Lighting a candle in the Romanian darkness

Medical students in the Romanian city of Cluj came together to form 'Asklepyos', the Medical and Social Aid Organisation, in the aftermath of the 1989 revolt. Their initial concern with bringing comfort and material help to those most at risk as already depleted state agencies seized up, soon extended to championing the rights to orphans and handicapped people. Asklepyos won the respect and direct backing of western relief agencies because of its professionalism and idealism, attributes in short supply in a country profoundly damaged by the Ceausescu dictatorship. However, it has incurred the hostility of the state on account of its intention to encourage people to co-operate for social goals independent of compromised state agencies. In a society where self-organising associations have been hampered by personality disputes, ethnic suspicions, and past associations with communism, Asklepyos is recognised to be an exceptional initiative. If it founders, this may suggest that the chances of civil society being revitalised in Romania are currently bleak.