Life in Roma Villages in Romania

I traveled to Romania in September 2014 and visited Roma villages, the hometowns of some economic migrants who beg for money or collect cans and bottles in my hometown. My goal was to capture photos for a slideshow and write articles about the situation of Roma people in Romania.

There are numerous false rumors about Roma people that have been disseminated in Sweden and other North European countries by nationalist groups. These rumors claim that Roma people from Romania are wealthy, owning nice cars and houses, and leading a life of luxury funded by money obtained through theft and begging. The intention behind the slideshow is to reveal the actual living conditions in the villages from which the migrants originate, dispelling the misconception that their living standards are luxurious.

Music is an important component of the slideshow, and upon hearing the Roma musicians Catalin Vlad and Stefanica Gheorges' interpretation of Goran Bregović's song "Ederlezi," I decided to contact them and inquire about using their song. They agreed after reviewing my pictures.

Text and photo: Mikael Good

It's like I've been born again

Ioana who is a mother of three children travelled from Romania to Sweden in early 2014 in a desperate attempt to earn the extra money that was needed for her children's education. She tried to get a job but soon she ended up on the streets of Stockholm were she begged for money from bypassers. During her stay Ioana became seriously ill and had to seek medical attention.



A good friend of her took her to a hospital where she underwent a number of tests to determine the cause of the disease. A doctor at the hospital informed her that she suffered from Hepatitis C and had a long time cirrhosis. The doctor gave her one or two years to live if she did not get a liver transplant. He prescribed medications to Ioana and advised her to go home to her family and spend her last days of life with them. Because she is a EU-citizen she had to go back to Romania to do the liver transplant.

Health care is free in Romania but the country has problems with corruption. In order to get the care you need you must either have the right contacts or give bribes. Those who have no contacts or money may choose to get poor care or no care at all. Ioana and her husband Vasile did not have the money that they needed to get medications or a liver transplant and her prospects was bleak.



Many Swedes were engaged in Ioanas situation after her story had been aired on ABC News in early 2014. They started to raise money for the benefit of her medications and liver transplantation. The Swedish NGO Heart to Heart was asked if they could set up a account and transfer the money to Ioana. They decided to transfer the collected money to Ioana without charging any fee.

A female reporter from ABC News and her team fought for Ioanas right to get a liver transplant. And thanks to all the media attention they created in both Sweden and Romania about Ioana she was finally included on the waiting list for a liver transplantation at a specialist clinic in Bukarest. After she undervent the transplantation a number of donors continued to give money to her so she could buy the expensive antiretroviral drugs she needed to survive until the surgery.



I met Ioana who is a very kind and gentle woman in her small house in a Romanian village in the middle on Romania in september 2014. She was very thankful to all the people in Sweden who had been engaged in her situation and helped her with their money and prayers. But she was also very worried about the future. Ioanas mother died when she was a young girl and she didn't want her own children to grow up without the love and support from their mother.
- I want to live as long as I can get to see my children grow up to be big. My mother died when I was small and I do not want my children to have to grow up without their mother, she said to me with tears in her voice.



A couple of weeks after I met Ioana, she received the good news that the vaiting was over and that she should get a liver transplant at a clinic in Bucarest. She received the transplantation at the clinic on november 4. After a couple of weeks of convalescence at the clinic she was healthy enough to go home to her husband Vasile and their three children Bianca, Adrian and Sebastian.



Ioana are doing well after the liver transplant but she have to continue to take retroviral drugs for the rest of her life, otherwise her body will reject the new liver.
- If it hadn't been for all the good-hearted people in Sweden I might have been dead. It feels like I've been born again since I got my new liver. I'm very grateful to everyone who has helped and supported me and who have been involved in giving me a new life.

      

Read more about Heart to Hearts Team Roma-project in the following link: http://english.hearttoheart.se/the-team-roma-project-2/

Text and photo: Mikael Good

This is my home town - Husqvarna

Många människor runt om i världen är bekanta med varumärket Husqvarna och du har säkert rest igenom staden med buss, bil och tåg utan att ta dig tid att stanna till. För att stilla din nyfikenhet har jag skapat ett Flickralbum med bilder från Huskvarna så att du och alla dem som är nyfikna på staden runt om i världen ska kunna göra ett besök genom mina bilder.



Många av oss som har fotografering som hobby eller yrke missar ofta att dokumentera vår egen hembygd. Det kanske beror på att det är lätt att bli hemmablind och att det är lättare att få inspiration när man är på resande fot. Med tanke på att det brukar vara bilder från vår hembygd som blir intressantast för omvärlden i framtiden är det lite märkligt att det inte är fler fotografer som dokumenterar sin hembygd. När jag är ute på mina vandringar i Huskvarna har jag i stort sett alltid med en kamera och det har resulterat i en hel del bilder genom åren. Jag har samlat några av dem i ett flickralbum med namnet: "This is my home town - Husqvarna". 



Förvänta er inga lätt eller kraftigt HDR-förljugna foton för glättiga turistbroschyrer. Jag har valt att göra en personlig dokumentation av staden och dess invånare i svartvitt och försöker visa upp staden så oförfalskat som möjligt. Därför har jag valt att lyfta fram både det vackra och det fula så att betraktaren själv ska kunna väva ihop sina tankar runt bilderna till en helhet. I mina ögon är Huskvarna en vacker stad och jag trivs med att bo här på solsidan även om det som i alla städer finns saker som man tycker mer eller mindre om.



Vem vet, kanske kan mina bilder vara med och göra lite extra reklam för bygden? Någon som är på genomresa kanske stannar till i Huskvarna av ren och skär nyfikenhet efter att ha sett mina bilder. Men om ni stannar till i Huskvarna ska ni givetvis passa på att äta den lokala specialiteten kebabpizza på någon av Huskvarnas många pizzerior. Huskvarna har den godaste kebabsåsen och den godaste kebaben på den här sidan av Bosporen och det beror tills stor del på den mycket goda kebabsåsen vars recept kommer från Huskvarna.



Om du inte kan se bildspelet på din telefon eller platta kan du alltid klicka på den följande länken: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/sets/72157640003096945/ 

Text och foto: Mikael Good