2006 Ferentari riot
Encyclopedia
A small riot took place in Ferentari-Zabrauti area of Bucharest
, Romania
, on the evening of November 14, 2006. Ferentari is Bucharest's poorest district, and has the city's largest population of ethnic Roma people.
According to the administrator of the apartment block, none of the buildings's inhabitants had formal access to electricity for four years, with many people connecting themselves illegally to the electricity grid.
). There were also some apartments with air conditioners, so the total debts (not including the stolen energy) rose to €400,000 . The stolen energy was estimated to €430,000 per month.
According to the protesters, the local council of Sector 5 had repeatedly refused to authorize their reconnection to the grid. This led to around 200 inhabitants from the Zăbrăuţi area to violently protest against their situation, by torching tires, blocking traffic in the area and breaking the window of a fire truck, while calling for reconnection of their electricity supply. However, only 20% of the inhabitants of the area had any papers proving ownership or rent over the said flats, with the rest being squatters.
The electricity provider was criticized for not cutting the energy in summer, so that people could make plans for winter.
Both the electricity provider and Bucharest 5'th Sector, Marian Vanghelie
were criticized (by then Prefect of Bucharest Mioara Mantale
) for making electrical energy contracts in those blocks, as they were built as temporary shelter for construction workers and were never finalized. Apart from electricity, they do not have water, sewerage or heating.
Marian Vanghelie
said he will not make any concession. President Traian Băsescu
also commented on the events: "I stand by my previous statement. Bucharest is not for everyone. Every one of us must pay [our bills]!" (Romanian
: Imi mentin ideea pe care am mai spus-o. Bucurestiul nu este un oras in care poate locui oricine. Toti trebuie sa platim!).
Becali was criticized for this, as it might be unfair for the ones who only through effort managed to pay the energy bills. Alex Savitescu, said "crime becomes not only understood, accepted, but rewarded".
According to a poll made by students from SNSPA(The National School for Political and Administrative Studies) two days after the protests, if elections where to be held the following Sunday, 93% of people from Zabrauti would go to vote and 70% would vote for Gigi Becali as President, and 55.1% would vote for his party, the PNG. At the meeting where people were thanking him, he said:"Pe mine ma cheama Becali. Cuvintul meu e litera de Evanghelie. Nu o sa pot sa fac toata tara asta, o sa fac toata tara asta cind o sa devin presedinte si o sa ma doara inima de romani"("My name is Becali. My word is as good as the word of the Holy Scripture. I cannot do the same for everyone in this country now but I will do so when I become president and as president I'll feel the grief of the Romanian people").
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, on the evening of November 14, 2006. Ferentari is Bucharest's poorest district, and has the city's largest population of ethnic Roma people.
Events which happened several hours before the riot
The riot took place after four ethnic-Roma children were asphyxiated in the basement of an apartment block in the Zăbrăuţi area on November 13, as a result of a fire caused by candles. The children had lived with their mother in their dwelling for more than two years, and were obliged to light the basement with candles as they had no access to electricity.According to the administrator of the apartment block, none of the buildings's inhabitants had formal access to electricity for four years, with many people connecting themselves illegally to the electricity grid.
The riot
The riot occurred because Electrica (electricity provider) decided to cut the electricity of some blocks, due to energy theft and consumer debts. However, whole blocks were cut the electricity, including few consumers without debts. In those blocks there was no central heating and people were using electric radiators (which are energy inefficientEfficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
). There were also some apartments with air conditioners, so the total debts (not including the stolen energy) rose to €400,000 . The stolen energy was estimated to €430,000 per month.
According to the protesters, the local council of Sector 5 had repeatedly refused to authorize their reconnection to the grid. This led to around 200 inhabitants from the Zăbrăuţi area to violently protest against their situation, by torching tires, blocking traffic in the area and breaking the window of a fire truck, while calling for reconnection of their electricity supply. However, only 20% of the inhabitants of the area had any papers proving ownership or rent over the said flats, with the rest being squatters.
The electricity provider was criticized for not cutting the energy in summer, so that people could make plans for winter.
