The Orphanages
(Picture found at http://www.duke.edu/~icheese/madeline.html)
There is an estimated
100,000 children institutionalized in Romania's orphanages (SoRelle).
The children were placed in the orphanages for numerous reasons, but most
will blame Ceausescu’s anti-abortion and child requirement laws. Ceausescu
required that women have 5 children by the age of 45 before he would allow
them birth control or abortions (SoRelle). However, during the child
requirement laws he was also exporting Romania's food to pay off the large
national debt. Families were put in the position to have children
that they couldn’t afford or feed. The unwanted children were sent
to the state orphanages. As time went on it became more and
more excepted to leave the unwanted children in the orphanages. It
is so common to put your children in the orphanage that the parents visit
once every 6 months the children are not considered to be abandoned at
all (Dunlop).
When we as
Americans think of orphanages we think of cozy little beds all in a row
and Miss Clavel turning out the light and closing the door. In a storybook
world orphanages sound like a good alternative to starving. Romania’s
orphanages are nothing like Madeline. The living conditions in the
orphanages are most commonly compared to the Nazi concentration camps.
(Picture found at http://www.machelle.com/orphans.htm)
"Even older children are not potty trained, many suffer from chronic diarrhea
due to malnutrition and illness.
They do not wear pants, even in the winter. The orphanage has broken
windows and often, no heat.
Children sleep four to a cot or on the floor, sharing blankets that are
soiled, wet with urine and lice infected.
They do not have disinfectant, they do not have soap, they do not have
hot water." (Dunlop)
There are no toys in Romania’s orphanages; instead the
children play with dirty needles in old hospital dumping grounds.
The playgrounds are a classic display of violence cycles. The older
children bully the young, and the young in turn attack those that are sick
or weak. Westerners were horrified when they got their first look at the
Romanian Orphanages through The Heart of Darkness story in which reporters
found the orphans left alone for long periods of time, tied to their beds,
with bottles of gruel propped into their mouths. The orphans were
so neglected that they failed to show any emotions at all. They didn’t
cry or show anger or even respond to people coming in and out of the rooms.
(Picture found at http://www.heartforromania.org)
The care-workers
in the orphanages are poorly trained and only provide the most basic needs
for survival. The babies are not held or given any visual stimuli.
The torn cribs resemble solitary confinement. The care-workers are
cruel and resent giving the orphans attention because they feel like the
orphans are getting a free ride while they are working long hours trying
to feed their own children. Children who are cross-eyed or show any
form of disability are assumed retarded and are left to find their own
food, beds, and clothes. The care-workers are so detached from the children
that in some cases the children were hosed down with cold water to be washed
(Rutter). As a response to the neglect many of the children can be
found rocking themselves to sleep in their soiled cribs.
Works Cited
McCarthy, Leslie. “Inside
a Romanian Orphanage.” About.com Library Weekly 2000. February 21,2002.
http://adoption.about.com/library/weekly/aa103000a.htm?iam=dpile&terms=Romanian+Orphans
SoRelle, Ruth. “Born
to be Forgotten.” Houston Chronicle 1996. February 21, 2002.
http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/special/romania/
Rutter, Michael. “Romanian
Orphans Adopted Early Overcome Deprivation.” Brown University Child and
Adolescent
Behavior Letter, Jun 96.
Dunlop, Machelle, “Plight
of The Romanian Orphans.” April 24, 2000. February 21, 2002.
http://www.machelle.com/orphans.htm
