needs as in many clinics the equipment is very old and the conditions for surgery are not the best.

The central public health institution in Medgidia is the Municipal Hospital of Medgidia. In 2004 under the auspices of UNICEF a new maternity section was inaugurated in the hospital.


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Because of its modern equipment and good hygiene, women from other cities are now seeking the services of this maternity hospital (http://www.medfam.ro/rompres/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3896).

Health and social care is distributed equally to all members of the community in Megdidia. The only problem in terms of free medicine is the absence of documents among Roma citizens. Some doctors refuse to treat them because of this. The local social services are trying to solve the situation by issuing them proper documents.

Due to new legislation on state allocations to newborn children and because of the assistance of 300 Euros at the first marriage, members of the Roma community have just started to register their marriages and newborn children, which is a positive development contributing positively towards their social cohesion in the city. Once registered, they have the appropriate documents and can benefit from free medical services. The rate of registered marriages and births among the Roma community has increased up to 50% after the ratification of a new law; many Roma families have decided to register their marriages just to receive the allowance (even 70 year old “newly married couples”!) (www.graiuldobrogei.ro).

Furthermore, the value of health in Romanian society is connected to economics and education. If people are wealthy (an economic factor) they give priority to health: healthy nutrition, sport, and regular medical consultations. If people cannot afford special health programmes because of economic reasons, but they are educated, they will apply for social assistance health programmes. These programmes are very popular especially among retired persons: they receive every year one free ticket for treatment in a Romanian health resort from the National Social Insurance Company (http://www.cnpas.org/).

But the marginalised categories of Medgidia citizens, such as the Horhane Roma, are still facing serious health problems (12,F).

Social care:

There are two ways of conceiving social care in Medgidia: one as a member of the Medgidia community (insider’s point of view) and another as an outsider. From the outsider position, it is easy to observe the problems that Medgidia society is facing in terms of social care: those from the inside are waiting for “the others” to come and solve their problems: “we are poor and we don’t know too much, about social assistance…but it is not our problem, they have to come and help us” (23,F). Another voice: “our city is quite dependent of social assistance because of the high rate of unemployment and low salaries” (22,M). Members of the community dependent on social assistance services are waiting for the employees of Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance to solve their problems. Recently they discovered that the church, especially Neo-Protestant one, can be also involved in solving their social problems, so they are waiting for the “others” to come and do something about their problems. There are no personal initiatives from the inside.


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Employment:

Employment is an important value for the citizens of Medgidia, in as much as social assistance services and not too much financial help are offered to unemployed people. The working place is directly connected to the social status of the citizens and their hope for the future. Faced with the dilemma of work, an employment value or a family value, many young specialists are leaving their families in order to migrate to Western Europe in order to find a well paid job. Not many of them come back and usually after a certain period they return to take their families and leave the country definitively (27,F).

In Romanian society the value of employment is connected directly to the value of self-fulfilment, social cohesion and hope for the future.

As noted in the interviews, representatives of all three groups complained of unemployment. A possible and general solution in the case of Romanians is that of emigration: “I just finished Medical University in Bucuresti. Unfortunately I did not find a working place in Medgidia, my native town. After staying one year at my parents and looking for contracts with pharmaceutical companies, I decided to quit and leave the country in order to practice my skills. Now I do medical assistance for a charity foundation in the UK and I am very pleased by my work and my salary … of course I miss my parents a lot but you cannot have everything in the same time. We see each other on holidays!” (27,F).

Young representatives of the Turkish-Tatar community are thinking almost in the same terms about employment and emigration issues. Many among the older generation of Turks-Tatars consider that a small family business is the best solution for ensuring all members of a family a permanent job. Emigration is not a solution; it is a sacrifice and a factor affecting family and society values.

The Horhane Roma group believes that the state should provide them with working places. They register the highest rate of unemployment (9,M). The City Hall of Medgidia opened a factory of construction materials and entrusted its administration to the Roma Community. The project was a fiasco and after not being supervised, they have stolen even the gates of the factory! (2,M).

Unemployment is a continuous problem in the city. In October 2007 the Lafarge Cement Company announced the decision to close down the factory in Medgidia. Around 80 people protested against this decision in front of the building of the Romanian government in Bucuresti. If the factory does close more than 60 families will be unemployed, thus being left without any income (http://stiri.portal.ro/home/citeste_stire/47566/angajatii-fabricii-de-var-medgidia-se-opun-inchiderii-unitatii.htm).

The risk of this crisis in the working field is that Romania will become an “emigrant” nation, with the old population inside the country and the young outside it.


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6.2 Relation of revealed values to religion, minorities and gender

Values connected with religious affiliation:

The majority groups from Medgidia, the Orthodox and the Muslim, have the same scale of values related to love, hope, patience, mercy and charity as the other minority, the Neo-Protestant churches. The difference between the scale of values among the majority and minority churches is defined by their historical and cultural background. Orthodoxy is strongly connected to the values of a cultural and historic dimension: to be a Romanian Orthodox means to keep alive the memory of ancestors and to accord a special importance to their memory.

Muslims are also focusing their attention on preserving their culture, language, traditions and customs. To be a Muslim means, not only to share the same religious value, but also to be part of a “live” mechanism of social and religious events and celebrations, to share the value of communication with others (15,F).

