For any readers who are unaware of the political and social problems Romania has faced over the last few years, the following is a small insight into their background.

Romania is situated on the very eastern edge of the Europe that we know today. To the east, the country lies on the edge of The Black Sea, with the Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west and Bulgaria to the south. It also borders with Moldova, and parts of the former Yugoslavia. Over the centuries Romania has been involved in many conflicts and the borders have changed greatly. The Romania we know today has a population of 22,364,022 (July 2001est.) and was formed from the merger of Wallachia, Transylvannia, Moldovia, Dodruja, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovika in the great reforms (Austro-Hungarian pact) of the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is in fact very similar in size to the United Kingdom, but has you can see with about 1/3 of the population.

Romania means ‘of Rome’ and was colonised by the Roman Empire many centuries ago. A look at the Romanian language reflects that Roman influence, and for those of you who have studied Latin, or are aware of Latin words, you will recognise many words within the language.

Romania was the home to Prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), son of Vlad Dracul, ruler of Wallachia. Vlad Tepes was born in 1431 in Transylvannia and was later to become infamous for the way he executed his enemies by torture. It is said in folklore that he would often drink the blood of his victims. This is whom Bram Stoker based his character 'Dracula' upon.

Romania is a country of mainly arable farms but rich in the natural resources of timber, coal, iron ore and natural gas. The country is 29% forest and woodland along with 65% farmland but the majority of this is subsistence farming. It had, and still has, many places of beauty, including landscapes; countryside and buildings all steeped in history.

The Romanian army fought alongside Germany in World War II. At the end of that war, and the subsequent Soviet occupation, leading to the formation of the Warsaw Pact, King Makhail I abdicated and Romania became the 'Socialist Peoples Republic of Romania on Nov 1st 1947. King Makhail I and the Royal family were exiled and the country became subject of the rule of communism as dictated by the former Soviet Union. Unlike many post communist countries, its Royal family survives and has recently returned from exile.

Nicolae Ceausescu was the last communist leader, ruling the country like a dictator, with increasingly draconian measures. He ruled the country from 1965 until 1989 when he was executed as a result of a people's court of the revolution. During his dictatorship he believed that the key to industrial growth lay initially in the expansion of the peasant workforce. Romania at that time was very much a country of peasant farmers, all farming their own piece of land to provide an existence for their immediate families (subsistence farming). Ceausescu oversaw a rapid industrial expansion within the country; this included forming collective farms, moving people into towns and cities, and the expansion of heavy industry. There were very little controls in place, which has led to many environmental and health problems. These have included industrial pollution of the country's water systems and unacceptable emissions from chemical plants etc. This has led to congenital abnormalities, respiratory diseases, cancer and various other problems, due in part also to the lack of medical equipment and knowledge.

Ceausescu continued with the industrial expansion banning the use of contraception, abortion for any woman under 45 with less than five children in order to ensure the growth of the workforce. In the 1980’s he introduced the ‘Baby Police’ along with compulsory gynaecological examinations to ensure that women were not trying to avoid their ‘patriotic duty’. Unmarried people and childless couples were penalised by paying higher taxes.

This ethic led to many women giving up their children and placing them in state orphanages, purely because they could not afford to keep them at home. In under staffed and under funded orphanages, children were left to themselves and reared without mental or physical stimulation. Many of these children were diagnosed as early as three years of age as being mentally handicapped, and thus left without education, or any form of therapy in ‘institutes for the irrecuperable’.

On Christmas day 1989, Ceausescu and his wife were executed live on state television in pictures that were beamed around the world. What the world saw that day in those pictures, the conditions the people of Romania were enduring, moved many to tears, and ultimately, action. This was the start of a new beginning for Romania. The country once again became a democracy, and the people of Europe and the world sought to assist in any way possible. Initially this was with humanitarian aid, and then by the European Union assisting in the rebuilding of the country. Romania today has improved vastly from those dark days and years but is still many years behind the rest of Europe.

The cost of transforming from a communist regime to a democracy has been high, not just in financial terms but also in human suffering. The government has very little money to spend, and although it is attracting investment from the Europe Union many parts of the country and many people are untouched by this. The country has just suffered 3 years of recession and high inflation, currently 45.7%. Consequently living standards have continued to fall - real wages are down over 40% and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development rates the country's transitional progress as the regions worst. Romania is set to join the European Union in 2007 and this may assist with investment and improvements, however the legacy of Ceausescu is likely to continue for many years.

Thus the gulf, between the few that have, and the majority that don't, grows even greater. Romania is very much a third world country within Europe with the majority of the population struggling to obtain the basic goods we all too easily take for granted. At present there is 28.9% of the population below the poverty line. Therefore 6,463,202 are living in poverty. In comparison to the UK, a good wage is about £1000 per annum.

However Romania is a beautiful country. At the moment it has a unique mix of what life was like in England 60 years ago, intermingled with modern living requirements. With help, it is slowly attracting the tourism that will allow it to develop into the 21st century.