Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the cuts. Hardly a revolution at 2500 people admittedly, but a seismic shift from passive to
active in a country ghosted by the mantle of communism - in former times you would
have been sent to prison, Siberia, or simply shot for raising your voice.
Hot Potatoes: Issues You May Come Across
The most apparent undercurrent of racial tension is between Romanians and Hungarian
Romanians (the nation's second-largest ethnic group). Each views the other with suspicion
justified by their misdeeds against one another throughout the country's history. Mean-
while, right-wing groups such as Noua Dreaptă (New Right) organising anti-gay banners
during GayFest in Bucharest, TV talk shows unblushingly discussing anti-Semitic views,
and groups denying the Holocaust are, sadly, other signs of negative nationalism.
Finally, you're likely to hear tirades from
usually mild-mannered Romanians about the
Roma. Rightly or wrongly, the average Ro-
manian blames his country's besmirched image
as a crime-ridden country on the practices of
the Roma.
Number of medals Romania has won in all the
Summer Olympics: 301.
WOMEN IN ROMANIAN SOCIETY
Romanian media portrayals of women can seem outdated, with TV shows peppered with dancing girls in barely a
strip of clothing and anchor women on news channels doled up like beauty queens. Juxtaposed to this celebration
of the female form is a worrying domestic -abuse record. Typically Latin, this is very much a man's country where
women are expected to conform to being gentle and submissive, and males dominant and strong.
Surveys suggest that as many as one in five women have been abused by their partner. In 2003 the Law on Pre-
venting and Combating Domestic Violence was adopted, and two years later an initiative to get bridegrooms to at-
tend a course to deter them from future violence was announced. The fight against human trafficking - particu-
larly of females - also remains a work in progress. That said, Romania's developing economy is seeing an in-
creasing number of female professionals taking their place in management positions within the workplace.
The Comeback Kid
Romanians remain extremely open and friendly to visitors. Younger people in particular
are tolerant, highly educated, multilingual and prepared to give you detailed directions
when you're lost. And despite the country's unfair reputation for crime you'll find inner
