May 2003
"During the past two years, I have served as a senior privatization advisor to the Government of Romania regarding the development of an overall strategic plan for selling off state-owned power generation assets and their associated lignite mines to the private sector. In this capacity, I have had the opportunity to visit many towns and sites throughout the Jiu Valley, and have spent many rewarding days and evenings becoming better acquainted with various members of the local community including power plant managers, union leaders, plant workers, miners, and especially every day citizens who are trying against formidable odds to improve the overall quality and civility of life in this part of Romania.
It is this last category and aspect of my job that has given me the most fulfillment and enjoyment during my work efforts in Romania over the past two years. In particular, I am referring to the pleasure of meeting dedicated individuals in the community–such as Ms. Carmena Serbanoiu and her family–who work long, selfless, and uncompensated hours trying to make Targu-Jiu a better and more civilized place to live in for a hard working populace that has fallen upon difficult economic times resulting from numerous mine and factory closures with their attendant layoffs and job losses.
With tireless devotion to the dignity of both the human spirit and a love of helpless animals who no longer have homes, food, or access to veterinary care, Ms. Serbanoiu and her family have shared their hearts and lives with over 200 abandoned dogs by providing them with much needed food, shelter, love, and as much medical care as she can afford out of her limited income as a shopkeeper. Without her diligent efforts and hard work, these animals would long ago have been desiccated corpses along the side of a some country road, and the community as a whole would be worse off as a result of its final loss of even the faintest semblance and veneer of a civil society.
However, this wonderful, God loving family cannot continue to carry both the joy and the full burden of this work by themselves. The task remains daunting, especially with a thoughtless and oftentimes hostile local government that has threatened to shut down her privately funded shelter and evict Ms. Serbanoiu and her animals from the premises which she so lovingly maintains at no cost to the taxpayers and community at large. In short, they desperately need help and support–both from responsible Romanian governmental institutions and especially animal lovers throughout out the broader and more civilized world beyond the borders of this struggling and oftentimes hapless country.
Without sounding overly pessimistic, it is unlikely that local government will do anything to support such home-grown voluntary efforts. Indeed, the current local administration is guilty of transcending the bounds of human dignity by organizing the senseless slaughter of homeless animals that are not presently protected within her shelter complex.
The means of disposal that have been recently sponsored and deployed by local government officials include the indiscriminate shooting by specially organized hunting parties and the brutal rounding up and clubbing to death of homeless animals in communities throughout the JiuValley, as well as the lethal injection of gasoline into the veins of animals that are captured alive.
So what can be done to stop this inhumane behavior and senseless slaughter while at the same time make it possible for Ms. Serbanoiu and her organization, Proanimals, to continue to be of service to the community through the voluntary efforts of her organization and the dedicated few who are trying to put a civilized face on a difficult situation? Actually, there are two very important actions that animal lovers and responsible citizens in Romania and elsewhere can undertake. These include:
(1) Writing letters or sending e-mails to the Mayor of Targu-Jiu protesting this senseless slaughter and the lack of commitment on the part of local government and authorities to more civilized and responsible courses of action such as the spaying and neutering of animals that have been turned loose by citizens who are experiencing extreme economic distress. In addition, local government could also be urged to deed suitable land to Proanimals for the continued caring of homeless animals through private voluntary efforts if it feels that it has insufficient funds to care for these animals through budgeted funds. In this regard, the address of the Mayor of Targu-Jiu is presented below:
(2) Finally, Proanimals desperately needs donations of both money and medicine to continue caring for animals already within their shelter complex, as well as to put a down payment on its own land so that it will no longer face the constant harassment and threat of being shut down and evicted from its current premises (which is located on vacant land under the control of local authorities) for calling media and public attention to this appalling situation.
Animal lovers everywhere unite, and let your conscience be your guide!"
Kendrick W. Wentzel
President and Chief Executive Officer
Enertech International, Inc.
48 Greenwood Shoals, Suite 200
Grasonville, Maryland 21638
Tel: (410) 827-0520
Fax: (410) 827-6808
E-mail - enertech@friend.ly.net
