Emergency response to the natural disaster in Romania
On Monday, 17th of April 2006 the Danube River broke its banks and flooded towns. Hope and Aid Direct was asked to respond to this emergency. Charles Storer gathered volunteers in a very short time and headed an emergency convoy to Romania.
Maina and I became part of the airborne crew who flew over to Bucharest, along with 4 other volunteers and met up with the convoy of trucks that left the UK a few days earlier literally overloaded with aid.
Here is my journal.
Journal of Roland Keates 5th – 10th June 2006, location Romania.
Day 1 - 5th June 2006 (Monday)
Maina and me arrived at Heathrow airport early with a 6.30 take off. We quickly meet up with 4 other airborne convoy members (Steve, Maura, Margaret and Graham). The flights to Amsterdam and then on to Bucharest were on time with 1:00 pm (GMT +2 hours) arrival in Bucharest. Representatives from World Vision Romania met us at the airport and we quickly got on our way. The sun was beating down on the land and my first thoughts were, “there is no evidence of any kind of flooding at all.” We were informed it would be a 4-hour drive to our hotel in Craiova (the capital of Dolj province where the villages affected by the flooding are just about a couple of hours drive away). On the drive over it was evident Romania is an up and coming country with plenty of new buildings being erected and talking to the Representatives of World Vision, they are hoping for Romania to be a part of the EU in 2007.
We got a message from the convoy that they just managed to cross the Romanian border after over nine hours of wait. They will have to stop somewhere along the way to rest for the night as they have run out of driving hours. We will eventually meet up with them tomorrow.
Driving along the countryside, the developing state of the country was very evident with people farming their land using the old ways with a horse and a hoe. Groups of people were collectively ploughing the fields and working together with their bare hands. Horse and carts seem to be a very common means of transportation.
We arrived at the hotel in Craiova, checked in, dropped our luggage and went to have dinner with the World Vision representatives. WE were taken to very nice Romanian restaurant called the GALAXY that serve excellent traditional Romanian dishes. We all shared platters of the famous mixed grilled meat and vegetables and of course we tried the locally brewed beer. The ambience and décor of the place were true representations of the rich and beautiful Romanian art and culture. One thing I have observed about Romanian families seated at other tables was that all men sat at one end of the long tables while women and children sat on the opposite end. The waiting staff spoke English too.
Day 2 - 6th June 2006 (Tuesday)
We were taken to the World Vision office in Craiova and a slide show presentation was given about the flooding and World Vision’s involvement. World Vision is worldwide independent charity funded agency that works with indigent and disabled children. The presentation was very informative as I had little knowledge of the areas affected in Dolj province (S-V of Romania, 330 km far from the capital Bucharest) and about World Vision too.
We were then taken to a town called Rast which was mostly affected with more than 1,300 families now homeless. What we saw next seem to be totally from another world. We came past an area where makeshift homes had been erected from some timber and plastic and we were told that families with animals such as cows and fowl are living there a little apart from most of the villagers now living in army tents. We could not stop there due to the risks of bird flu. The first thing which came to mind, was that the makeshift houses looked like my childhood den back when I was a master den maker.
Then came the start of Rasti campsite. The affected families are now living in donated tents and would eventually be able to build their new homes from the very spot where they are since they could never go back to their old houses. I just counted 2 other NGO’s getting involved and I felt a huge disappointment of the fact the world outside Romania knows nothing about what has happened here or chooses not to know.
We stopped for a few minutes while World Vision explained where the water level came up. The geography of the nation has changed for good and the people could not go back to their old homes. Apparently, the water has risen to about 9 feet high washing up so many houses and everything inside. Fortunately, no lives were taken except for one man who accidentally fell in his well after the flooding. The ground is still very muddy and soft and debris can be found everywhere. The town of Rasti was totally devastated. We passed the graveyard where the coffins had been exposed and gravestones falling over. It was still flooded in some spots and the risk of infection is still high. We stopped at one house where an old lady was pacing up and down in her garden searching for belongings to salvage and she willingly allowed us to take photographs of the remnants of what obviously was once a lovely house full of memorabilia. The world stopped for a minute. The walls had collapsed inwards and the roof was falling in. Graham had decided to investigate the inside of the house by climbing the pile of rubbles and looked through a crack. He had mentioned the house was full of mud. The flow of the water must have been gathering pace as it swept through the town. The old lady told us through the translator that she cannot get any of her things from the house because the house is sinking like in a quicksand.
We moved on down the town and went past more and more houses that were in even worse condition. Amazingly we saw herons and other big birds nesting in various electric posts.
