Transylvanian Escapes to the West: Run Rabbit Run

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Escaping Transylvania to the World

From the Romanian Gulag to Old and New Cultures - Memoirs

By Dr Olga Lazin

Chapter 1 - How the University Really Worked in Romania

In 1963 when I was born in Transylvania, the “golden age” of socialism wasin full “progress”.

The city of Satu Mare was undergoing catastrophic transformations, as it was

forcefully modernized, and people from the villages were forced to work in huge,socialistic factories. Along the Somes river, the tiny village of Vetis, where my

ancestors on my father’s side were born, is now a heavily populated colorful and

diverse grew into a lovely place. On my mother’s side, Bixad, in the Oas region ofRomania is still a beautiful traditional village, with houses spread far apart, not all

jammed together. My mother was “osanca”, as they would say in the old days.

Transylvania belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary (Transylvania) as part of the Austrian-

Hungarian Empire[.After World War I, in 1918 Transylvania became part of Romania again. I1940 Northern Transylvania reverted to Hungary as a result of the Second Vienna Award, but

Romanian queen Maria reclaimed it after the end of World War II.1

All of Romania was seized for its oil by Nazi Germany (1940-1944), “liberated” by the

“Soviet Union” (1944-1947), and “re-liberated” to become the Popular republic of

Romania (under USSR remote control) as the Cold War was beginning to freeze the Iro

Curtain into to place.

The first “president,” Gheorghiu-Dej (1965) ruled as puppet of Moscow, but when he

died, his Sec Gen of the Communist Party of Romania, Nicolae Ceausu, was elected as

the second “president” (1965-1989), shifting his savage dictatorship into a harsher

“nationalistic Gulag” than known in the USSR . At the end of 1994 the Russian military

organized “presidential” elections of “people’s committees” in the region.2 The end of the

war occupied some formerly Romanian northeastern territories occupied by the Soviet Union

1 More on the diversity of cultures in Transylvania: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Transylvania

2 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_history_of_Maramure%C5%9F#Antiquity

I finally had the chance to leave the country when an execution squad shot Nicolae C. in 1989Obtaining visas to western countries was extremely hard in 1990, right after Ceausescu was

shot. I convinced my then-husband Valerian Pipas to come with me to Bucharest and arrange

for visas to France. I also needed transit visas through Austria and Germany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hungary



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transleithania


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian-Hungarian_Empire




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Transylvania



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vienna_Award



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Transylvania



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_history_of_Maramure%C5%9F#Antiquity
















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with Red Army units stationed on Romanian soil. In 1947 Romania forcibly became a People'sRepublic (1947 – 1965).

My parents: Eugen & Magda in 1963

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Romania









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For two decades I neither understood the dimensions of tragic situation of

Transylvania (located in northeast Romania on the Ukrainian border), nor did I

understand that I would have to escape the Gulag of Romania by the skin of my

teeth.

For peoples of the world Transylvania seems to be a far away

place, where most people know the werewolves and vampires have beenrumored to roam & lurk in nature. In the imagination of people

everywhere, whose beliefs are soaked in mystical folklore, even today it

is hardly possible to have a rational conversation on any subject matter.

Most occupying forces never understood either the culture of the Romanian

people or the distinct culture of Transylvania.

Naturally I am a bi-national citizenship, but without belonging to any of the

two countries. Summoning my unconsciousness to write this autobiographica

piece, I need to reaccustom myself to thinking of the distinct cultures of theregion.

Once in general school I excelled in Romanian and American Languages.

The population consisted of Romanians, Hungarians (particularly Székelys),

Ukrainians, and Germans.

These languages are still being spoken on the Territory of Maramures County,

including Rroma, or the Gypsy language. I always liked and loved the Romanian

language, so I decided to become a Professor of Romanian Language and

Literature.

After getting married in Satu Mare, on the Hungarian border, my parents moved to

Sighetu Marmatiei, when I was only 3 years old. In the North West corner of

Romania, closer to Ukraine than to Hungary.

My childhood was marked by fights I had to protect my little brother Alexandru.

was known as the student-poet, the class poet, and I won some pretty prizes for my poems.

I grew up in the Maramures region, where I have I have my first memories. The

region was much nicer, ethnically more diverse, better climate, and more

geographic diversity, with the Mountains of Gutinul and the rivers if Iza and Tisa,

as Tisa was the natural border with the Ukraine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanians



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarians



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans








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I was admitted to the University in Cluj, in the heart of Transylvania, namely the

American Language and Literature – Indian Language And Literature Department

of Philology. The professors, started reading the mounds of new Decrees every

day, which made me laugh, and staff of the university was suspicious of me not

believing their “expose” in the classrooms. Professors were trying to befuddle us

with words from a wooden language, totally bent toward twisting our brains intoconfused submission. Professors, securitate officers acting as sweaty bureaucrats,

uneducated idiots trying to tell us what to think. Not one professor asked us,

“What do you really think, all of you?” Each professor had their favorite students

and made sure they pointed it out in class, stifling any competition, and showed

openly their favoritism or nepotism.

