How Much Is 22?

Today I've witnessed the most shocking scene that can happen in a grocery store. It was so shocking, I can't get it out of my head and keep thinking of what this means.

I was standing in line to buy some ham and was just keeping my distance from the two women in front of me. They were together, one had a mask and wore it properly. The other had a homemade mask under her chin and it was obvious she didn't give a damn about any of the rules. It wasn't my place to warn her about the rules and with people like these two, you'd better stay away.

How Much Is 22?

The woman with the mask in front of me asked for two kilos of sausage, one kg of bacon and two kg of fresh ribs. The other with the mask under her chin looked very undecided at first. She asked how much is the bacon, then she saw the sausages (I believe), so asked how much the ribs cost. You should know that all prices are listed, that's the law, it's mandatory, lack of prices can leave you with a huge fine. So after asking for the price of a few products, she asked how much is the ribs. The lady behind the counter said 11 lei. Then she asked how much is two kg of ribs. The lady said 22 lei. Then the woman asked how much is 22? Is it 20? All this with a dead serious face and believe me, she was not joking.

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Shocking, isn't it? Imagine how it is to be illiterate. There are tens of thousands like her, living without being able to count or read. These are roma-gypsy people. According to Wikipedia, in Romania there are five ethnic groups: 88.9% Romanians, 6.1% Hungarians, 3.3% Romani, 0.2% Ukrainians, 0.2% Germans. This statistic is from 2011, so the numbers are not quite up to date, but believe me, they are plenty.

This community is forgotten by the authorities, they are interesting every four or five years, before the elections. Then local candidates (some of them anyway) find their ways to these communities, show a little bit of interest, promise them the sky and the moon, give them packages and make sure they understand who they are supposed to vote for. This is a dangerous game as no matter how illiterate they are, they are united and are capable of everything. If you don't deliver, you're a dead man. It happened a few years ago, a controversial candidate for mayor promised them who knows what, the candidate won the election on Sunday and the gypgies were in front of the mayor's office Monday morning at 8. All of them, I believe no one was left at home.

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In A Digital Era

The other day I was thinking of how history has the habit of repeating itself. There were times when only a few people had the opportunity to learn and the rest was illiterate. These illiterate people were forced to sign their name by using their inked fingertip to sing whatever needed to be signed. In 2020 I'm using my fingertip to unlock my phone and I bet fingertip identification is widely used in high security areas. Funny, isn't it?

However, the two cases are very different. Now imagine these illiterate people in a digital era, where very soon you need to know a lot just to unlock a door or to buy something. How are these people going to survive?

They are living from one day to another, kids go to school the first few years not because school is important, but because the government has a program that gives kids a croissant and a glass of milk every day for free and the child allowance if tied to school presence. After that, many drop out.

And there are those who are undocumented, but not because they have crossed the border illegally, but because they were born and never registered. They have no right, they don't exist, basically. You see two, three years old kids on the streets, barefoot, begging for money, they say they need to buy food. If you give them a sandwich, they curse you as money is what they need. Adults are not any better. They live in the outskirts of the city, and many are still nomads. During the covid lockdown, there were places in the country where the army had to step in to maintain the order. Many got arrested and fined for not respecting the rules.

Any Solutions?

This is a very good question that no one knows the answer to. Integrating these people in society is very difficult, needs time, infrastructure and a lot of money. The problem is usually swept under the carpet and kept there forever if possible.

Working and following rules is not for these people, they prefer to go abroad to beg and collect wallets as one of the politicians said not long ago in tv. Romania has a very bad reputation abroad because of them. When I take out my Romanian ID in Europe, I'm labeled automatically without even being able to say a word. The damage they do to the country is enormous. I'm talking only about what's going on in my country, but unfortunately Romania is not the only country dealing with this issue.

Some are religious, hard working people. Some are homesteaders or have a profession, a job and are suffer because of the others as being labeled but these are just a few.

I'm still treating them with respect. I don't like to generalize, so I give everyone the opportunity to treat me with respect. If that doesn't happen, then my attitude towards them changes in a second.

Not long ago I was stopped by a gypsy woman on the street, she was asking for directions. I told her where to go and to my surprise, she said some very nice words to me. She said I have a white face and a very kind heart and complained about others, about how rude some are. I can't be like that. I'm always cautious but respectful til, one point.

So how much is 22 anyway? Is it 20?