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Action
Rumanian
Villages
Actie
Dorpen
Roemenië
From "Newsletter Number 5 - Volume 11 - October 2000
Action Rumanian Villages, Flanders Co-ordination"
A CLOSE LOOK AT A COMMITTEE
Committee LATEM HELPS BIERTAN (9830 Sint-Martens-Latem / BELGIUM)
The inhabitants of the twin-villages of SINT-MARTENS-LATEM and DEURLE, were shocked by radio and
television reports about the inhuman circumstances in Rumania by the end of 1989.
December 1989, town councillor Rudy Pauwels took the initiative to gather standard food parcels
and other relief packets, donated by the citizens of Sint-Martens-Latem and Deurle.
The Belgian Red Cross took care of the transport towards Rumania.
In February 1990, Jean Hennequin, a formerly co-operator at the Belgian Embassy in Rumania,
went on visit to his Rumanian friends in the neighbourhood of Bucharest. During the return-journey
he made a detour to the adoption village of BIERTAN and delivered an outstanding and trustworthy
report about the situation in BIERTAN.
The 4.000 inhabitants seemed to be mainly farmers, belonging to various ethnic groups (Rumanian,
Hungarian, Saxon-German and gipsy). They lived from agriculture and stockbreeding or were working
at the wine co-operative. Jean discovered 2 school communities, a Rumanian and a German one, but
also a "Caminul de Batrin", an old people's home, crammed with elder and psychiatric patients.
Due to the impulses of the German speaking population, the community was not bad managed at all.
Still there was a big need for certain goods because the village was insulated in a small valley
that was merely visited and provisioned. In April 1990 a first convoy left Sint-Martens-Latem with
relief parcels, followed by two other ones in 1991 and 1992. Those were humanitarian missions by the
true sense of that word.
All goods were donated to the doctor's dispensary, the schools, the old people's home, the pharmacy
and the municipality.
The adoptive village of BIERTAN (Judet Sibiu) was for the first time visited by committee-members in April 1990.
In 1991, a corn-mill was donated to BIERTAN with the financial help of the municipal officials and
the inhabitants of Sint-Martens-Latem. Afterwards no more substantial goods have been transported,
but the help missions were never aborted. Two practices have been subsidised at the State University of Ghent.
A first one during three weeks for the village pharmacist, a second one during three months for the local
physician. In the meanwhile, some members of the committee founded with their proper money a Belgian-Rumanian
company. From that moment on, Rumanian friends have been invited to Belgium on a regularly base.
After three years of intensive relief actions, the humanitarian missions were stopped.
Because of a succession of new mayors at BIERTAN, a continuous action had become impossible.
In 1991, after the fall of the "Berlin Wall", a lot of German families emigrated to Germany, mostly
to safeguard their children's and grandchildren's future.
These emigrants have continued to support those who stayed behind and they return to BIERTAN to visit them each
year in September.
BIERTAN became more and more famous, well known by tourists. These days it is no longer an unattainable or isolated village, since
the impressive fortified church, seat of the Lutheran Diocese of Siebenburgen (Transylvania), has been
included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During 1999, the Sint-Martens-Latem Committee mediated at European Union's PHARE-program to obtain a grant for
three projects at BIERTAN.
With the help of the Rumanian Phytotherapeutical Community a regional centre for professional education of
unemployed youngsters and last year students has been started up. It is working in the field of buying,
raising and processing of medicinal herbs.
The second project is linked with the first one. It's related to the development of a processing unit for medicinal herbs.
The third and last project includes the creation of a tourist centre at BIERTAN (tourist info, Bed & Breakfast with the
inhabitants, tourist shops).
All 3 projects have been approved and received already a part of their grants.
In the meanwhile some solid ties of friendships have been devised and each year a few members of the committee go on visit to
BIERTAN to spend a part of their holidays.
Info: Rudy PAUWELS
Vossestaart 38 - B-9830 Sint-Martens-Latem / Belgium
Tel. +32-9/282.79.46
E-mail: info@natura.be
The "Committee LATEM HELPS BIERTAN" is a member of the principal Flemish organisation
"ACTION RUMANIAN VILLAGES - Coordination of Flanders"
Website: http://user.online.be/adr
The fortified church at Biertan with 3 brick surroundings
Biertan in wintertime (Photo: Constantin Dragomir)
Biertan: the Mausoleum Tower (Photo: Constantin Dragomir)
Biertan: the Village Center seen form Church Hill (Photo: Constantin Dragomir)
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