Going through the town I can’t help but notice children laughing and the residents just trying to get on with their lives as best as they can. The residents who are now camping in the higher grounds have started to go back to their old homes trying to salvage whatever belongings they can find with horses and carts laden with stuff. Some residents were even camping in their own gardens where the ground was hard. The resilience and the show must go on attitude of the people really amazed me. How they managed to contain their grief, find time to laugh and just get on with their lives was just very unbelievable and admirable.
We finally arrived at a spot where the road ended and its continuation is still visible about 3 kilometres away. The once green fields and arable land is now a new reservoir with plenty of wildlife now thriving and the submerged power pylons the only giveaway. This is an area about 5 kilometres away from the original banks of the Danube.
We were introduced to Iulian Silisteanu, the Mayor of Rasti and he told us the story regarding how the town folks were told about the potential flooding but would not evacuate until forced to when the devastation arrived. He said because of the pro – action the 1,300 families were saved but 115 houses were completely swallowed by water and thousands of crops were destroyed.
While walking around Rasti we came across an open shop selling Ice creams, water, fruits, candies, slippers, etc. Funny how this shop standing and in excellent condition and business still in progress while all the surroundings were in ruins.
We then viewed some potential buildings that we could use as warehouse to unload and sort out the 70 tonne of aid. All the places available were inadequate and not suitable. On the way to Balesti where were finally meeting the rest of the convoy, we noticed a grain warehouse which was ideal but was reserved for some other use.
The convoy of trucks, two 40 tonne artics and two 7.5 tonners finally arrived outside the municipal hall. Residents quickly gathered around the square to feed their curiousity. This being my first time participation, I was quickly introduced to everyone and felt right at home. What a great and amazing bunch of people! Chas was given an update as to what we had seen and the warehouse access problems. After twisting some arms, Chas finally managed to get permit to use the grain warehouse outside Rasti and a fork truck (which we could not use until the morning), We all then started back towards Rasti to unload the trucks. Halfway through, the convoy was hailed by armed officers. They turned out to be the frontier guards on the check point since Bulgaria is just on the other side of the Danube.
Briefing.
An army of local people arrived with more World Vision employees eager to help with the unloading of the trucks. We sectioned different parts of the warehouse for the following:
Food - tinned food, cereals, flour etc
Toilettes - shampoo, sanitary towels, toilet rolls etc.
Clothes – men’s, women’s, children’s, shoes etc
Toys and games
Medical supplies/ wheelchairs/crutches
Blankets and bedding
The working atmosphere amazed me. The people’s eagerness to help and the volunteers’ untiring efforts to get the job done was contagious and the morale was high. We got going with chains of people unloading a truck and placing the aid into the sectioned bays. It took about an hour per 7.5 tonne truck. I was gob smacked away with the fairies. I’ve seen this done in films and on the news but to be part of it is a tremendous experience. I felt alive and in a job where money did not count. Some of the local who were helping out were walking around bare footed without a care in the world. They helped not only because they knew their families were going to be given clothes and food in the next few days but because they wanted something to do and be useful.
We finally unloaded all the loose aid from the trucks and left the palletised items and the Rotary Boxes for the following day when the fork truck was available. The doors were sealed and locked and the police stood guard in the night.
On the way back to the hotel, my head was full of questions. What if the people are so hungry break the locks and start moving all the food out. My sceptical mind worked overtime with hundreds of “What Ifs”. I could not help but think about the local people and that they would be going home to no electricity no warm shower and no soft bed, etc. I really wanted to camp and live amongst the families, and truly understand how they feel and not stop in a hotel where the modern conveniences are ever present. I snapped out of this torture and brought myself back to the living world ‘where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.’ and think about DABDA.
We arrived at the hotel about midnight and the food was waiting for us. We all ate our food in good time and after a few beers everyone was eager to go to bed. After a 15-hour day I fell straight to sleep.
Day 3 - 7th June 2006 (Wednesday)
The early rush of traffic outside and the sunshine peering through the blinds woke me up to a fresh start of another long day. We met up for group breakfast and promptly left about 8:15 am. A few local people were already waiting at the gates of the warehouse very eager to do more work. The locks were still intact and the police were still present.
Briefing
To everyone’s delight, a fork truck was available for us to use so it made the further unloading much quicker and saving everybody’s precious backs.
The next stage was to find out how many families were there in various distribution areas and we then estimated how much load to take for the different drops. We got to count how much food, clothes, toiletries, toys and shoes down to its last number. This was a lot harder than it seem because there was no adequate lighting. After a couple of hours we had a good indication of how much aid we had.
Once we had the numbers, we started to load the trucks ready for the various distributions on Thursday. The sunshine is still beating down on us so it was hard to imagine how the river swelled up. Alas! By midday the heavens opened up and the rain fell like a left and right jab from Muhammad Ali - hard and fast. This did not deter everyone from forming the effective human chains to get the trucks ready. The weather condition even made us work harder, faster and with more determination.
