Me,trains and guns

 When you're held by force in a building, guys in uniforms, with guns, guarding the door and not letting anyone out, what is this called?From what I've heard  this is a typical scenario for what you can call a hostage situation.

 But let's start with the beginning.Actually let's start with the trigger.I mean, the thing that reminded me of that experience.If you though I was joking, you were wrong what I'm telling you is 100% real and it happened to me.

I ended up on a site talking about the actress Maria Dinulescu.From there i went to a site with a movie in wich she was starring.California Dreamin'.You may have heard of it.Nice movie.So, I saw the beginning of the movie, the train with the american soldiers, guns and so on.And that's what reminded me of something I experienced in the past.

It wasn't long ago.A little more then one year ago, I think it was in april.I was traveling by train.Me and a french teacher.We were going to Moldova to a literary colloquium about the writer Mircea Eliade.I had a bad feeling from the start, everytime I went to Moldova something went wrong.But I would've never imagined that something like that was going to happen to me.

It was all good in the beginning.We spent some time in Bucharest, walking for the first time with the subway, and then, around 7 o'clock in the evening we saw our train and got in.We made our "beds" and tried to sleep.But something was obviously wrong.It was to much noise,agitation on the hallway.Then, before we reached the border between Moldova and Romania the train stopped.They started to check our IDs.Usually stuff.Just that usually only 2 people are doing that.Now, they were may.And they were wearing different uniforms.They stared in a strange way at me.Maybe because in my passport i was blonde, but now i was a brunette.Maybe at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night I didn't look as inocent as usually,maybe they've mistaken my sleepy, disturbed face with a face that hides something.I was really annoyed.We were 4 in the same compartment but thay were paying more attention to me.As if I was a suspect.I was angry thinking I can be mistaken as a bad girl.

Anyway...after they checked our IDs for severel times, our bags, they told us we need to step out of the train.They didn't forced everyone to go out of the train.Just my grup and 2 more grups.The train left.The train we were suppoed to be in, in our wat to Moldova.We were somewhere...it looked like in the middle of nowhere.It was just something like a train station there.They forced us to get inside that train station.They didn't answer to any of our questions.We had no idea what happened, what was wrong, why were they keeping us there.Some of us, those you were smokers wanted to go out, just near the door to smoke.But there were armed guys at the door and they didn't allow anyone to go outside.Tell me, isn't that what it's called a hostage situation?But no one dared to say that word.They were all afraid.Maybe some in shock.Me?Well, it's strange but...I wasn't afraid, I was quite amused by the situation.It amused me to see how scared were others.It wasn't like anything worst then that was possible to happen.They couldn't torture us or keep us there for days.(later I found out that others were tortured, even teenagers)

 We were kept there for many hours,If I do remember well, it was something like 6-7 hours.The worst thing wasn't  the lack of food, water, that we had no place to sit down, but the fact that it was freezing  there.That was a real torture.Then, just like that,without any explanation they commaned us to get in a train to Iasi, and  from there straight home.One of the groups didn't want to leave, but they were somehow warned that they have no choice.Those big guns can be very convincing for civilians.Some of those men in uniforms got in the train with us.They were standing at the doors to make sure no one is able to get out.Outside, we could also see many other armed guys watching over.

Once we were in Iasi, we went straight to the police and gave some statements complaining about what happened.Then the local television came and we were taken interviews.And then we went home...just like that, as if nothing happened.

Later we found one a possible reason for the things that happened.Our arrival there was just before the election.And there were rumors about a group of rebels planning to disturb the election.Protesting.And ...well, we were mistaken  as being part of that group.Because they were supposed to be young, intellectual, and from Romania.If I think about it, they had reasons to suspect us, especially me.I was going to be a part of a cultural manifestation.I had an essey with the title "The hidden book of Mircea Eliade" wich could've been a coded massage.Plus...we all know it very well those rumors about Mircea Eliade, his connection with the legionnaire movement.So me, going thare, with something written about someone like him who wasn't seen with  good eyes...it was kind of suspicious....we/me looked like the perfect political agitator.

 Back in Romania I sworn I'll never go back to Moldova, never again.!




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