Document #1122029
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
In a telephone interview on 14 November
1995, the vice-president of the Romanian Helsinki Committee in
Bucharest provided the following information. In 1990, Romanian and
foreign television crews revealed to the public for the first time
the "terrible conditions" that existed in orphanages in Romania;
the living conditions were cramped and unsanitary, and there was a
shortage of trained supervision.
The vice-president added that press reports
in 1990 mentioned rumours that orphans during the Ceausescu era
were taken to training centres in order to become special
anti-terrorist personnel.
According to the Agence France Presse
attachment of 20 November 1994:
UNICEF spokeswoman Marie Heuze did not comment on the allegations
of maltreatment but said the fact that the orphans were apparently
being put out when they reached adolescence was 'not an isolated
case' in Romania. Prior to the fall of communist dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu in 1989 the orphans were kept in the 'casa de copii'
homes until they did their military service, but Heuze said this
was no longer the case.
For further information on the situation of
orphans, including information on the orphanage system, please
consult the News from Helsinki Watch attachment. This
attachment provides information on the situation of orphans as
witnessed by the Helsinki Watch mission to Romania in mid-August
1990; there are references to the situation of orphans in the
Ceausescu era, but it is unclear whether these references apply
from 1971 to 1989.
Information on the education of orphans
from 1971 to 1989 and on whether they were obliged to have a
military career could not be found among the sources consulted by
the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Agence France Presse. 20 November 1994.
"Romanian Orphanage Slammed for Mistreating Children." (NEXIS)
Romanian Helsinki Committee, Bucharest.
14 November 1995. Telephone interview with vice-president.
Agence France Presse. 20 November 1994.
"Romanian Orphanage Slammed for Mistreating Children." (NEXIS)
News from Helsinki Watch [New
York]. December 1990. "Romania's Orphans: A Legacy of Repression,"
pp. 1-13.
DIRB country file on Romania.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
(FBIS) Reports. Daily.
On-line search of media sources.
Open Media Research Institute (OMRI),
Prague. Transition. Bi-Monthly.
Other oral sources.
RFE/RL Research Reports [Munich].
Weekly.
Uncaptive Minds [New York].
Quarterly.