paul suciu

8/11/2019 Paul Suciu

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I was 7 when I saw the Romanian revolution on TV; all the dead, mothers and children, graphic

depictions for publicity purposes. The old man who ran Romania chocked and died. My parents never

stopped the TV. Our food, electricity, media poverty was nothing in comparison to that for me, but to

them it was retribution.

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The period after was worst, as Romania underwent massive changes. I had nightmares for years, grew

into a withdrawn artistic type. Couldnt relate to people and didnt trust my own family. I had

dependency issues, so I loved the first woman in my life for 10 years. Never told her. When she left to

university in another town, I left the country the first time. I was on a government scholarship at the

best university in our region by that time, studying PR. I was also dirt poor so it made sense to look for

work.

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Went as an illegal migrant to Almeria, Spain, in 2003, before Romanians were allowed to work in the EU.

After three days on a coach across Europe, with infants screaming, I went for a piss at 3 AM. The

Romanian coach left and when they found out after a couple of hours didnt bother to come back.

I waited at the curve in a remote gas stop as the Spanish police drew circles around me until the

morning. Didnt know the language, but had about 20 Euro my parents could spare so I called my cousin

at 9AM. He had gone to pick me up from the coach station and wasnt happy about my disappearance,

but nevertheless jump in his car and came after me.

I ended up working at his construction company, with a bunch of guys who all seemed to have been in

prison (higher education they called it). His other cousin told me I was soft and that they wouldnt

have had to put up with me if not for my cousin owning the company. He also eventually throw me on

the ground and kicked me in the head with a toe steel booth. Left a mark.

Worked 7 out of 7 days, 10-14 hours. For the first month only had about 10 pounds for food. I ate a lot

of pasta with cheese given to me as a gift. My cousin laughed his ass off when he found out at pay time.

Never thought to complain to him. He also ducked my pay for the coach.

I was mixing cement and pushing wheel barrows of material for 3-4 guys at a time, so I was always

covered in dust, thick dried cement. It was the first time anyone threw me out of a restaurant, where I

entered to ask for directions. Lost 10 kg in three months, but after all my bones solidified and I drew a

tan, I was a man. Worst time I had was working at a ruined cortijo, in the middle of the Andaluzia

national wildlife park. 40 degrees African weather and red soil. When my cousin took us there, we found


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three guys without money. They had last eaten two days ago, whilst working masonry. They were joking

about eating the dog, Chorizo. I hope they did.

They told me to put white stuff on the stones. I did and the Spanish business owner came by and called

me a conio for putting the stuff at the back of the house too. Found a root in the rocks and when I

pulled it out turned out to be a scorpion, which I was holding from the tail. Drank water from the onlywell there, which was supplying the olive trees. Tasted like gas and after my cousin washed his Audi A6

with it, the car looked oily too. It wasnt all bad thou. Some people were nice, the scenery was

spectacular, even from the shoddy scaffolding. Or maybe because of it.

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Finished my third year of university, lost my scholarship because of poor grades and went to the United

States with money borrowed from my cousin. Didnt hate the guy, just his compromises. He died that

first summer on a bike crash. I didnt feel anything, just wasnt surprised. Left behind a mountain of

debt, unpaid workers, my niece and her mother, who he had married the year before. I was there for

him.

But the States were fantastic. Went there with 200 USD in my pocket and by the time I argued with my

first employer in the first few days (he had overbooked staff and offered only 20 hours a week, which I

couldnt afford) and he kicked me out, I was left with about a 100. So I jumped a coach and wanted to go

to Boston, and start from the street. My cousin had been homeless for about three months, so I thought

I could do it. Luckily on my way there the sponsor company called me and sent me to a 6 Flags fun park,

in Springfield, Massachusetts. They offered accommodation which you could pay from your paycheck,

which was good as I was out of cash.

Ended working 17 hours a day at the bumper cars. Listened to a lot of country music and took car beltsfrom around peoples necks. Got fired after three weeks for parking the cars from driving not pushing, as

I was wasting electricity. Called friends and ended up with three choices where to move to Virginia,

Chicago and LA. Looked at my money and I realized I could only afford to cross half the US, so I went to

Chicago. Best choice I made in my life.

Upon arrival there, again broke, I made my way to the contacts place. He was a friend of a friend. To my

surprise the house had five guys from my city, Bistrita. One of them had been an old secondary school

colleague. Small world. He hated my guts, but honor bound to help (theres a code of pass it forward).

A short call determined that I had a job starting the next day. They were eager to see me off their

couch, which only happened after a month. Lovely guys thou.

Peter, the guy who picked me up was a Baptist businessman of fierce reputation. People called him a

snake behind his back. Worked for him for a while doing labor jobs in hardwood flooring, then he passed

me to his church as an assistant. Once again I was too soft, so a janitorial position was better for a dovey

eyed guy like me. I loved the guy so perhaps thats why he said to the church I was his nephew. Still tried

to shaft me on the money.


