Past. Present. Future

Published 21st November 2009 - 15 comments - 1247 views -

I was born late enough not to feel the impact of what people in my country know as "The Revolution" or what the history remembers as the fall of the communism.

I was 6 years at that time and I can barely remember anything else but the fact that right before Christmas, us kids were not allowed outside for a couple of days. So, literally speaking, The Revolution doesn't mean very much for me. I don't remember the 'before', in order to appreciate the 'after' like the ones who do. I don't remember the long lines my grandma had to stay from 3am in the morning, so she could buy a couple of oranges & a carton of milk. I don't remember the lack of TV channels or cartoons. I don't remember national holidays dedicated to our one and only leader. I don't remember people being frightened to speak their mind. I don't remember the pseudo environmentalism people were forced to do while industrial monsters kept polluting and polluting. I only hear memories from the elders.

I grew up having all the comforts of the modern world. I grew up not thinking about saving anything. I assume that because our parents lived under communism, a time when everything available came with restrictions, they allowed us the convenience of sparing, so we didn't have to go through what they had gone. Water running, lights on, food thrown away has never been something to care about "Because you have to". In the end, all we were doing was to recover what others were refrained from during the communist era. 

In the recent years, however, I changed my behavior to one somehow similar to what people were forced to do back then. Nobody is pushing me to do anything any longer, I'm simply being aware and committed.  I call the plumber to fix the tap not because of the annoying noise of the water drops, but because of the several litres of water that would be lost daily. I gather all paper waste not because selling it would get me just enough money to buy an icecream, but because we don't need to cut all the trees we do. I turn off the light and don't pork out, just like my parents did at my age, but I chose to do this and the end result has a greater justification: saving energy, helping the planet.

Some time in the future I want to live in a house in the forest, to have a small river nearby (for my alternative energy sources) and the mountains behind, to grow my own vegetables and hike everyday with my dog and 2 cats. I want to break up with the routine and pollution of the city. I want to listen to the sound of squirells cracking nuts not to the crazy car horns. Eh, a girl can dream.

Tomorrow (almost 20 years after the revolution), Romania has to vote for a new president again. As laws are made in such a way that nobody can become a president from the 1st rounds of votes, we'll choose our leader in the 2nd round, on December 6th. As far as I'm concerned, none of the alternatives are viable. But due to the law, tomorrow we are allowed to play God without taking the responsibility. And tomorrow I'll give my vote to the Green Party. Their young representant was the only one that at least talked about change, about ecology, about sustanability. However, I don't think he's prepared to take this country out of the crisis and I seriously doubt he's going to gather enough votes to get to the second round anyway. But I hope that along with others', our vote tomorrow will make a point and will help elect a president in 2019, a president of an uncorrupted Romania, a president that would guide this country towards its healthier, sustainable future.

Category: Climate Politics, | Tags: romania, revolution, communism, green party,

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Adela
Earth
Independent (Copy)writer

I write for a living. I take photos for fun. I tell stories for having a story to live by.

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