The terror attacks in Spain, which shocked and terrified the entire world, are also responsible for the highest number of Romanian victims ever recorded after such an attack. Of the 200 dead and more than 1,500 injured, 93 are Romanians: eight are dead, nine are missing and another 76 have been injured, according to the data released yesterday. Among the injured, 26 are still under medical care.
Both in Romania, but also in Madrid, where the Romanian community counts no less than 28,000 recorded members, the Romanians were mourning. In the Spanish Capital, hundreds of Romanians gathered in a Madrid church yesterday to pray for the dead and for the injured, according to Mediafax. In Romania, March 14 was a national day of mourning, to honour the memory of the victims. Theatre and circus shows were cancelled, soccer games were postponed, whereas the Romanian flag was flown at half-mast on the public institutions.
Even the political leaders chose to be silent yesterday. PSD (Social Democrat Party) and PNL (National Liberal Party) cancelled their press conferences and PD (Democrat Party) postponed the grand launch of its 3,000 candidates for the local elections. For one hour, around noon, about one thousand people marched across Bucharest in silence, towards the Spanish Embassy, paying their respects to the dead and protesting against terrorism. Today, Romania and all the EU member countries will observe three minutes of silence starting 14.00 hours, to mourn the victims of terrorism. The authorities are helping the grieving Romanians, flying two members of each affected family to Madrid for free. In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has said the Government will grant the Spanish citizenship to all the victims and to their next of kin and will spend 140 million euros to provide aid.
Most of the Romanians that were killed or injured in the attacks are young, and had chosen Spain to build a more prosperous future. Eight of them lost their lives in their quest for better living.
Spain and Italy are two of the main destinations for the Romanians that are going to work abroad. According to recent data, about half a million Romanians are currently in Spain, but only 35,000 are legally employed. On the whole, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that 1.7 million Romanians are working abroad, with their numbers expected to grow.
There is a big difference between the working conditions in Romania and abroad: whereas a Romanian earns about 100 euros monthly, a family with one or more members working abroad can count on a monthly income revolving around 265 euros. The Romanians working abroad are sending about $2 billion back home every year (according to the pessimistic estimates), exceeding the foreign direct investment in Romania and fuelling both economic growth and consumption.
However, many Romanian families are mourning the loss of a relative or friend these days.
mirela.luca@zf.ro