Why are Romanians so modest?

How many times have you heard somebody say that they were somehow embarrassed to recognize in a conversation outside the country, that they are Romanian? How many times have you felt uncomfortable when you read or heard foreigners discussing Romania? At least a few times, for sure. The reality is that these occurrences are happening less and less, but 20-25 years ago, such situations were common.

My generation, the Baby Boomers, and the following one, Generation X, grappled with the persistently negative image of the country long after the so-called 1989 Romanian Revolution. However, Millenials were progressively less affected by this country's branding as many positive changes took place. Some of their generation's characteristics, such as challenging established structures or being overconfident, proved to be particularly beneficial as well.

I believe that Romanians are still quite reserved these days, and it may take a while before we feel and behave differently. Allow me to elaborate on this by examining some geopolitical and historical data.

We like to believe, and many have said, that Dacia, which corresponds to today's Romania more or less, was situated at the crossroads of Europe. In reality the country has always been positioned at the border between Western civilization and the unpredictable and relatively less developed Eastern civilizations. Therefore, this territory lies on the edge of Europe rather than at its heart.

The Romans, under Emperor Traian, conquered Dacia in 106 A.D. However, after 165 years, in 271 A.D., Emperor Aurelian withdrew his troops, likely along with many civilians, from Dacia. To provide perspective, the Romans remained in England, known as Britannia during that era, for over 350 years despite needing to cross the Channel.  Dacia was distant, difficult to conquer, and even more challenging to maintain occupation. Firstly, the geography of Dacia with high mountains situated right in the center of the country, which is a bit unusual and difficult to climb. There were not many passes but numerous watercourses, flowing down to the mighty Danube River, which presented another significant obstacle. The presence of high hills with deep and dark forests posed additional challenges in case of an attack. Perfect place for guerilla tactics used by the locals. Small cities, mostly rural civilizations, and tiny villages scattered across the region made it difficult to maintain an occupation and develop a cohesive society.

Additionally, the migrating peoples, predominantly nomads, for centuries, launched attacks from the East. Despite the land's richness, ideal for agriculture, the risks and costs associated with defending the territory were considerable, so the Romans decided to leave the area. Unfortunately, the withdrawal didn't help the region which remained underdeveloped and predominantly rural.

Hundreds of years later, close to a thousand in fact, this region attracted the attention of some of the great empires of the time. However, the interest was not particularly high, and the three provinces - Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia - were mostly (semi)autonomous under the rule of the Habsburgs, Hungarians, Wallachians, or Ottomans. Ottoman maps from the time depict the three provinces as controlled buffers rather than conquered territories.

Where am I getting with all of these? This seclusion, far removed from Western European culture, has hurt our development as a nation and affected our behavior and collective confidence. A simple example is that in Western Europe the first universities were established in the eleventh century; the Romanian provinces saw the opening of the first 5-year university, Schola Latina, in the 16th century, 500 hundred years later.

Let us now move closer to our times.

The 1989 coup d’etat and the subsequent change of regime placed Romania at a peak of sympathy around the world, a level of support unmatched since 1968 during the invasion of the Russian troops in Czechoslovakia. They were looking to stop the Prague Spring, the peaceful implementation of a local set of reforms. Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator, opposed the invasion going as far as to prevent the Warsaw Treaty armies from crossing Romanian territory. While countries like Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria marched towards Prague aligned with the Russian Soviet invaders. Romania and Albania refused to participate and openly denounced the aggression. I remember those days vividly - I was 6 years old. It happened in August, and on my tiny unpaved street in the city of Ploiesti, all the neighbors brought their radios out, and we listened in the street to the news and followed the events as they unfolded. We felt a hint of fear, but above all, an overwhelming sense of pride! 

We had the same feeling in 1989, maybe an even stronger sense of pride!

Unfortunately, it only took a few months for our image to be tarnished, as if we were cursed! I refer to it as the "Miorita curse". It all began in the summer when the miners were invited by political leaders to “fix” the peaceful demonstration that had been ongoing for months in Bucharest. Subsequently, the foreign press reported about the +100.000 institutionalized children left by the communist regime in orphanages, orphanages that were in deplorable conditions.

 Then another "mineriada" (miners protest) in 1991. And one other in 1999.

After the year 2000, another crisis emerged: the problem of stray dogs. Until a child was tragically killed by a dog in 2013, public administrators didn't pay much attention to the issue despite the extensive press coverage.

Another issue that has contributed to a negative perception of the country for many years is the lack of success in integrating the Roma population. All of these are further compounded by horror stories about corruption at both the lowest local and highest governmental levels.

 So, I ask: how does one feel about these stories? What is the level of confidence and comfort? Should one feel a bit embarrassed about their country? I used to, albeit briefly! Not anymore!

There has been a notable shift following the country's accession to NATO and the EU. We started to adopt, albeit sometimes forced, Western society's rules and regulations. The past decade has seen a general improvement in the country. The younger generations, Millenials and Gen Z are notably different, being better prepared for life and more pragmatic. Several economic sectors have achieved outstanding success, including automotive, real estate, agriculture, and… IT!

 The country’s economy is steadily growing year after year, and the international perception has improved.

The IT sector has been a significant driver of Romania’s economy and wealth, with currently +200.000 people part of it. Many large IT multinational companies are leading thriving businesses in the country, with some establishing large delivery centers and exporting services counting for hundreds of millions of dollars. There are several IT R&D centers, as well as delivering state-of-the-art solutions.

The level of skills, maturity, and experience in Romania ranks among the highest in Europe. This is evident in the success of local companies like Bitdefender or UiPath, which are well-known internationally.

So, where does the problem lie? Why engage in this exercise?

Here it is: over the course of many successful years in the market, I have met hundreds of clients. My colleagues and I have built, from scratch, teams that now deliver multi-million-dollar business for customers. It took many years, but we have accomplished it.

The quality of our people has always been our strength. The way we filtered, trained, managed, and developed them has been recognized by most of our clients. We have received many accolades, but also a request: your people are brilliant, but they need to be more vocal. They should tell us how we can run our business smarter, improve our applications, increase profitability, and become the best in the marketplace. We need them to tell us, the client, their side of reality about our business.

 And they all mention one thing as a fact: Romanians are some of the most creative people we have worked with in the IT world. Creativity is part of your nation's DNA. Personally, I couldn't agree more! 

This brings me back to the initial question: why are we still so modest? 

PS. Not IT related but connected with the topic above. If you still have doubts about my comments, look at how few Austrian politicians have been treating Romania with regards to the Schengen accession while Austrian companies are making billions in our country! And we, Romanians, are completely silent!