Voices Rising Behind the Wall
Mugur Varzariu
Twelve years ago, when the first part of this report was screened at Campo Santo, I could never have imagined that my photographic work would help change the course of events, so to speak. Now, coming full circle back to Perpignan where it all started, I can share the story. And the story shows that photography is not only a powerful form of narrative, but can also stand as evidence before the law, as testimony, set to change attitudes and, sometimes, produce positive results.
In 2011, I heard that a wall was going to be built to cut off the Roma neighborhood in the small town of Baia Mare in north-western Romania. The segregation wall was an initiative by the local mayor, Catalin Chereches. At first, the mayor made no attempt to conceal his intentions: ethnic cleansing and mass relocation of the Roma community in the region. But he later changed his approach to avoid any accusations of racism.
I realized that cases of discrimination as well as arbitrary and illegal relocations targeting the Roma communities in my country were far more widespread than I had ever imagined. I continued investigating and then, in 2011 and 2012, I focused on the plan to dismantle the Craica settlement in Baia Mare and rehouse part of the community in the old Cuprom copper factory. I also looked at the countless unkept promises of Mayor Chereches who had given assurances that compensation would be paid.
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In 2013, a Roma civil servant with the local authority of the city of Constanța called to ask me to bear witness and be involved in action responding to the dismantlement of the Eforie South camp where mainly Turkish people lived. We fought to defend their cause, and managed to have some residents rehoused in shelters that had solid walls, but no running water, and others in containers backing onto a landfill site.
One year later, with my photographic records as evidence, I initiated a legal battle as representative of the Roma community that had been promised housing by the municipal authorities. And in 2020 we won that battle.
Year after year, I have kept on visiting different places in Romania, towns such as Focsani, Cluj-Napoca, Caracal, Constanța and Mangalia, to raise awareness of the traditions, culture and know-how of the Roma people, and in doing so to counter the negative image which, despite everything, is associated with them.
The most recent legal battle, demanding the demolition of the segregation wall in Baia Mare, began in 2021, and early this year, in 2024, it ended with a resounding victory. This long-term photographic project has cast light on the disastrous situation and living conditions of Roma communities who are refused access to even the most basic services. This is the case in Europe, and in particular in Romania, a country that can no longer conceal its racist tendencies.
Despite these facts, I wish to present a message of hope for young reporters, to show that commitment, involvement, investigation and personal investment are not just a matter of collecting information and stories, but also of taking action, as part of the narrative of history, and as agents of change.
Mugur Varzariu
