"Vin Haiducii" ("The Outlaws Are Coming")
Un haiduc, in my maternal language (Romanian ) means an outlaw but the connotation is different than the one in English - most Romanians, I would say praise these outlaws. For us, un haiduc is a man who revolts against suppressing authorities and we have many stories, legends and fables about such outlaws. In the history of my country of birth, they were warriors who robbed and stole from wealthy-greedy landowners and gave in turn to those who lived in poverty. It is much the same with the story of Robin Hood, only that for Romanians this was quite real and not fictional.
Haiducii (the outlaws) lived either in small groups or alone and rode from their hide-outs in the forested mountains, raiding the establishments of corrupt lords and members of the aristocracy. These warriors were fearless and they were supported by commoners, many of which would often join their cause. In larger bands, they would from a sort of militia and would act as mercenaries too.
I have been thinking about haiduci (outlaws) for a few years now; to be specific, ever since the fraudulent economic collapse of the financial system took place. The common man got robbed by banksters. Now, we are told to swallow the austerity measures pill. Many people are going hungry world-wide. The numbers are on the increase and as stated by the World Food Programme Organization, hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined!
“One in seven people will go to bed hungry tonight.” (www.wfp.org)
In Spain, things have taken an interesting turn lately. In the southern part of the country, in the town of Marinaleda, Mayor Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo led citizens to raid supermarkets, in order to get food (http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/economic-crisis-riots-food-raids-and-the-collapse-of-spain/). As food prices are soaring due to inflation and bad harvests, many people are feeling the pinch. Never mind about all those unemployed people world-wide. The situation is looking shady ... people are beginning to raid super-markets in the western world; it seems our societies are going backwards.
Here in Canada, we also have had our own stories about people protesting about the increase in food prices this summer. “The Canadian Press reports that residents in Canada’s northern communities are paying as much as $20 for a head of cabbage and $15 for a small bag of apples. Not to mention $82 for a case of ginger ale” (http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/food/news/first-nations-inuit-protest-high-food-prices-66665). Life is honestly incredible in some places, even here in Ontario. I have written in the past about First Nations communities without access to potable water, with people living in tents and/or sheds at minus thirty degrees Celsius: no running water, no toilets, etc. And this is Canada!
How can people not start raising-up and raiding supermarkets, or anything else for that matter? I suppose I was sort of expecting this. I did and still think that haiducii se-ntorc (the outlaws are returning) from my childhood’s history books. I welcome them. They do come when they are needed. And the common man certainly needs them now because he/she is no longer represented in government due to the infiltration of lobbyists and interest groups. Our governments have been high-jacked and when corruption flourishes so do the outlaws!
Note: My photographs, Toronto, Canada, 2010 - Last photograph is from Tampa, Florida, 2011
