[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 109 (Friday, June 30, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6685-H6686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              A POSITIVE VIEW OF ROMANIA AND THE ROMANIANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Morella). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Funderburk] is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FUNDERBURK. Madam Speaker, while the Romanian Government has 
sometimes gotten bad press in the United States for its slow transition 
to democratic government and privatization, and its part-free elections 
and media--the Romanian people deserve recognition for their long 
suffering struggles and their contributions. This afternoon I want to 
give a tribute to the Romanian people.
  There are over one million people from Romania living abroad in 
Western Europe, North and South America, and Australia/New Zealand. 
They have made a name for themselves in all fields with some winning 
Nobel prizes. One of my colleagues in this House, Congressman Martin 
Hoke, has a Romanian mother. Nearly half a million people originally 
from Romania settled in America, living in every State. One Romanian--
Dr. Nicholas Dima--assisted me in preparing this historical sketch.\1\ 
There are Romanian settlements in North Carolina and Romanian 
professionals living in Durham, Buies Creek, Roanoke Rapids and other 
towns in the 2d district. Duke University has a Duke in Romania 
program, and professors and students from Romania can be found at many 
of our universities. Many Tar Heels have happily adopted lovely 
Romanian babies.
     \1\One Romanian hero, Father Calcin, who spent 16 years in 
     Communist prisons for his religious faith is here today.
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  All of us in the Western World owe a debt of gratitude to the people 
of Romania because they provided a buffer zone which helped protect 
civilized Europe from the barbarians. When marauding hordes from the 
east threatened Europe, it was Romanians who almost alone in southeast 
Europe defended the west during the Middle Ages. They thus helped 
insulate western European civilization from destruction.
  There are some 25 million Romanians living mainly in present-day 
Romanian and in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, formerly 
Bessarabia. Descending from the Dacians, one of the most ancient 
peoples in Europe, the Romanians have their linguistic roots in Rome 
(hence the name Romania), have deep cultural affinities with the west, 
and an unshakable admiration for America.
  The country fell under the influence of the Romans almost 2,000 years 
ago, and the Romans gave the local population a new language, culture, 
and identity. When Roman soldiers withdrew from Dacia in the 3d 
century, the inhabitants of the country remained and survived as 
farmers and shepherds especially in and around the Carpathian mountain 
arch.
  While the culture and language tied the Romanians to the west, the 
location of their land and the adoption of the eastern orthodox church 
connected them to the east.
  The results of Romania's unique location and history are rich 
traditions and a beautiful culture. The Romanians developed an 
exquisite folk art, a fascinating folk music, and became one of the 
friendliest and most hospitable peoples in Europe. Unfortunately, the 
geo-political location of Romania has caused a lot of suffering for the 
people.
  The Hungarians came to central Europe during the ninth century. They 
settled in current-day Hungary and began to move eastward into 
Transylvania, considered the cradle of the Romanian nation, between the 
11th and 13th centuries.
  While most Transylvanian Romanians stayed in their ancestral land, 
others crossed the Carpathian mountains where they met their brethren 
and founded Wallachia to the south around the beginning of the 14th 
century, and Moldova to the east in the mid-14th century. During the 
middle ages, these two principalities became the most important 
Romanian cultural and political centers. And while Moldova fortified 
the Dniester River to defend the country against the Tartars, Wallachia 
fought many wars to defend itself against the Ottoman Turks. In the 
end, however, both principalities had to sign special treaties with the 
Turks and to pay them tribute to keep their integrity.
  During the late 18th and 19th centuries Tsarist Russia began to 
expand toward the Balkans. Claiming to liberate the christians from the 
Turks, the Tsars were in fact aiming at Constantinople and the 
Mediterranean sea. After a war against Turkey, in 1812 Russia annexed 
the eastern half of Moldova, which later changed hands several times 
between Romania and Russia.
  In 1859, Wallachia and Moldova united under the name of Romania, and 
the country 

[[Page H6686]]
became the magnet for all Romanians. During World War I, Romania sided 
with her traditional friends, and fought against the central powers. In 
1918, Transylvania, which at the time was annexed by Hungary, North 
Moldova (Bukovina) which was under Austria, and eastern Moldova 
(Bessarabia) which under Russia, joined with Romania. At long last, 
Romania became a modern nation ready to claim its place in the new 
Europe.
  During the interwar years, Romania tried to build democracy and to 
modernize its economy. Nevertheless, the ascent of communism and 
fascism put an end to stability and hopes for a better future all over 
Eastern Europe. In 1940, following the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the U.S.S.R. 
invaded Romania and annexed again Bessarabia and for the first time 
northern Bukovina. One year later, Romania joined Germany and attacked 
Russia to reclaim its land.
  At the end of the war, Romania was occupied by the Soviet Union which 
brought about the darkest era in the entire history of the nation. 
Romania with fewer native Communists than other countries suffered more 
than almost any other country under the Communist yoke. The full story 
of the misery, gulags, death and damage done by communism has not yet 
been reported and exposed. And most of those responsible have not yet 
been held accountable. Mercifully, the worst of the Communist era ended 
in December 1989. Many changes have followed, some of them positive and 
hopeful. Nevertheless, the economic, moral and spiritual damage caused 
by communism was staggering and will probably haunt Romanians for 
generations. [Now that Ceausescu's communism is gone from Romania, the 
only Romance-language speaking Latin country in the world remaining 
with a Communist dictatorship is Cuba under Castro].
  Things have not been very good in Romania since the 1989 demise of 
the evil Ceausescu regime. The old Communists are still in power under 
a different name, but the country has made efforts to befriend the 
United States and to rejoin the West.
  As one who spent 6 years of his life in Romania, as a student, 
research professor, USIA guide and United States Ambassador, I am a 
friend of the freedom-loving people who is concerned about their fate 
and their country's relationship with the United States. It is time to 
support the people of Romania. We should assist the true democrats in 
their efforts to democratize and privatize the country and bring the 
country closer to the United States and West. Democracy, stability, and 
prosperity in Romania would also be in America's best interests. I wish 
the Romanian people well and thank them for their contributions to 
America. May God bless the Romanian people and may God bless America, 
as we enter Independence Day week.


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