Hard Knocks in the Eastern Bloc

Hard Knocks in the Eastern Bloc:

Professor talks life in Communist Romania

Leaning forward on the edge of his desk, arms crossed, Razvan Sibii cranes his neck toward the projector screen. Flashing newsreels illuminate just enough of his face for the rows of students to pick up on his telling body language: a raised eyebrow, and a smirk. The scene is typical for Sibii, who currently serves as Lecturer and Chief Undergraduate Advisor to the journalism department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

This analytical expression is but one of many byproducts that stemmed from Sibii’s childhood roots. Roots that traced back to Communist Romania in the 1980s.

In the confines of his advising office, Sibii referred to the city of his birthplace in Eastern Romania, a topic that acted as a portal back to his childhood. “Its called Arad. A-R-A-D,” said Sibii.

“I witnessed the anti-Communist Revolution, so I was born in Communism: in Communist dictatorship,” Sibii said. In 1979, Sibii was born into the Socialist Republic of Romania. An Eastern Bloc country headed by demagogue, Nicolae Ceausescu; until his over throw in 1989. “There was a bunch of shooting around my apartment, my building, back and forth; but nothing that affected my family directly in terms of bullets and all,” Sibii said. His expression unchanged as he detailed his experience.

Sibii lived with his father, mother, and older sister in apartment complex, a common form of housing in Arad. His mother worked as an engineer and his father as a gym teacher. “Arad was a poor city like the rest of Romania, but it was not a dirt poor city. My neighborhood, called Micalaca, was probably the roughest one in the town, but it was rough European-style: lots of fighting, but no guns so no dead kids,” said Sibii.

Razvan’s adaptation to life under rule of the Communist Party was similar to many of his fellow countrymen in that it was a requirement. He reminisced about pledging allegiance to both country and government while still in grade school, making comparisons to the similar American classroom institution. However, what set Sibii apart from many that lived under “The Party’s” stronghold was the uniqueness of his age.

“I’m not a lost generation like others older than me that could never change. But I am on the border, I think it did have a lot of influence,” said Sibii. It was this precarious position of neither here no there that eventually manifested itself as an advantage for him. The personal attributes and characteristics essential for survival in a dictatorship are reflective in Sibii, even noticeable in the cunning grin he so often wears.

The complexity of life under the constraints of dictatorship necessitated that each individual honed his or her respective street smarts, networked, and thought independently of those in control. “You’ll find people that say you’re a lot more aware and a lot more independent in your thinking in a dictatorship, because you don’t take anything for granted, than in a democracy where you believe everything they will tell you,” Sibii said.

Sibii explained that in the midst of black markets, state owned enterprises, horrible services, and very little economic productivity people clung to friends and family. “People relied on their friends because there was nothing else to rely on, but there was also a lot of hypocrisy and a lot of backstabbing,” said Sibii. A facet of life Sibii said only served to spike the underlying tensions pervasive in his community.

Sibii depicted a bleak situation that paralleled the modern day regimes of China and North Korea. Social mobility was extremely limited and permits to leave the country were scarce. Paralleling the Romanian school system and that of modern China, Sibii pointed to the commonality found in both countries’ militaristic mantra of “keep up or be left behind”. “Oh I hated school, I used to have nightmares,” said Sibii.

Oddly enough, however, the demanding landscape of life outside the classroom had its perks for Sibii in the rigid classroom setting. “The environment: well, the environment gave me the street smarts we were talking about. The ability to multi-task, the ability to work quickly, all the things that I then benefitted from were an unintended byproduct of working under horrible pressures,” said Sibbi.

The regime eventually could no longer sustain itself, and toppled in 1989, when Razvan was age ten. Sibii explained that although a shift took place in the dynamics of government power, not much changed. Opportunity came for Sibii not in the wake of Communism, but as a result of his academic pursuits.

He received a six-month scholarship in tenth grade to study at a high school in Michigan. At 16 years old, he left his family, friends, and native language and became fully immersed in American culture.

“You change your school, it’s a big deal, you change your language your country, and it’s a big deal. I changed them all at once; it was an amazing learning experience. It opened my eyes to the world”.

Sibii returned to Romania, finished high school, and was accepted to the American University in Bulgaria. With an enrollment of students from 40 different countries, it was another perspective changing experience he would liken to the six months spent abroad in Michigan. “When I got money for from somebody, I took advantage of it,” said Sibii. He used scholarship money to travel abroad each summer where he attended conferences and presented papers, eventually moving back to Romania fulltime after graduation.

What Sibii described as an “itch” to travel and unhappiness with the possibility of a “plateau” in both his education and career, prompted him to apply to several graduate schools around the world.

After receiving a degree of mastery in Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Razvan continued to add to his growing list of credentials. Reporting and writing for Aradeanul Magazine, Banateanul Magazine, and Adevarul Holding. He currently serves Adevarul Holding as a representative while teaching, advising, and pursuing a doctorate degree of Communication.

Just this past year Sibii was married to his fiancée and now wife, a New York native, has developed an admitted a fondness for Long Island. “It’s my favorite city in the world,” he said.

“I am here for the foreseeable future,” said Sibii, referring to his job and the pursuit of his doctorate degree. However, he did mention that he would enjoy living in another country at some point listing Spain, Latin America, and a best friend in Dubai as possibilities.

Sibii continues to visit his family each summer in Romania. Homage to a country that has had a defining role in the shaping of his character, and a city that will always be home.