As majority churches are associated with historical and cultural values, Neo-Protestant churches are related to welfare, education and charity values. Charity is a general Christian value, but in the case of the Neo-Protestant movement it has a different dimension: if in Orthodoxy it is a sporadic event, in the Neo-Protestant case it is a continuous action.

The general opinion of people from Medgidia is that, before being representatives of one church or another “we should be human” above all. “To help each other and to be together in difficult moments” are the most important values mentioned by representatives of all religious groups.

Values connected with national/ethnic affiliation:

Romanians: as a matter of identity Romanians could be characterized as people proud of their religious and national identity. For the majority to be Romanian means to belong to the Orthodox tradition; they have a great feeling of respect for their ancestors and their history that is connected strongly to Orthodoxy. The most trusted institutions by Romanians are the church and the army but family is also an institution appreciated and relied to by the majority (11,M).

Romanians seem to be very receptive to someone’s needs: every quarter or neighbourhood helps poor people or lonely elderly persons, who live from the others’ mercy. The only problem is that this form of help is not an official and systematic one, or coordinated by someone. It comes from personal initiatives and cannot be visualized and registered as a welfare structure. Neighbours will never let someone die from hunger, but their help is provided in different and amazing ways! In almost all of the cases they offer others with food (they use it to give it as a ritual food, for God’s Mercy) and second-hand clothes, but never money! This type of welfare system is not easy for a foreigner to understand, and it is unclear


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how a retired person can survive with a pension of 100 Euros per month with apartment expenses of 200 Euros (6,M).

Turks - Tatars: the most heterogeneous group from a religious and national identity point of view is the one of the Turkish-Tatar communities, of which 99% belongs to Islam. In terms of social cohesion and actions with a welfare impact on the local community they have a high level of cohesion and cooperation with all the other groups. They are well known as small local investors, opening small factories, family enterprises and operating services hotels and vacation houses in the seaside. Their presence can be noted in public schools, hospitals, banks, libraries, cultural centres, as well as, in institutions of higher education in Constanta. This group could be characterized as a model of social cohesion and at the same time as a group that keeps a special relationship with a traditional scale of values, specific to their community: family, religion, education. Most of them keep alive the traditions and customs of Tatars, but absolutely all of them speak Romanian, their children are going to Romanian schools and to Muslim Seminaries. Most of them are considered by the majority as “wealthy people”. They could be characterized as a good example of social cohesion.

Values characterizing the members of this community are related to their deep respect for school and education, family and religion, and of course their work and workplace.

The Horhane, or former Muslim Roma: they represent an ethnic group situated somewhere at the margins of society. As a nomad ethnicity in the past, this community is still keeps alive the memory of the “nomadic freedom”, when having a carriage and a horse was enough. For many of them until recently a horse represents a major value, a way of showing their cultural identity and freedom. Having been forced by the Communist regime to settle down in one place this minority is suffering from non-determination: they have houses but they migrate anyway and now no one is forcing them to stay in the same place. Their migration is caused by seasonal agricultural work; they migrate to different regions of the country in order to work in agriculture. Of course if they have documents they migrate to Western Europe. The major value of this minority is freedom and defiance of any kind of rules... (9,M).

Values connected with gender:

Both majority groups, the Orthodox and Muslim, give a special status to women-mothers, who are glorified and admired. But this romantic attitude is not considered value by younger generations: even after 3 months after giving birth to a child many young mothers are going back to work, in order not to lose their job, thus leaving their babies in care of grandparents.

If we take into account that 80% of welfare provision in Medgidia is offered by women, it is clear that their involvement prevails in the social life of the city.

7. Policy recommendations: local, national and European Union levels

7.1. Mechanisms and practices leading to cooperation or cohesion on local level


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• Enhancement of the Medgidia Public Service of Social Assistance with more personnel, an appropriate office building, and archival and technique equipment.

• Decent salaries for the social workers and hiring of professional staff. • Organisation of workshops for the local community relating to team-work and

cooperation between groups.

7.2 Mechanisms to avoid tensions or conflict

• Organisation of educational activities on interreligious dialogue, charity and family values.

• Support to young families with priority topics on health of mother and child, employment for the father and continuity for employment of young mothers.

7.3 “Direct” and “indirect” activities

Activities connected with welfare could be direct:

• Provide social assistance to people in need and simplify the procedure of receiving it from state institutions

• Build a house for elderly members of the society and take care of them in an appropriate way.

• Organise additional groups in kindergartens and ensure free participation of all children in this educational institution

• Renovate cultural centres and highlight education programmes for dialogue and tolerance.

Indirect activities related to welfare include building a well-being society and educating it to be as such. Education could be that indirect critical factor that could influence the future of growing generations. The culture of dialogue and social cohesion is a lesson to teach and a continuous task to work towards.

7.4 Preliminary policy recommendations

Employment seems to be the most important act or value influencing the development of other values, such as economic ones and in many cases religious ones. It is sad to discover that people are going to another church just to benefit from the economic help it offers. There are also many cases of people who are losing belief and trust in the future: the rate of depression and suicide grew by with 2% in the last decade in Romania. The average age of these persons is between 15 and 35 years. The issue of youth suicide is mentioned by specialists as the syndrome of “Italy-Spain” since suicide among children is caused by the fact that their parents work abroad and they are greatly missing them. Those aged 35 years have simply lost their hope for a better future... What can we do for them? It is an open question.


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