Both the electricity provider and Bucharest 5'th Sector, Marian Vanghelie
Marian Vanghelie
Daniel Marian Vanghelie is a Romanian politician of Jewish and Gypsy descent, being the mayor of the 5th Sector of Bucharest since 2000 and a prominent member and vice-president of the ....
were criticized (by then Prefect of Bucharest Mioara Mantale
Mioara Mantale
Mioara Mantale is a Romanian politician and the Subprefect of the Bucharest Municipality. A member of the Democratic Party and its successor the Democratic Liberal Party, she is the first-ever female prefect of Bucharest, a mandate she held between 2005 and 2007.-Biography:Born in Iaşi, Mantale...
) for making electrical energy contracts in those blocks, as they were built as temporary shelter for construction workers and were never finalized. Apart from electricity, they do not have water, sewerage or heating.
Marian Vanghelie
Marian Vanghelie
Daniel Marian Vanghelie is a Romanian politician of Jewish and Gypsy descent, being the mayor of the 5th Sector of Bucharest since 2000 and a prominent member and vice-president of the ....
said he will not make any concession. President Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
also commented on the events: "I stand by my previous statement. Bucharest is not for everyone. Every one of us must pay [our bills]!" (Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Imi mentin ideea pe care am mai spus-o. Bucurestiul nu este un oras in care poate locui oricine. Toti trebuie sa platim!).
Outcome
Realitatea TV was presenting a news broadcast about the riot at the same time with the planned show about the latest ranking of the richest Romanians made by the publication "Capital", at which Cristian Tantareanu and Gigi Becali were invited to speak about their wealth. Cristian Tantareanu said the ranking contains the 300 richest Romanians and there are about 300 people protesting, so why shouldn't every one of them help one of the poor people who were protesting. Gigi Becali said he would donate enough money to help all the protesting people, but he doesn't have time to ensure they will work (clean their buildings, etc), as Tantareanu suggested. At that time Becali didn't know how much money this would cost him; he was later informed it was ~€400,000, which he paid.Becali was criticized for this, as it might be unfair for the ones who only through effort managed to pay the energy bills. Alex Savitescu, said "crime becomes not only understood, accepted, but rewarded".
According to a poll made by students from SNSPA(The National School for Political and Administrative Studies) two days after the protests, if elections where to be held the following Sunday, 93% of people from Zabrauti would go to vote and 70% would vote for Gigi Becali as President, and 55.1% would vote for his party, the PNG. At the meeting where people were thanking him, he said:"Pe mine ma cheama Becali. Cuvintul meu e litera de Evanghelie. Nu o sa pot sa fac toata tara asta, o sa fac toata tara asta cind o sa devin presedinte si o sa ma doara inima de romani"("My name is Becali. My word is as good as the word of the Holy Scripture. I cannot do the same for everyone in this country now but I will do so when I become president and as president I'll feel the grief of the Romanian people").
See also
- FerentariFerentariFerentari is a neighbourhood located in the 5th Sector of Bucharest, Romania.-Etymology:It is considered that the name of "Ferentari" contributes in a great measure to its reputation due to its exotic sound: the word "Ferentari" comes from the Latin word "Ferentarius" meaning "soldier in the old...
- Roma in Romania
- Hădăreni riotsHadareni riotsThe 1993 Hădăreni riots was an ethnic conflict in the village of Hădăreni, Mureş County, Romania, involving Romanians and Hungarians on one side and Roma people on the other side.-The riots:...
- Riot of Rostock-LichtenhagenRiot of Rostock-LichtenhagenFrom August 22–24, 1992 a violent anti-Vietnamese and anti-Roma riot took place in Rostock-Lichtenhagen; it was the worst mob attack against foreigners in postwar Germany. Although there were stones and petrol bombs thrown at an apartment block that housed asylum seekers, no one was killed...
External links
- Intifada din Ferentari (The Ferentari "Intifada"), Evenimentul Zilei article
- Protests in Ferentari neighbourhood
- Article about the riot in Gândul
- Residents clash with police in poor Bucharest district after electricity cut off, Dzeno
- Revolt of Roma in Bucharest, Dzeno