She has to deal once a month, every 25th, with the administrative system, when she is obliged to pay the taxes to the Fiscal Administration. She does not, however, expect anything in return for her money. But, when for the first time, she was unable to pay her taxes on time, her accounts were blocked. She “opened her eyes” and saw what Romania really looks like and how this country is run. She decided to pour her heart out in an open letter.
She is Alexandra Svet (28 years), a young woman from Bucharest, who looks like she walked off the cover of a fashion magazine. Her platform: facebook. Critical mass: 3,500 users and a snowball effect in terms of mail messages, forums, and discussion lists. The stake: “You and I know at least five intelligent people who could represent us better in the European Parliament than Elena Băsescu or Becali.” In what might prove to be the first ample grassroots movement in Romania, Alexandra’s proposal is to replace the political and administrative class with people who have proven they can build something on their own, and can pull together the trust and energies of people like them.
“We are stuck, inert, paralyzed, looking at two Romanias: their Romania, of thieves, corruption, illiterates, insolents – and our Romania, of people who are honest, working, well-prepared, with integrity, capable, young, and smart,” wrote Alexandra in the opening line of her manifesto.
She names her own role models, people who have made it on their own in Romania, who went abroad, or came back to help their country: Camelia Şucu, who made it to the top of millionaires, Horia Mocanu, the first Romanian who got into Harvard, or Damian Drăghici, a Grammy Award-winning artist.
“We felt useless, powerless, and stupid. We no longer have a reference system. Values have been forgotten. We lack determination. We would do well to forget expressions like “we’ll manage somehow,” or “this will do,” Camelia Şucu said.
Without claiming that her list includes the best examples, Alexandra invites readers to come up with their own role models, so that from such a combination of all ideas, a true generation that can change Romania might emerge.
“This is it! Enough is enough! We are appealing to all just, capable, and educated people, who managed to build something with their sweat, without stealing, to take a stand to stop the stupidity which is affecting us all. We must make a change!” Alexandra wrote.