When I reached 22 years, I started being argumentative, and started criticizing

professors, esp. the history professor. I was getting so sick at academics yelling at

us, and being forced to do the military service as a woman in the academia. After

all, Americans were coming to take away our socialist country.

We couldn’t t buy books in English, and I was an English major.

We couldn’t talk to foreigners, and the atmosphere was dreadful in

classes. Speech was not free; one couldn’t argue in class, or make any real

analysis or debate. You had to regurgitate what they were telling you, and

read whatever was there in the old books stacked in the communist library. I

was an English major, but could not get the books in English necessary for

the Exams. They did not exist. Talking to foreigners in English or

answering one question was a crime, according to a stupid decree. Abortionwas a crime for 20 years. Doctors performing it ended up in jail, and so did

the pregnant women. 5 years jail for an abortion. If my uncle from Canada

visited us, we were all under surveillance, the entire family. Even today, in

2014 one has to go and declare if you have family visiting from the USA or

CANADA for some bizarre security reasons. Well after 22 years, not much

has changed in poor Romania.

Nobody underwent this.

I was a professor of Romanian and English in Sighetu Marmatiei,

Maramures County, at School #2. It was very exacting commuting all the

time from Tisa where I lived in our private Museum (Pipas Museum of Art)

to Sighet. So, finally I decided to leave in 1986, and traveled to the border,

as well as paid a smuggler to take me to Yugoslavia. We were caught on the

border and sent back in 1984.



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The jail was so cold in Timisoara to keep the bacterias andviruses that it made everybody sick internally with the cold andthe flue. Most of civil society was imprisoned, for trying to openthe system, and denounce the Ceausescu dicatatosrhip. Theblanket was as warm as a kleenex tissue. Moreover there wereno pillow, and the concrete slab where inmates slept was a

back-breaker. The lights were on 24 hours a day, blinding all ofus, and there was constant observation. Every hour one wasawakened to be counted. All under the guise of watching out forsuicides. But everyone could be clearly seen by the guards, andthere was no need to sleep-deprive inmates, as they were doing.There was also someone in the higher echelon ripping off thefood bill. They served only baby carrots, and spicy beans.

My poor mother was so confused by the propaganda, that she started crying when

was freed from jail, feeling very emotional after the death of the nation’s father,

Ceausescu.

Fed up with all the restrictions, and full of frustrations, I hit the

border with Yugoslavia.

I have been unfairly jailed as I tried to leave the country in 1986. I was

ready to give up my freedom, just to escape an impossible country, with

impossible leadership.In 1989, Ceausescu finally pardoned everybody who tried to escape

the horrendous conditions in the country.

The first act of freedom I have performed it was to secure a passport

for myself. And got married to Valerian Pipas, a famous violinist from

Virismort, Tisa in Maramures county. Otherwise the consulate would not

have given me the visas. Conditions were one had to be married, and own a

house.{ Truly I enjoyed being married to a musician; he played the violin

and I danced tango and csardas in weekends.}I have been teaching English in Sighet, Tisa, and Giulesti, as well as

Camara for another 10 years. Conditions were absolutely horrific; no

heating in schools, no teaching material, and constant harassment from

colleagues of being informed on.

After I finally left Romania, when an execution squad shot Ceausescu

in December 26, 1989 for Christmas. Nice gift to the Romanian people.



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When the regime changed in 1990, I was free to get a passport, and

Organized Conferences and Seminars at the University of Babes-Balyai, in

the heart of Transylvania. I was mostly writing on destatification and

privatization of Romenian companies. 51% of MARA, the textiles

company I reserched was finally sold to the Germans. The opening up of

Romani has finally begun.It was on a rainy Spetember 17

th day, in Sighet. Shortly after, I have

met American professors from UCLA, who were doing a study on the

effects of the Cold War in post-socialist countries. My observations were

very valuable to Dr Wilkie who then asked me to guide the academic group

through Eastern Europe. They were traveling in a German Opel (a U.S.

made car). I took them to the Museum of my friend, D-ra Mihaly de Apsa,

in my hometown, Sighet. We went to the Merry Cemetery, and it was dusk

by the time Dr James Wilkie from the University of Los Angeles,

California, arrived in Sighet at the Marmatia Hotel. His book was about

cycles of statism in Socialist countries. He has written over 30 books on

economic development.

I’ll start by explaining the places I went in 1991, on one of the most

beautiful part of Romania, through Pasul Prislop. We went Around

Romania, visited the monasteries of Moldova, C-lung Moldovenesc,

Suceava, Sucevita and Agapia monasteries. Then we went to Lacul Rosu.

