Uncle Vili is a nice old man. He works as a porter in a block of flats. He had a hard time earning his wages, especially during the first 10 days or so of the restrictions. Being over 65, it wasn't yet clear whether he could still come to work. Equally, if he had had to retire early, how would he have gone to the institutions to apply for his pension? Thank goodness that's finally sorted, and now he comes to "work," in shifts, every 2 days!
Aunt Dora is about the same age and a seamstress. She has her workshop in the house, as they say, so there was no question of her freedom of movement. And the neighbours help each other, as they should. But her customers have had all sorts of restrictions, so Aunt Dora has seen her income suddenly diminished during the state of emergency. She's not at all convinced she could have survived on this income from tailoring alone. Luckily her son, who has gone to work in Sweden, is helping her out! Unbelievable, in Sweden!
Rafael is younger, but his suffering during the pandemic was (and still is) of a different kind. His rights seem to have never been taken care of, ever, because he does invisible work as a garbage collector. He's heard that racism has risen noticeably during this period, but he's learned to carry this stigma for so long that he no longer feels his suffering. In his own extremely sad way for me, Rafael is glad people don't see him, lest they kick him out just because he's "gypsy"!
Zina is the same age as Rafael, but she is a doctor. She feared terribly for her and her family's life and health, because she saw and felt the lack of protective equipment in the hospital every day. She still hasn't broken her heart like Rafael, but she has been living with helplessness in her heart for almost 2 months. He suffers from not being able to do his job properly. She howls inwardly every time she has to send someone home who needs medical care, but "it's not a priority right now!"
Human dignity and individual freedom are very important values for me. I know they are also constitutional rights, and the Romanian state is committed to protecting them for each of its citizens. But has the Romanian state really respected our rights and freedoms during this period? For these reasons (and more), I was very happy to learn that in the "Leaders for Justice" community, there is this concern. Does the constitutional framework of the state of emergency and related legislation help the state to respect and protect our rights? Or, rather, does it make it uncomfortable?
So, I gladly accepted to moderate a conversation on this topic with 3 PhDs: Luca and Raul are graduates of the program, and Bogdan is a friend, part of our extended family. The conversation about the constitutional (in)sufficiency of the state of emergency took place yesterday afternoon, and the recording is available on Facebook and YouTube. I was nervous, because the role of moderator