The photo exhibition “SHAME – European Stories” was inaugurated today at the metro station Piața Unirii in Bucharest. Organised by Justice Initiative and under the patronage of the Council of Europe, the exhibition brings together dozens of portraits and stories of survivors of childhood abuse. In their opening speeches, Romanian politicians and experts stressed the importance of understanding and preventing child abuse – in Europe, but especially in Romania.
Fear and shame know no boundaries. From Romania to France, from the far north of Scandinavia to Italy, via Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and many other countries. Different realities, different abuses, different perpetrators, but always the same victims: children. Forced adoptions, sexual abuse, children forcibly removed from their families, victims of human trafficking, children subjected to social experiments and children abused within the family. The exhibition “SHAME – European Stories” seeks to bring a phenomenon out of the shadows of the past to prevent these crimes from being forgotten without justice.
Romania can make a change
The launch of the exhibition in Bucharest took place in the presence of Guido Fluri (founder of Justice Initiative), Daniel Șandru (Executive President of the Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile), Daniela Boșca (Executive Director of the Federation of NGOs for Children), Vișinel Bălan (Vice-President of the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption), Cătălina Galer (State Counsellor in the Presidential Administration), Iulian-Alexandru Muraru (MP), ambassadors of the 17 countries participating in the initiative, government representatives, politicians, NGO representatives and journalists. Also present at the opening were the four Romanians whose stories – which tell the story of abuse in child protection institutions in Romania – are presented in the exhibition: Andreea Lăcătuș, Vasile Porumbaru, Sîrmanca Beladi, Cosmin Olteanu.
Each of these guests symbolically pledged, by signing one of the project’s exhibits, that they will carry these stories forward and that stopping child abuse is an issue that matters to Romania.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Cor cu Dor, a children’s choral ensemble, under the warm guidance of conductor Teodora Jaworski. The 15 children spoke, through music, on behalf of all children who could not cry out their pain, suffering and abuse.
Support for survivors – in Europe and especially in Romania
In his opening speech, Guido Fluri thanked Metrorex for hosting this exhibition, which brings visibility to the Justice Initiative cause in Romania. “Tens of thousands of victims of abuse across Europe live among us. To this day, these victims suffer from abuses that happened in the past. In most countries, there has been no serious confrontation with abuse. Romania is no exception. Romania has the chance to act proactively. Romania can become a model for dealing with history and bringing justice to victims,” said Mr Fluri.
“Deep childhood trauma comes with multiple long-term effects, not only for those who have suffered it, but also for society. Abuse is like a cancer cell, it will multiply uncontrollably, it will damage the surrounding tissues, it will eventually suffocate the entire social organism. For all these reasons, personal and professional, I believe that the Justice Initiative project is extremely necessary for Romania”- Daniela Boșca, Executive Director of the Federation of NGOs for Children.
“Now, almost 33 years after the Romanian Revolution and the moment when the survivors of the Hospital Homes were freed from the dark walls of death, we have a moral duty, even if belatedly, to acknowledge their status as victims of the communist regime and to offer them support in healing from the traumas they have experienced. Let us respond to evil with good, let us make their stories known, let us unite our efforts to repair the unjust past” – Daniel Șandru (Director of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of Romanian Exile).
The travelling exhibition “SHAME – European Stories” debuted last year at the Venice Biennale and was on display in October 2022 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. In Bucharest, the exhibition will be active for one month, from 15 February to 15 March, in the area of the passageway Piața Unirii 1, in a project developed with Metrorex.
The exhibition “SHAME – European Stories” is organised by the Justice Initiative and the Guido Fluri Foundation under the patronage of the Council of Europe.
Partners: Metrorex, Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations for Children (FONPC), Phoneo Association, Museum of Abandonment, Young Beats, Cantus Mundi.
Media partners: Agerpres, RFI, Spot Media, Civil Society Gala, Morning Edition, Psychology Page.