We took the scenic road to Cluj Napoca, where I was trying to get the planein order to fly out to Paris, in France. I had all the visas. But there was no

flight. Nobody took credit cards, so JW had to take out a lot of cash, so that

we can travel safely.

I fell in love with Jim Wilkie. After this I am going to call him JW.

I was deeply in love with James Wilkie, whom has hired me as a

guide.

He said: “call me Jim”. We finally left for Budapest after the airportvisit in Cluj Napoca. We got through Budapest, finally, and then got out

towards Austria and Germany.

Dr JP was worried that I was a spy, as we received special private

rooms, and great Hotel deals, plus good lunches at the Monastery, where I

was a good friend with Mother Superior.



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Richard Beeson, who headed up Deutsche bank, London office, where

he represented all EE countries, had convinced EE countries Central banks

to deposit their golden cash at Deutsche Bank, London office. He reunited

with JW in Prague, and Cracow, where the horrible polluted air blinded

him.

In Budapest I obtained the Austrian visa, where I needed a transit visa.

Then we travelled to Kobentzl, overlooking Salzburg, talking aboutthe economy. We even spent most of our time down Salzburg city, taking

pictures, and JW was teaching me economics, how the world of

development worked: finances, credit, interest. JP had more faith in me than

ever.

Then we went to Munich, where we celebrated Oktoberfest. Then I

took the plane to Paris, from Munich, to fly out to Bordeaux to meet the

family, which invited me to France. JW had to go back to teach. He

promised he would return for me soon.

After ten weeks in Bordeaux, JW came to visit me. In Paris, I was

refused asylum in France. The national security Bureau headed by a Gris

guy (security officer)..

JW returned for me. It was a very wonderful fall, I Bordeaux, so we

drove to see all the castles along the Loire River.

The 1st trip was to and along the river of LOIRE; we left in September,

and came back in December. Then we went to Paris, and visited the

Versailles, Champs Elysee, the Montmartre, and Montparnasse. We hadeverything to ourselves, and then we went to Marseille, listening to the

PASTORALES, beautiful green lands of France.

In Marseille we stayed at the Sofitel, JW was overlooking the Bay,

into the icy cold town. And we went to the COTE Azure. We stayed at

Hotel Welcome. Then rode over the serpentined Cornish roads, overlooking

the Mediterranean, Cap Ferrat, and Monaco. Then JW had to fly out to teach

again, and I flew back to Bordeaux, where I took numerous courses inEuropean Union Regulations for the environment, and susteinability.



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LIFE with the nuns in Bordeaux, France, the city of Red Wines, was

excellent The mother superior took me to Toulouse Lautrec’s castle, and

swam in the Atlantic ocean. Then I flew to meet Jim in NICE, in 1992.

It is now another beautiful stay at WELCOME, in Beaulieu sur Mer.

Jim came back 10 weeks later. The second time we travelled toCarcassonne, a fortified city, through Andorra (a gambling center, in the

Pyrenees’). The Principality of Andorra was rich and ostentatious with

baroque buildings. And La Rochelle.

Then entered into Spain, toward Madrid, and stayed at Hotel Paris for

a week, in the center of Madrid.

Here we enjoyed the charales in the main plaza.

We left to Toledo, and then to the town of Trujillo. In Trujillo we went

and took pictures while walking on the red roofs of houses, perfectly lined

up for me to walk. I took great that I was free and nobody minded my

business. Jim and I, we were only taking care of one another.

We went up to the Devil’s Throat (a town deep in a canyon, tucked

into the mountains) to continue up in the mountains, and then went down to

a walled town of Avila, to Trujillo, and continued to Madrid.

Then we headed toward El Escorial, the monastery, and then JW flew

out of Madrid. I took the plane to France, and in Bordeaux I joined the nunsagain, and continued my studies of Folklore at the University of Bordeaux,

where I was writing about the mythical Lilith.

To paint it in a picture of words, I am flashing out the pageant, of that

beautiful Catholic Church, as we went down from La Rochelle, along the

clean river, where we called to make reservations in a pretty tiny hotel,

ahead and we found a room with a high ceiling warm and cozy.



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Out of many, Switzerland is my favorite European country; the

majestic mountains and the rivers impressed me.

Monte Rosa’s Peak and Matterhorn were absolutely fabulous, left us

breathless, and the chalet Michabell was looking down on Italy. The view

out of the window was that of Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt.

I enjoyed the lovely scenery in Luzern, and Interlaken, with the beautiful lake with little bridges leading up to the center, all dressed up in

geranium flowers. Multicolored geraniums flowers were hanging out from

each houses’ window. The beautiful trip is to go up on a chairlift

(telefericul) to wheel you up over the meadows, seeing cattle and,

magnificent glorious view of the Swiss Mountains, and the peaks. It is a

very gentle and slow trip.



