On Christmas Day 1989, Romanian society changed forever when dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was assassinated. While his twenty-four year reign came to an abrupt end, but the horrific legacy of his policies remained. In an effort to spur economic growth through population growth, Ceausescu had outlawed abortions and birth control, and mandated through the force of government that every family have at least five children. Government subsidies and incentives further spurred Romanian births.
When the government collapsed and the Soviet Union fell, the government support that kept these children alive, cared for, and nourished collapsed along with it. The streets and state orphanages flooded with abandoned children. And nobody (not even the government) could afford to care for these children, even where there was the will to do so.
For a brief moment, this tragedy had the attention of the entire world. The media showed babies dying in their own filth in the forgotten corners of orphanages, eight year-olds living in subway stations, and cold hopeless looks on the faces of the abandoned. Governments and private organizations the world over rushed to their aid, adopting orphans, providing food, care, and education. Activists helped bring protective laws into effect for these children. Volunteers worked to establish more humane orphanages. While this help was well intentioned and heroically delivered, the problems were overwhelming and the tragedies persisted. Worst of all, media attention turned elsewhere. We changed the channel.
