REPORT: BEFORE THE HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE The meeting that fizzled

Notified by union leaders since one week ago that a major protest against the Government would take place, on the day that the Parliament would hold the vote on the eighth motion of no-confidence, I decided to participate, for the n-th time (as I"ve lost count), as a journalist, in the meeting organized by the Romanian Union Confederations.

This time it wasn"t just any meeting, but a protest against the amendments to the Labor Code that the Government passed without a public debate, which, with a title like "No to slavery in the workplace!" should have, if not become a serious cause for concern, at least given food for thought to a lot of people.

• The protest starts at 12:00. Better make that 12:30; no, make it 12.45

I had been announced by the unionists, in a press release, that the meeting would start at 12:00. However, having some experience with previous union meetings, I decided however that it wasn"t worth hurrying to get there: it"s tough to get a crowd together in Romania. Still, I got to the Constitution Square at around 12:10 and I found that the square was 75% empty, as only a few thousand people were attending. Stray yells, a few exhortations from the union leaders on stage - nothing spectacular. I quickly get the gist of what"s happening and I realize that the protesters seem to be guided by the "haste makes waste" principle. A union leader, from up high on the platform placed in the square, announces that the meeting will in fact start at 12:30. More time passes and another unionist announces on the microphone: "We will start at 12.45!".

• Our protest and Japan"s issues

Files of protesters start coming into the square around 13:00, and it finally starts to look like a real protest. A sea of colored flags, banners, statements of sympathy, including with the tragedy in Japan, and the ever-present cries of "Down with the Government!", "Down with Băsescu!", "Thieves!" begin to resonate, at the exhortations of the union leaders, from the lungs of the discontent which came in from all the corners of the country, animating the landscape that the gray House of the People looms over. "Japan we weep for you, but we know you also had the strength to get up. Romania, we are sorry for you, you"ve always been on your knees" - how true!

A band playing funeral marches, calls to a general strike, and to revolutions like those in Northern Africa, a teacher tied in chains bearing a sign with the word "slave" written on it, a man disguised as Death - all of these factors seem to predict it would be one hell of a protest.

• "The police says there"s 4,000 people; I"m telling you, there are just five people but we don"t know it yet"

I asked one of the union leaders about the number of people that attended the meeting, and he replied: "The police says there are 4,000 people, but let met tell you, there are just five people but we don"t know it". I insist, but the union member adds, on a serious tone: "This square was built in the times of Ceauşescu and it was designed to hold over 300,000 people. I"m not saying there are 300,000 people, but there are more than 50,000 for sure". Meanwhile, on every media channel, the police announces that there are 8,000 people in the square - six times less than the real number.

• Leader of one of the police unions: "Hello to all the policemen in the square!"

The union leaders begin their speeches, acclaimed by the crowd. A representative of the union of policemen, says: "Hello to all the policemen in the square!". He also say to beware: "Watch out, there are agents of the secret services among you, they are looking to instigate violence! They keep to themselves and they do not speak to anybody! They are the last supporters of Băsescu". I look around for people that fit the description, and the only ones that do so would be journalists themselves, who are running around through the crowd with recorders, and a few old people. Other than that, just sad-faced people, burdened by their troubles and exhausted by the heat. Another union leader says that there are very little odds of the motion passing and that the crowd would do well to prepare for a general strike. Had I been a protester, that would have clued me in to the fact that I had come all the way for nothing. I hear the same gloomy notes of the band, that seem to portend a tragedy.

• One man fainted, healthcare unionists kept waving their flags

All of a sudden, the protest halts, as one man faints because of a heatstroke. "Another victim of the Băsescu-Boc regime", union leaders blare. They make desperate calls for the paramedics and for the crowd to clear a path for them. Meanwhile, strangely, the unionists of Sanitas, located nearby, are waving flags and standing idly by. The ambulance arrives in about five minutes, but at the wrong location, much to the dismay of people in the square. Meanwhile, the man has been quickly taken to a car of the SMURD firemen for the first aid. Meanwhile, the members of the Healthcare system union Sanitas kept waving their flags.

• "Don"t you see, this is what Romanians are like! When the sun is out, we don"t protest because it"s hot, in autumn and in spring we don"t protest because it rains, and in winter we don"t protest because it"s cold outside"

The "great" protest broke around 14:00, one hour before the debate on the vote of no confidence was set to begin, mostly due to the heat and to everyone"s abandon. Groups of protesters began to leave the square, while union leaders called for barricading, and staying in the square overnight. Some of the protesters hide in the shadow, others, sitting on the curb prefer to start reading books, while the rest go their separate ways. I"m traveling around the crowd and try to get the lay of the land. One of the leaders of agricultural unions, who is leaving as well, fills me in: "I"ve been here since morning, I can"t go on anymore. There"s no way to withstand this heat without food and water. It fizzled again. Something like this needs to be done for an hour, during the vote of no-confidence, not like this...". Another person tells me: "Don"t you see, this is what Romanians are like! When the sun is out, we don"t protest because it"s hot, in autumn and in spring we don"t protest because it rains, and in winter we don"t protest because it"s cold outside. The government could very well take our homes away and we still wouldn"t do anything, we don"t know how to stand up for our rights".

A veteran protesters says it bluntly: "These protests can"t hold a candle to the real thing. When the people of the IMGB (ed. note: Heavy Machinery Factory of Bucharest) would take to the streets, we"d go from here across the city to the headquarters of the government, and everybody would shiver".

• To each their own gripe

The market is slowly becoming half empty, and I exchange a few words with a lonely protester that was sitting on a stool. He tells me: "I"m a retiree. I came over here to protest but I am outraged at what I"m seeing. People are leaving! That leaves all those people who came over from outside Bucharest and have to wait until tonight to go back by bus! Where are the people of Bucharest?" I tell him: "They"re at work". He retorts: "Yes, but what about the retirees? You"ll find them in parks, they"re playing chess in Cişmigiu, I"m telling you!". Another protester who anxiously asks for my help catches my attention. The man has his own gripe: "I am here because I feel I"m being chased by hitmen and watched. A chief of police wants to kill me". I advise him to contact the members of the Police Unions, but the man politely declines: "Thanks, but I went to the government and the policemen chased me away and made fun of me".

• "We"re going home, back to our towns, but we"ll be back later..."

On the platform of the union leaders the band "Morometzii" is singing. It"s no use. People keep leaving. I leave the Constitution Square and I head to the Izvor Park. Once I get there, I find that many of the protesters that should have been venting against the government are simply sitting beneath the trees in the shade, or on the benches of the children"s playground. Two flags lie against a trashcan. A few steps further, three honorable unionists were passing beers around and were wishing each other all the best. Their fun was broken for a few seconds by several policemen, but the humble attitude gets them off the hook again. I feel more like I"m seeing Labor Day celebration. I ask a unionist why he"s leaving, and he tells me with a worried look: "Well, we"re going back home, to our towns, but we"ll come back later!" Overwhelmed by the entire experience, I head back to the office, cutting through the Cişmigiu Park. I remember the words of the lonely retiree sitting on the stool in the square. He was right: the retirees were there in the park, playing chess.