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In 1991 in summer I left France for the United States, more

specifically to Los Angeles that is to UCLA, where I wanted to get mymaster’s degree in History.

In L.A. I witnessed the 1992 riots. We found a lovely hotel, Marina

Del Rey, in Marina del Rey, where I stayed for a week, and we looked for a

place to live.

I have escaped from the bad world into the good world. We loved each

other so deeply.

I moved into Westwood and enrolled into the UCLA’s Master

program in summer 2004. I graduated soon after in 2005, but no family was present, as my mother died of a heart attack, and could never travel by

plane.

I understood that I never had good communication with any of my

husbands. I was sensitive and creative; and only JW could appreciate me.



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My uncle Nicholas Lazin, who has fled to Hungary in 1947, and

settled down in Oshawa, Canada, invited me to visit, Oshawa, in Toronto,

Canada. It was wintertime in Canada, and it was a harsh experience staying

there and getting accustomed again to cold weather. It just does not work

with me; we don’t mix, the cold weather and me, it was as simple as that.

Discovering new places and peoples.

It was good escaping Ceausescu’s tyranny and discovering the hidden

side of the word. I realized how we lived in the dark, and that there was

better climate in Mexico than in Romania; and one does not be the prisoner

of their own thoughts and limited spirit of the others, living the same

nightmare, as I did back in Romania.

I know the nuns in Bordeaux were free spirits and happy women, with

a great sense of humour especially the Mother Superior. We even visited

Toulouse Lautrec’s castle, and spent time on the beach where the Atlantic

Ocean met the Pacific Ocean. I had spent unforgettable moments of

discovery, and fraternization with the nuns.

Because I have entered the Mexican state, in order to see the pyramids

first, I tried to live also in Mexico, at a place called El Bosque del Secreto,

but it did not work out. The air is too polluted in Teotihuacan, and around

Mexico D.F. that I only visited the Pyramid of the Sun, and the pyramid of

the Moon, and hurried to find a nice place. When I finally found the housesurrounded by beautiful red bougambillas, I realized it was too isolated

from town, without a car, far from the market, in one word, it was not

feasible.

As all ironies are happening, when I arrived to L.A., the riots were in

progress.

I was settling in marina del Rey. Then I left again to Toronto to see

my uncle Nicholas, and cousin Caroline Lazin. I started teaching prettysoon, when I returned to UCLA.

Dr Lazin & her Students at UCLA:



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After 2 years in the Doctoral Program in History at UCLA, I

graduated in 2001, in January. After graduation I have publishedmy Doctoral thesis, and a second book on the bright and dark sides

of Globalization. My second book, co-authored with Dr James W

Wilkie, Professor at UCLA, can be downloaded from profmex.com.

Our books are widely read around the world and are used to teach



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Courses at College and University levels. To get the books,

download them form:

http://www.profmex.org

OR

http://www.olgalazin.com

ISBN: 978-607-711-032-3. This book comprising 700 pages isabout economic, social, and political development and exposesthe positive and negative sides of Globalization; in energyefficiency, in technology, education, and health. Cultural andgeographical impacts on the changing world we face. Statistical

data, tables, and charts back up the Conclusions to this excellentbook. Published in 2011.

http://www.profmex.org/


http://www.olgalazin.com/

http://www.olgalazin.com/




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After 9/11 the whole world has changed. And this will be the topic for another

book. A book in which I will investigate what has changed exactly in these 22 years,and how. Why are we missing those things, as a collective. I focus mostly on places

and people, in Los Angeles, California. Amongst these are the collective memory ofthe film industry, and free trade, including NAFTA, the European Union.

At UCLA, with my students in History, 2014

Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/203836679/Escaping-From-Transylvania-

30-FebTRANSYL?post_id=2538457_10103066199638166#_=_

Copyrighted © Dr Olga M. Lazin-Andrei 2014 Escape to the West ___________ © _________//___________________________________Written on a E mail; [email protected]

On Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+OLGALAZINDr Twitter: olgamlazin

http://www.scribd.com/doc/203836679/Escaping-From-Transylvania-30-FebTRANSYL?post_id=2538457_10103066199638166#_=_




mailto:[email protected]



https://plus.google.com/u/0/+OLGALAZINDr









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Facebook: Olga LazinBlog: http://olgaandrassy.blogspot.com http://drolgalazin.blogactiv.eu http://olgalazin.wordpress.com

http://drolgalazinandrei.wordpress.com

E-rated: http://erated.me/p/drolga-lazin/

On My Space: olghita

HAPPY VALENTINE’s DAY CONTINUATION, saturday.

Feb 15th, 2014, LOve Olga

http://olgaandrassy.blogspot.com/



http://drolgalazin.blogactiv.eu/


http://olgalazin.wordpress.com/


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Transylvanian Escapes to the West: Run Rabbit Run