We returned back to the hotel all shattered, cold and hungry. A group of us went out for a meal and a few beers and wine. We took a taxi ride that cost about £1.00 divided between 4 people and a 2 course meal with loads and loads of beer for only £5.00. Amazing way to end another very long 15 -hour day.
Day 4 - 8th June 2006 (Thursday)
All I could think about when getting up that morning was Ruth Madoc from Hi-di-hi saying ‘good morning campers, rise and shine, and another wonderful morning it is.’
We all met up for breakfast and had a briefing where Chas asked for donations of money to buy more local produce for the people as they were desperately running out of food. Maura and Kevin were involved in going to the local fruit and vegetable wholesaler with World Vision and managed the warehouse activities throughout the day.
We then took the 1 hour and 30 minutes drive to the warehouse and started off with a briefing. The plan was to take the two artics manned by, Graeme, Dennis, Dave, Graham, Maina and myself to the town of Rasti, while Steve, Margaret, Chas, Norman, and Bill were going to Negoi in the 7.5 tonners.
We finally got to town hall of Rasti and a mass of people was waiting for us. The police got involved and moved the crowd away so we could enter into a marked compound where we could start distributing the aid. We opened the curtains on one truck and started to make up family packs. This consisted of a blanket, tinned foods, toiletries, clothing and toys. I was put in charge of giving out clothing and toys. One or two family members could enter at a time and the authorities had made up lists of all the town people so everyone had an equal share. I recruited a couple of local people who could understand a little English and they helped me to distribute the clothes in an effective and orderly manner. I learnt a little Romanian “Copil” meaning child and thank you and good bye, but unfortunately forgotten the translations. While unloading the trailer I could see in the corner of my eye 3 women pushing and shoving each other around and later discovered that they were fighting over a pair of eyeglasses. From the angle I was situated I could see a lot of people trying to jump over the fence to get to the back of the truck the but the police had their own tactics of controlling the crowd.
We were distributing the goods from the side of the truck in over 5 hours of rain and shine. Our fatigue and hunger did not count when seeing so many happy and smiling faces.
Graeme and Dennis went back to the warehouse to get reloaded for the following day. Maina, Dave, Graham and I went to the camps to distribute the Rotary Emergency Boxes. Each box Emergency box contained various survival items including food, clothes,tent, stove,blankets enough for 10 people. They were donated by various Rotary clubs around the UK. After taking the truck about 5 more kilometers to reverse and turn, we made our way back to the warehouse ready to re-load for the following day’s distribution.
When we arrived back at the grain warehouse the 7.5 tonners along with the other artic were being reloaded for Friday’s drops. The same group of town folk are helping out along with World Vision people..
We departed from the warehouse and went back to the hotel with various depressing and interesting tales from various team members. Everyone had touching experiences that day and shared what they saw and how they felt. At some point in the journey, everyone was quiet, thoughtful and having so much to ponder. Arrived at the hotel, sat down for a meal and a few beers. A great finish to an extremely rewarding day. 14-hour day
Day 5 - 9th June 2006 (Friday)
The week had gone so fast. I wondered where all the time has gone. This was the airborne crew’s last day to help in the distribution.
We arrive at the warehouse bright and bushy eyed ready for a new day to transpire. Chas gathered the team for a briefing. We were given the assignments. Maina and I were going with Chas to Bistret in and reload for an afternoon distribution in Carna along with Margaret, Bill and Graham. I can’t even tell you where everyone else is going because things change so much, so soon that it sometimes made me feel dizzy because I’m not sure what to do and what to say. This being my first convoy, I don’t really want to step on people’s feet because many of the conveyers have been doing this type of work for many years. I tend to think sometimes that Maina and I are left in the dark and we have to play it by ear. I’m just a kind of person who likes to know the mechanics of situations and get involved.
All plans change like the seasons in these situations. After a very lengthy talk with the world Vision people, Chas revised original itinerary. Reading between the lines I think World Vision seemed to have a secret agenda, but I could be wrong.
We had to count the remaining goods one again and with the help of the locals we started to load the trucks. After an hour or two the trucks were ready to go and we were all going to one place. The journey over to Carna seems to take forever. We went past houses upon houses of crumbling ruins and cross the water like in a midlle of a manmade lake. Houses were submerged in the water and in one instance you can just make out the roof tops. We saw people fishing where crops used to grow.
The road turns in to a lake of soup and the water came up the axle of the truck, as we steadily cross where the road used to be. The trucks passed through with no problems, We entered the town of Carna and it looked like the word has already got around about our coming.. We positioned the the trucks up in a compound area of the local Kindergarten school. More and more people arrived and the police are were doing a great job holding them back.
