Streets Shadows - Mugur Varzariu

I live in a country where the clergy love everyone. Everyone, that is, except the Roma, Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, drugs addicts and sex workers. It’s strange how they never mention those people in their prayers. It’s probably because their desperate situation could not get any worse than it is already. Why waste a good prayer?

Today, I’m going to talk about sex workers. As I already said, the Church doesn’t love them. The clergy can love and publicly embrace a racist, but they could never have compassion for a sex worker. In fact, they hate them so much that they do everything in their power to make sure that prostitution will never be legalised. I am talking about a Church that is incapable of distributing hot soup to the poor, but which receives millions of Euros from the state budget to build more and more churches.

The clergy hate Stela for two reasons: she is both a sex worker and a heroin addict. Because religion would come to an end if we legalised prostitution, the Church has no qualms about watching Stela being abused by everyone, including officers of the law.

Girls like Stela get beaten up by police officers almost every night. Or else they get raped or robbed. And those are the “lucky” ones. They never know when it will next be their turn to be taken for a ride in a police car outside Bucharest, to be abandoned in the woods twenty or thirty kilometres away from the city in the middle of the night. In this country, because they “break the law” it means they have no rights as human beings.

Stela has to pay rent. She keeps all her belongings in a suitcase. It’s as if she’s always about to go on a trip. She is afraid of taking that trip, but she needs to be prepared. Her life is all about today. She doesn’t dare think of tomorrow. She barely eats, smokes heavily, and shoots up heroin two or three times a day. It’s a miracle she is still alive. But she is humorous and kind. It’s a pity the clergy cannot see past her profession.

Mihaela lives in a trailer. She has a baby girl, Denisa. She is a Romanian of Roma origin. Like many Romanians, often, a slice of bread is all she can provide her daughter. But she loves Denisa. She is also a heroin addict. She works with Stela. They keep each other company; they try to protect each other.

They both struggle to make ends meet, even though they work every day, regardless of the weather or their personal health.

In the eyes of the law they are criminals… In the eyes of the Church they are sinners… In the eyes of most of the Romanians they represent the lowest form of life… In my own eyes they are just fighting for survival. We have to respect that. Is that too much to ask?

Mihaela, a sex worker and heroine addict of roma origins, seen working the streets in Bucharest, July 27, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela (left, with baby girl) and her friend Stela, both sex workers and heroin addicts, posing for the camera on the streets of Bucharest, June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen preparing her heroine fix, inside her one room rented apartment in Bucharest, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Inside Stela's backyard as seen on June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen on the streets of Bucharest, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Alexandra Luca, former heroine addict, now social worker for ARAS, prepares the ambulance for one of the daily city rounds. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela (left, with baby girl) and her friend Stela, both sex workers and heroin addicts, fight over who has the right to use the room, as seen in Bucharest on June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

General view of Stela's backyard as seen on June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen making the bed in her one room rented apartment, in Bucharest, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Disposed old bed in Stela's backyard as seen on June 27, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela, a sex worker and heroine addict of roma origins, seen with her baby visiting her relatives in foster care, July 28, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Crina, a sex worker, recently tested positive for syphilis, poses for the camera on the streets of Bucharest, June 25, 2011. Crina is closely monitored by her pimp and she is not allowed to cary her ID card. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Crina, a sex worker, recently tested positive for syphilis, on the streets of Bucharest, June 25, 2011. Crina is closely monitored by her pimp and she is not allowed to cary her ID card. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

The moon shining over Bucharest, a few meters far from a street corner where sex workers and drug addicts await preservatives and syringes distributed by the outreach division of ARAS, June 14, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen applying make-up, before starting her night on the streets of Bucharest, June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela, a sex worker and heroine addict of roma origins, seen with her baby in Bucharest, June 30, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela, a sex worker and heroine addict of roma origins, seen posing for the camera in Bucharest, June 28, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela, a romanian woman of roma origins, a sex worker and heroine abuser as seen leaving Stela's room in Bucharest on June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen working the streets of Bucharest, June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela, a sex worker and heroine addict of roma origins, lives in a trailer in Bucharest, July 28, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Building seen through the windshield of an ARAS (The Romanian Association Against AIDS) ambulance, in Bucharest, June 14, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Mihaela and Stela, sex workers and heroine addicts of roma origins, seen working the streets in Bucharest, on July 27, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

The interior of StelaÕs (sex worker) one room rented apartment as seen in Bucharest, June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen working the streets of Bucharest, June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Police respond to a domestic fight call, just across Stela's room, as seen in Bucharest on June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela fights her landlady over overdue rent as seen in Bucharest on June 25, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

The interior of StelaÕs (sex worker) one room rented apartment as seen in Bucharest, June 24, 2011. All of her belongings are stuffed in the blue suitcase, right side of the image. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Outreach social worker seen throw ambulance window, giving sex workers and drug users free HIV and other STD tests, in Bucharest, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Larisa, mother of a new baby born, seen next to Stela (right of the image) a sex worker and heroin addict in Bucharest, Romania. Larisa was waiting for her turn to be freely tested for HIV, syphilis and other STD's by the outreach ARAS (Romanian Association Against HIV) workers, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Young woman living in promiscuous conditions waiting for her turn to be freely tested for HIV, syphilis and other STD's by the outreach ARAS (Romanian Association Against HIV) workers, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Sex worker on the streets of Bucharest as seen on July 28, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen inside an ARAS ambulance while receiving the results after being tested for Syphilis, HIV and Hepatitis C, Bucharest, June 23, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Posters as seen on the wall at ARAS on June 29, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

Stela, a sex worker, seen putting on her earrings, before starting her night on the streets of Bucharest, June 24, 2011. The difficult economic situation, coupled with dysfunctional family backgrounds and low levels of education are behind many of the prostitution or trafficking cases in Romania. In many cases sex workers also abuse drugs.

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