This blog has a Romanian Diaspora focus, so it’s only natural to go through the diaspora news. But our diaspora is everywhere (much like protochronist Dacians), and some have even returned, while some feel “exiled” in their own country, so we’re not going to discriminate. Especially since we keep hearing bad things about Dinamo, one of the 3 major “national” soccer teams while I was growing up.

The worst news for a sizable number of soccer fans, is that Eugen Neagoe, Dinamo’s coach, was taken out of a game by ambulance with cardiac arrest (digis-neagoe). This follows news that Dinamo’s owner, Ionut Negoita, had offered the team “for free” to billionaire former tennis player Ion Tiriac, who is known to be a Dinamo supporter, but the latter had turned down the offer because his specialty is tennis (digis-negoita).

Remarkably, Ion Tiriac is doing some great things for Romanian tennis (tlkm-tirilocal), together with Simona Halep and others – much like Hagi is doing for Romanian soccer, or football, or fotbal, or the beautiful game. It’s truly awe-inspiring and they are all setting a great example, but they can’t do it all alone: a formula must be found where local and national governments have a strategy to subsidize and encourage sports for kids.

Growing up, there were 3 major teams a kid just HAD to pick from: Steaua (the star – the Army’s or “National Defense Ministry” club), Dinamo (the Police or “Internal Affairs” club) and Rapid (CFR or railways club). The latter, had it the most painful as despite some stubborn, lifelong fans, it wasn’t doing much, Dinamo had many supporters and almost as many haters, but Steaua was getting truly stellar results and also had its “home stadium” in my neighbourhood, so the choice for me was simple.

I’m not sure how the soccer fan (“microbist”) landscape has changed in the meantime, but I’m sure that whichever predicament Dinamo is in is very hard on quite a few people, and I offer them my regrets. I know found it very hard to feel something for Steaua especially after Becali took it over.

healthcare

Given the cardiac arrest news, let’s have a look at healthcare, where news is good and bad but mostly not great.

• The first “returned diaspora news” is this man, Livio Bledea, pictured above, who returned to his native Sighetu Marmatiei, donated an ambulance to the city hospital. Which is touching, but it underlines the healthcare system crisis in Romania. There is a significant budget and plan approved, but it doesn’t seem to be spent / followed. (hn-bledeal)
• Hopefully, the 8 Romanians stacked in a Sicilian car in an accident, of whom one died already, were adequately taken care of in Catania, where it happened. (hn-8rosic)
• Back in Romania, a new card-based system for healthcare delivery hasn’t been working since June 22 but was only announced on July 10, according to DGTI from CNAS (hn-itcnsas). CNAS spokesperson Daniel Osmanovici, who stated “people will die with the card working or not”, was forced to resign by PM Dancila. (hn-dmscnas)

Romanian healthcare, in general, faces dismal prospects, with Romanian doctors who stay back home being payed too little in the state sector (so they accept bribes) while those who are in the private sector still make far less than if they were to immigrate to Western Europe.

diaspolitics

Let’s go back to diaspora news, where things are good outside (“afara”), but not so much inside (“in tara”), as usual.

• The director of a much publicized program of subsidies for tomatoes by the convicted and incarcerated Dragnea (who had named the current PM) will be tried for bribery (hn-rosii). Meanwhile, a Swiss IT startup of agtech, with a Romanian founder (Dragos Constantin) and head of software engineering (Vlad Lepadatescu) is on its way to success with 7 million Euro financing (stc-gamaya), but now maybe without Dragos?
• An adopted little girl (Sorina, 8), who was filmed being forcibly removed by a “procuror” (a magistrate, roughly similar to prosecutor) from a foster family, was finally allowed to leave the country with her adoptive parents (USA diaspora), but only after made to miss her plane due to excessive controls at exit (hn-sorinabm).

There’s also the news of Basescu supporting the “corrupt decision” (hn-baseccr) to invalidate the will of the people w.r.t. preventing politicians convicted of corruption from running for public office again. This is consistent with previous similar (back then inconsistent) positions of his. Meanwhile, PNL forges ahead with a law to enact the referendum results, calling the decision bizarre (hn-pnlcrr).

Most Romanians are quite happy with what they get on the littoral, though not foreigners. One dude even “parked” in the sea.

If you’re going to comment here, please be sure to say something about at least two different news items, or I’ll delete it [evil grin].

Sources / More info: digis-neagoe, digis-negoita, hn-bledeal, hn-8rosic, hn-itcnas, hn-dmscnas, hn-rosii, stc-gamaya, hn-sorinabm, hn-baseccr, hn-pnlcrr, tlkm-tirilcl