Author: MercurialLily
Fandom: Hetalia
Title: Lupta Pentru Libertate
Rating: T
Pairing: None, really
A/N: This is based on the Romanian Revolution of 1989 (December 16-27). You'll find out more when you read, but basically the Romanians wanted to overthrow their dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu. After a botched speech by Ceausescu, riots broke out in several cities. Eventually, Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were put on trial and executed.
Human names are being used, but seeing as some of the characters in this story don't have canon names, I'll be using the names I've given them. They are as follows:
Romania: Vladimir Dobrescu
Bulgaria: Nikolai Panatov
Moldova: Andrei Dobrescu (same surname as Romania because they're brothers. Also, remember, Moldova's a little kid)
The current location of the story is Timișoara, Romania.
Historical references will appear at the bottom, as well as any translations. So read on!
December 16, 1989
Ring... Ring... Ring...
"Shut up, phone," Vladimir grumbled angrily from where he sat on his couch. "I'm busy." Reaching forward, he picked up some documents resting on the coffee table and began leafing through them. "So they're still in jail," he murmured. "Figures."
Ring... Ring...
"Shh! I'm working!" He shot the phone a glare as he continued to read the papers in his hands.
All of a sudden, the phone stopped ringing, and Vladimir heard a small voice say, "Hello? Who is this?"
Vladimir turned in the direction of the voice. Standing by the phone table, clutching the receiver in his tiny hands, was his little brother Andrei.
"Yes, this is Andrei," Andrei was saying. "You want to talk to my big brother? Okay." Andrei looked over at Vladimir. "Fratele mai mare, the phone wants to talk to you."
Vladimir started to stand. "Mulțumesc, Andrei." Walking over to his brother, he took the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello, this is Vladimir."
"Vlad, kheĭ. How are you doing?" the voice on the other end said. "This is Nikolai, by the way."
"I figured it was you, Nikolai," Vladimir replied. "Why do you care how I'm doing? I'm fine."
There was a slight pause. "Well, I... I heard about the stuff that's been going on in your country. Not much, but enough. It sounds pretty bad. So..." Nikolai trailed off.
"What have you heard? And who told you?" Vladimir asked.
"Elizabeta. I was talking to her earlier-"
"Why the hell were you talking to her?" Vladimir demanded. "You know how I hate her. Whatever she told you, she was probably lying."
"I don't think so. She just mentioned the arrests in Bucharest."
"Ah, yes. The arrests." With a sigh, Vladimir leaned against the wall and cradled the receiver in his hands. "Well, last month, some students were demonstrating in Bucharest. They were holding signs with the phrase 'We want Reforms against Ceaușescu government'. He's my weird boss, remember? Due to their demonstrations, they were arrested by the Securitate. Right now they're locked up at Rahova Penitentiary. I don't know when, or if, they'll be released."
"That must be tough," Nikolai said softly.
"It is." Vladimir chewed on his bottom lip as he continued, "You know that my people have been struggling over the past few years. They barely have enough food. On top of that, our infant mortality rate's gone up a lot. Oh, and I'm sure you remember when our external debt was paid off. Eleven billion dollars, Nikolai. That was kind of a success on our part, because we're no longer in debt, but still... My people are starving."
"You know, you can always come live with me," Nikolai suggested. "I'm sure my boss wouldn't mind."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine where I am. My people need me here. I can't just abandon them." Vladimir paused. "But you could do something else for me..."
"Anything. Just say it."
Vladimir glanced at Andrei, who was currently preoccupied with a spot on the wall. He loved his little brother, but he didn't want to have him around until the unrest in the country was settled. "If you could take care of Andrei for me... Just until it's okay on my end."
There was no response from Nikolai. Vladimir thought that the call had been disconnected, but then he heard Nikolai's voice: "Yeah, I'll take him. He's not that difficult to take care of, is he?"
"Well..." Vladimir thought about his brother's daily routines. "He eats a lot. But he's really fussy about what he eats. He also sleeps a lot, but you have to tire him out before bedtime, or else he won't want to go to bed. Oh, and I'll warn you. He's going through a stage where he bites everything in sight. His teeth are really sharp. So be careful."
"Okay, thanks for letting me know. When should I come get him?"
"The sooner the better. I know he'll probably be a bit of a pain, but you don't know how much it means to me. I owe you one," Vladimir said.
Nikolai laughed slightly. "Don't worry about it," he replied. "Just worry about getting back on your feet, dobre? I'll be around either later tonight or tomorrow to get Andrei."
"All right. I'll see you then. Bye." Vladimir hung up the phone and turned to Andrei, who by now had started to chew on the arm of the couch. "Hey! No chewing the furniture. You're not a dog."
Andrei looked up at Vladimir. "Why were you talking all serious on the phone?" he asked.
"I was talking to Nikolai. You remember him." Vladimir walked over to Andrei and picked him up, balancing him on his hip. "Well, he's going to take care of you for a while."
"What? Why?" Andrei looked hurt. "Did I do something wrong? Please don't get rid of me."
"It's not for long. It's just until fratele mai mare gets better, okay?"
Andrei frowned. "What's wrong with fratele mai mare?"
