Next to show was Claudiu State and Costel Gheorghe - both social worker from Concordia who work the streets. They came as our guides.
...It was half past the hour and Ilie had still not arrived. My translator suggested that he might have changed his mind about coming. She mentioned that while setting up the meeting Ilie seemed a little nervous about talking about his past. We decided to move on without him. .
I asked Claudiu to introduce us to some present day street children. I wanted a visual understanding of the situation. I wanted a little taste of what Ramona�s life was like back then. I was also anxious to see her reaction to their situation - and hear what advice she might have for them.
We followed Claudiu to a neighborhood called �Grazoveste, located not far from the train station. He explained as we went that there was a present police crackdown on street children around the station since an explosion in one of the sewers killed a young girl and her baby. A few weeks before that a fire in another sewer killed two boys.
Grazoveste is a typical Bucharest neighborhood woven between crisscrossing thoroughfares bustling with traffic and blaring horns all under a wall of mountainous gray apartment complexes, appropriately referred to as �blocs�.
Just as we walked out of the subways station two young street people jumped out at us. They greeted Claudiu by name. They know that he is always good for a cigarette.
They introduced themselves as Bogdan and Cristi. Eighteen year old Bogdan has been living on the street for six years. He is of Gypsy decent with exotic dark brown complexion and beaming eyes. Cristi, at 24, has been on the street since his youth. Claudiu mentioned that he has not yet found the right formula to get off the street and that if he doesn�t soon he will very likely begin the ugly cycle between prison and the street and then back again like so many other homeless.
We followed him through the tall grass and shrubbery to a clearing and where we came face to face with the rest of the tired group huddled inside the sheltering arms of a small tree. Sheets of cardboard slid between the branches shielded them from the hot afternoon sun
Bogdan introduced us to Elena, who he calls �my girl�. At age 17 she is 4 months pregnant and showing. She sat over a mat of old clothes and torn blankets while nervously leaning into the shoulders of her friend Stephanie. Stephanie�s arm was thickly bandaged and I asked her what happened. Point-blank she told me, �I cut myself.� If there is one thing that I have learned from all my encounters with street children is that they are always extremely honest - and sometimes brutally so.
Claudiu interjected to say that a gang of about 25 stay here which is the general number in any given area. They quickly fall into gangs or packs which is necessary in order to protect themselves. Lone wolves don�t survive very long alone on the tough Bucharest streets.
�The majority of them are children,� Claudiu explained, and which are, as he put it , �out working�. Even the street child with his �carefree� attitude towards life has a schedule to keep. The younger street children makes the best beggars and during the rush hours they can be spotted in the subways walking barefoot through the cars with their hands out.
Ramona also belonged to a gang. Her gang was unique in the fact that it was made up of six girls. Today, the majority of that group are involved in prostitution - though Ramona did mention that she recently saw one of them with a job mopping public toilets.
In the background I spotted a young boy curiously watching us from afar. Even from the distance I could see the bruises along his face like a boxer the day after the title match.
I waived him over. He waddled towards us swinging a plastic container of wine by his side.
His introduced himself as Marius, age 13.. I asked him what happened. He laughed as he told me about an older boy who tried climbing into bed with him. He wouldn�t allow it so the bigger boy beat him up.
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