We gathered into groups and unloaded the trucks all at once. I was unloading the artic and a mass of men gathered round the truck to lift stillages of clothing (the first thing which came to my mind was health and safety, but who cares). I think it’s a macho thing among the helping men to show off who can lift the heaviest of weights and the quickest. The goods were offloaded in no time and grouped together per category. Family representatives could then go around the circle one by one getting their share. It was like a military style and it worked!
The sun was beating down on us today and it was sticky, sweaty and suntan weather. The family members walked in, and received their aid and walked out again. I was in charge of giving out the tinned food. I learnt how to count up to 6 in Romanian (but I did not always get that right). I think each family had a tale to tell and it was touching how each of them wanted to tell you when they found out you could speak a little Romanian. With help from a young police officer he helped to translate some of the stories which were unbelievable, but looking at the devastation around us, you know the stories could be true. This young lady came to give Graham a hand to off load the truck.
After helping an old lady out with her bags to where the police perimeter was, I could see a new group of people transcending. It became like the East and West divide, the locals to the right and Romanian gypsies to the left. I watched their faces as I walked past them, weathered with the sun hardened with life with eyes telling a story or two. I did not look at them as gypsies but as human beings. The culture clash seems to be very evident but they have lost their homes and belongings too. I asked a police office why they were not allowed to be given aid and he said, “because they are not registered on the list.” It was not fair, they were treated like nomads.
Once we had given aid to everyone on the lists, I could see a young lad trying to get through a hole in the fence egged on by his elders and he had a large sack in his hand. The authorities pushed him back and the crowed booed and hissed at him. Once the police office moved on the young lad tried his luck again and he got to the food and we started to serve him, I looked over at the crowd he came from and they had a warm glow emanating out of them. The young lad got to the tinned food which I was giving out and he had a sincere look on his face and that said, ‘ please sir can I have some more.’ I helped that young lad out with his heavy sack of food to where he had been waiting previously and handed the food to an older man. I remembered the motto of Hope and Aid Direct – ‘We take aid, not sides’. So true it is, to get past the adverse of diversity and help each person as an equal. This is what giving out aid is all about. After the young lad had got through, other young children had got their fair share and other aid workers helped the children carry the food to the elders.
One middle-aged man really caught my attention, he looked rather disillusioned when he walked into the compound and the greeters had all disappeared. He looked at me straight in the eye and I could feel his hardship and pain. He wore what seemed like a monk’s robe all in black, my intuition told me he was a religious man and he had prayed for help, he had a very little carrier bag to put his aid in. I quickly looked around and found a box that he could carry with his fair share. That box on his shoulder must have weighed a tonne. He looked at me again in the eye and he smiled with a most sincere expression his eyes. He was the most touching, genuine and sincere person I met amongst the town folks. Peace be with him.
We all said our goodbyes to the authorities the helpers and drove back to the hotel. Another long day but every minute spent with the people seemed a lifetime. When the day was ending, I had time to reflect on what had happened today with the divide of people. I watched people and learnt a bit more about life. I knew this is the kind of work I would like to go into but I have seen some elements I don’t like from aid workers from other NGOs posing with a child giving out food. In my mind a photo should be spontaneous, not one for the camera.
We arrived back to the hotel where dinner was waiting for us. The hotel band was in full swing so we had to shout to get ourselves heard. We finally went outside to say our goodbyes to the truck convoyers as this would be the airborne crew last night with them. I went to sleep with thoughts of absolute and one ship with my fellow man. Good night all. 15-hour day
Day 6 - 10th June 2006 (Saturday)
I was up at the crack of dawn again. I went down for breakfast and said goodbye to the convoy members who were off early to do more distribution that day. They will start their long journey back to the UK on Sunday while we were due to fly back later that day. I was looking forward to going home. We started the 4 hour drive to Bucharest at around 10:30 am and said our good byes to the World Vision people in the airport where they were also meeting one of the convoy drivers who will be driving one of the truck back to the UK. Our flight was on time at 5:10 pm with a transfer at Amsterdam. We made good time getting back to Heathrow where the airborne crew were in good sprits but a little bit sad to say the inevitable goodbyes. We had spent good quality time together and now it was time to leave this journal to a close.
This was my first involvement in giving out aid and I felt great and alive. My ego was nowhere to be found and instead I found a love of being involved in something good and worthwhile.
Please note www.chaad.co.uk (Hope and Aid Direct Midlands fundrasing site) will be having some photos of the Romanian convoy in the next couple of days.
Thanks for reading
Roly
United Kingdom
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