We have a new photo album showcasing our children’s paintings for a special art and fashion exhibit in Romania.
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Have a wonderful weekend!
The IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
On Wednesday (a few hours ago, US time), tens of thousands of Romanian workers took to the streets in Bucharest to protest massive wage and job cuts by the Romanian government.
Approximately 40,000 people marched and chanted, “Down with the lying government!” “Shame on them!” and “You have pawned our future!”
The protests follow an announcement that Romania will be cutting all public salaries by 25% and pensions by 15% beginning June 1. Romanians fear debt will only continue to skyrocket while taxes increase. Romania accepted a $24 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union and World Bank last year in order to pay state wages.
Police officers, teachers, and health workers are calling for the government to resign. The unions are threatening a large-scale strike. Public jobs comprise 1/3 of Romanian employment, and such a strike would leave the country without health care or law enforcement.
Romanian President Traian Basescu
But it is unlikely the protests or even a strike will change the government’s plans. The IMF will only give Romania the next portion of its loan when the country has enforced the wage and pension cuts. Romanian President Traian Basescu has continued openly seeking that installment, worth $1.15 billion.
Please continue to pray for Mia’s Children during this time of economic hardship in Romania. Our children depend on the public sector for school, safety and health resources. But we also try to provide such things privately to them through the mission. And as the dollar continues to grow in strength against the euro, please consider a donation to help cover the increasing costs in Bucharest.
(You can read more about the protests from the Associated Press.)
In our last post, we spoke about Ion (John), one of the boys at Mia’s Children involved in sports. Ion plays, among other things, the game oina.
Oina is like a mix between baseball and monkey in the middle, but it is much older than either sport. Invented in the 1300s, it has become the national sport of Romania because of its ties to the country and its long tradition there. In fact, there are only two oina federations in the world: one in Bucharest and one in Moldova.
Oina is similar to baseball. There are two teams: a team at bat and a team at catch. The weight of the ball for both games is nearly the same, and the bats are similar.
But while a play in both games begins with a pitch and a swing, in Oina the pitcher and batter play on the same team. The pitch is simple and close up, like in tee ball. And once the batter hits the ball, regardless of whether the opposing team catches it, the team at bat runs from one part of the field to another along lanes on the field (called advance and return corridors).
The opposing team waits in the outfield and tries to hit the runners with the ball. The runners can deflect the ball with their hands, but can’t catch it. If it hits their bodies, the opposing team scores and the player leaves the field.
The game only takes 30 minutes and thus is a popular P.E. activity in Romanian schools.
Sound complicated? Well, it is. But try explaining American football!
This video shows a partial game of oina:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTgScqdcU4&feature=player_embedded#!ref=0]