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Letter addressed to the President of the United States of America, George W.
Bush
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The Honorable George Bush
President of the United States
December 17,
2002
Dear Mister President !
I know you receive daily from all over the world numerous messages conveying a
great deal of human pain as well as great expectations; I would like to ask you
to receive yet another one.
I was born in 1935, and I am a Romanian writer from the Republic of Moldova
(also know as Bassarabia). Together with other intellectuals from Bassarabia I
was actively involved in the movement for national freedom, which began around
the time of the collapse of the Soviet empire.
Our aim was and still is to earn national rights for the Romanian population of
Moldova (about 65% of the entire population), to restore Romanian as the
official language of the country, and to resurrect Romanian culture and faith
in God.
In this peaceful revolution, we only rely on poetry, music, Christian Orthodox
icons, as well as on the support of the population, especially of the youth.
I have been visiting America since November the 21st, at the invitation of the
Holy Trinity Romanian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, and of the Romanian World Council. I feel blessed to be
able to visit this country, which has become the adoptive country of so many
Romanians. I even composed a hymn dedicated to the State of California, which
has greatly impressed me by its beauty.
Growing up in the 50's, I remember hearing the elders saying quietly "The
Americans will come." My country Moldova (Bassarabia) was separated from
Romania by the criminal policies of the Soviet empire. Despite this separation,
its people shared with the rest of the Romanians this secret hope that the
Americans will one day come and save us from the evil claws of Communism.
By the recent invitation to join NATO extended to Romania, the Americans have
finally come. This has been a cause of great rejoicing on both banks of the
river Prut, which sadly still divides Bassarabia from Romania. I cannot but
hope that this will make things better for the people in my country, which
struggle with the most terrible poverty.
But however terrible this material poverty is, I, as well as many of my fellow
Romanians have no trouble enduring it. We have unfortunately grown up in
poverty, and we have been educated by the Soviet system to be content with
little. We could even endure the barbed wire on the river Prut (even if it is a
continuous wound to our hearts), knowing that it will eventually collapse as
the Berlin wall did. However, what we feel we cannot endure is the fact that in
these days the Orthodox Christian Faith of our forefathers, the Romanian
Language and the Romanian History are under a great attack from the communist
government of Moldova.
We have a folk saying: "The wolf can change its skin, but never its
habits". Like the wolf, the communists from Moldova want to appear to the
world as democrats. Nevertheless, they have never ceased in trying to suppress
freedom of speech and in exerting political terror.
For example, the broadcast of television programs from Romania was stopped. The
radio station "The voice of Bassarabia" was closed by the state
around the time of the visit of the Moldavian president Vladimir Voronin to the
United States. The Moldavian diocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church is under
state surveillance, and some of its priests were attacked and terribly beaten.
The government mass media continuously attacks the Romanian Language and the
study of Romanian History in schools.
The editor in chief of the weekly journal "Accents", Sergiu Afanasiu,
was arrested and thrown into prison. Were it not for the active solidarity of
the democratic journalists, he would still be there. The writer Mihail Garaz
was shot. The film director Ion Mija was killed. The great artists Ion and
Doina Teodorovici, as well as the politician Gheorghe Ghimpu (an ex political
prisoner) have died in suspect car accidents. The poet Dumitru Matcovschi
was crushed by a truck on the side-walk. The editor in chief of the
"Literature and Arts" weekly Romanian journal, the poet Nicolae
Dabija, was mercilessly beaten at night in front of his house.
The National TV station prohibits the use of the word "Romanian", as
well as any positive remarks about the country of our forefathers. The great
Moldavian freedom fighter, Ilie Ilascu, who was imprisoned for 9 years by the
communist authorities of the breakaway Trans-Dnestr "republic" is not
welcome in his own country, and has settled in Romania. Local officials,
mayors, and school masters who oppose the anti-Romanian policies of the
communist government are under surveillance or deposed.
Mister President !
We could fill dozens of pages with such examples of atrocities committed by the
communist authorities of Moldova. Their coming to power was in part due to the
kindness and tolerance of the Romanians in Bassarabia, but much more to the fear
of deportation to Siberia, which has been traumatizing the souls of many ever
since Stalin's times. An even greater role in this belongs to the Russian 14th
army, which still occupies the Trans-Dnestr region of Moldova.
Mister President !
We fully share your view that in our times no type of terrorism - be it
religious, political, or of any other kind, can be tolerated. Animated by this
ideal I have dared to write you this letter, and I would like to thank you for
your patience in listening to our plea, and for your support.
With deep respect and love,
Grigore Vieru,
Poet, member of the Romanian Academy