Before Vladimir could respond, there was an assertive knock on the door. "Open this door right now," a stern voice from outside commanded.
Vladimir, still carrying Andrei, went over to the door and opened it cautiously. Standing on the porch of the house was Petre Moț, the mayor of Timișoara. He did not seem impressed by the fact that Andrei was there.
"What is it, Primar?" Vladimir asked. "Why are you here?"
"I'm sure you've heard what's happening downtown," Moț said.
Vladimir shook his head. "Nu, I haven't," he said. "What's going on?"
Moț sighed and shook his head. "You remember when that pastor Tőkés commented about our policies here, right?"
Vladimir nodded. He thought about László Tőkés, the pastor at the Hungarian Reformed Church. In July earlier that year, Tőkés had complained that the Romanians didn't know their human rights. The comment had shocked and angered the Romanians, as well as the Securitate. "What about him?"
"We're trying to evict him due to his ethnic hatred, but it seems that the Hungarians in the city aren't happy with that," Moț explained. "I tried to tell them that I had overturned that decision, but they wanted it in writing. Of course, I said that would take too much time, so they decided to chant about anticommunism. The bastards. We have the police there now, but there are so many protesters. Is there anything you can think of?"
"Um... Well..." Vladimir wasn't sure what to do. He had never liked Hungarians-mostly because of that bitchy Elizabeta-but he didn't want the protest to get violent. "Can't you just let them be? I mean, come on. They're not hurting anyone."
"They're against the government. They're against you." Moț shook his head again and added, "I hope that having your little brother around isn't making you soft."
"Wh-what? No, it's just that... I don't want people to get hurt. And, you know, I want to set a good example for Andrei."
"A good example would be fighting for your country. Teach the kid to be tough. He won't get anywhere by being weak."
It seemed like Andrei could tell what they were talking about, as he let out an upset cry and started flailing. In an attempt to calm him down, Vladimir began whispering to him in a soft, gentle voice. "Ești în regulă unul, mic. Ești în regulă."
Moț was growing impatient, and he hissed, "Just do something about the protests, all right? That's all I want. Good day to you." And with that, he left.
Andrei had stopped flailing by this point, and now he was resting his head on Vladimir's shoulder. "Who was that scary man?" he asked.
"That was my boss, little brother," Vladimir said, sighing. He closed the door and gently set Andrei down on the floor. "Now go get something packed, okay? Nikolai will be here soon."
"Bine, fratele mai mare!" With a smile, Andrei scampered off down the hall.
As soon as Andrei was out of sight, Vladimir slumped down against the door. "Ce am de gând să fac?" he whispered.
To be continued
A/N: Thus ends the first chapter of Lupta Pentru Libertate!
Translations:
Lupta Pentru Libertate-Fight for Freedom (Romanian)
Fratele mai mare-Big brother (Romanian)
Mulțumesc-Thank you (Romanian)
Kheĭ-Hey (Bulgarian)
Dobre-Okay (Bulgarian)
Primar-Mayor (Romanian)
Nu-No (Romanian)
Ești în regulă unul, mic. Ești în regulă-You're okay, little one. You're okay (Romanian)
Bine-Okay (Romanian)
Ce am de gând să fac?-What am I going to do? (Romanian)
Historical information:
Arrests in Bucharest-On November 11, 1989, on Brezoianu Street and Kogălniceanu Boulevard in Bucharest, students from Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca were demonstrating with signs saying "We want Reforms against Ceaușescu government". The students from Cluj-Napoca were arrested and interrogated by the Securitate at the Rahova Penitentiary due to suspicions of propaganda. They were released on December 22, 1989.
Securitate-The secret police in Romania. They essentially made Romania a police state. Free speech and opinions that opposed the Communist Party were forbidden. The Securitate was extremely brutal, even by Soviet Bloc standards.
Romanians struggling-In 1981, Nikolae Ceaușescu started an austerity program that would allow Romania to liquidate its national debt. In order to achieve this, food, gas, and heat were rationed; this terribly affected the standard of living and led to increased malnutrition. At the same time, the infant mortality rate was the highest in Europe.
External debt-Romania's external debt was about $11 billion dollars. In early 1989, several activists in the Romanian Communist Party (RCP) criticised the economic policies of Ceaușescu, but shortly after Romania paid off its debt.
Events of December 16, 1989-A Hungarian pastor, László Tőkés, had made some critical comments about the Romanians in July earlier that year. The government believed he was inciting ethnic hatred, and his bishop decided to send him to be a pastor in the countryside. However, his parishioners gathered around his apartment to protect him. Several passers-by joined spontaneously. When the crowd wouldn't disperse, the mayor, Petre Moț, remarked that he had overturned the decision to evict Tőkés. Later, when Moț recanted his statement, the crowd started to chant anticommunist slogans. By the time the police and Securitate showed up, the protest had spread. Some of the protesters tried to burn down the building that housed the RCP. The Securitate launched attacks with water jets and tear gas while the police assaulted and arrested many of the rioters. The rioters withdrew for a time before regrouping around the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, where they were again confronted by security.
I do not own anything. Please look forward to the next chapter!