The Romanian Diaspora's View On The August 10 Protest

This article about the August 10 demonstration in Romania analyzes the events from the perspective of the diaspora. Romanians who live and work elsewhere in Europe gathered this month to fight for a dream that many of them hold dear: to someday return to their country. 

The author, a Romanian emigrant herself, interviewed Romanians from France, Belgium, Switzerland, England and Sweden to find out why they participated in the protest and what their feelings were after the violent turnout of the events. 

One thing I'd like to add, though – something largely ignored in both Romanian and foreign reports – is that demonstrators were very angry: compared to previous protests you can easily see that the crowd was at its wit's end. It goes without saying that this doesn't excuse the riot police's approach—they are, after all, trained to handle such situations. But this narrative of 100% peaceful protesters vs. brutal police doesn't help much; neither does the belief that the violent demonstrators were anything (secret service agents, undercover cops, ultras) but simple protesters. This narrative only deepens the gap between people who hold different political views. 

It's getting more and more difficult to live in Romania, so, yes, people are getting desperate, even violent. The point is to build civic and political instruments to stop the country from becoming an illiberal democracy, with a touch of dictatorship – not to ignore reality. 

For a more accurate grasp of people's feelings and of the escalation of events on August 10, I recommend this video, made by independent journalist Vlad Ursulean.