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The Baptist Romanian Community of Chicago was building its own church and first Romanian language

school in the United States. I was the king of that place. An old fox taught me how to do stuff most

humans wouldnt believe possible. Like move a one ton beam with a pipe. Assembled the school piece

by piece. It was my first lesson in the power of community. I took to them and they to me. They also

wanted to marry me within the church, but I was getting a taste at life by then. So after learning proper

carpentry, I decided I didnt want to be a white van business owner the rest of my life so I left the US,

where I had stayed illegally nearly two years, but with work papers in the friendliest migrant city on

Earth and went to finish university.

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The school had expelled me so I had to reenlist and pay for the last year. Graduating with honors I faced

the prospect of unemployment within Romania once again. So I decided to leave. Where should I go?

Well, the only place farther than the US which I was attracted to was Japan. But Japan was far, far away

and expensive as hell and I had managed to waste all my money in the year I was back in Romania.

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So in wanting to go to Japan, I decided to come to the UK (Leeds) and study an MSc in Japanese

Business, before trying to find a job there. However the 2008 recession hit and I ended being stuck in a

waiter position in the UK, as a Masters graduate. For a few years I took to Jiu Jitsu, becoming a coach. I

was very angry and martial arts provided a boost of confidence in addition to an outlet. It also provided

for a sense of community and belonging.

However, after four years I tore my ACL in a training session and realized that the bonds of camaraderie

we were supposed to share werent all that real. People didnt cometo visit. Everybody was too busy

living their lives. I realized I had to move on with mine. Also personal relationship wise, I was stilldamaged, but I continued to try and set my expectations high. Fell in love again and again.

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I went on to do a second Masters in Finance and Accounting (also paid from my low waged work), wrote

a book on participative policy creation while recuperating from surgery (bless the NHS) and did a few

marathons and ultras as benefits the thirty years of age crisis. Even worked as Santa Claus

Eventually, I ended up working for Lloyds Bank, as a PPI case handler. The job was hard, poorly paid and

gave sense to the expression corporate drone, but I had a blast. I loved the people I worked with and

they liked me. My only issue is that the banking system has not reformed and I was shown plenty ofevidence of policy manipulation that deprived the customer of his rights, to know that is the case. I

challenged my managers on that and they kindly pointed at the door scruples cost money.

I decided to move to London and try my chances at working in the City. Unfortunately, a week after my

arrival, the government stopped financing for Romanian and Bulgarian students. As I was already

burning, I took charge of the campaign to challenge that decision and started organizing the resistance.


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Three weeks after arriving in London I was in the newspapers, five weeks after I was on national

television and media.

I was able to start a project of supporting the local London Romanian community in developing a

professional framework of expression and self-awareness, by drawing from such resources as the

human capital provided by the community and academic and governmental resources, working withNGOs such as myRomania (part of Citizens UK), Migrant Voice, JCWI, Migrant Rights Network and

initiating dialogues with the press and groups such as British Influence, NUS, Government

representatives, such as the APPG on Migration and even addressing UKIP and Mr. Farage directly. This

is who I am today and I love it.

Antidiscrimination PR Campaign Strategist and Spokesperson (December 2013 present)Romanian and Bulgarian Communities, London

Data gathering and analysis on mass media coverage of the issues Generating solutions and a comprehensive strategy for the UK and EU campaigns Gathering associates, coordinating their input, creating formal organizations Influencing policy makers, by participating in debates and manning all the bases

Involvement in creating party agendas, NGO activity and output

From PR to fundraising to directly assisting the individuals affected as an example Writing everything from campaign manifestos to articles published by academic media Finding leads for placing the Romanian student/discrimination issues on the public agenda Spokesperson for the Romanian community, in UK and International mainstream media Exceptional networking at disposal, from UK and EU parliament, parties, community NGOs

Creating various test campaigns to identify the best ways of promoting and solving issues Kick starting an intent crowd into an activist tradition here and in Romania Member of the Green Party, with whom I collaborate at UK and EU level on the drawing of policy

concerning vulnerable groups, mostly from the Roma and Romanian communities Created a 0 Resource activism philosophy based on knowledge as to tackle with very little

financial input extremely complex issues

Created the KAPPA entity for participative policy infrastructure promotion, to assist civil societyto resist political discourse, to empower vulnerable groups and assist with the defense and

creation of social capital, through the social contract and in particular human rights

Where do I see myself in the future? Participating in the change for the better of civil society in the UK

and eventually, with my skills solidified and a bit of reputation I would like to be able to participate in

the change of Romanian society, still very much affected by poverty and neglect. I hope to go to Brussels

and help dismantle a bit of bureaucratic apparatus there and generally make the notion of Europe more

accessible to individuals, by eliminating the political gatekeepers. I also hope to have a family and

children one day. Im not sure if all of this is possible, but a man can dream cant he? Based on my

previous life, I should say that it was this hope and trust that got me forward and wouldnt trade them

for all the riches in the world.

Paul Suciu

paul suciu

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