Romania is home to the largest virgin forests in Europe, but during the last 30 years, it has been abused fiercely. Since the fall of communism, large areas of land were given back to their rightful owners. The logging industry evolved, and since the late 1990s and up until now, deforestation and illegal logging has been a huge problem in Romania. Today the mafia controls the industry, and they suppress anyone, who tries to fight against the illegal logging. The local communities in Northern Romania are affected by the conflict around the forest. People live in constant fear of what will happen if they don’t obey the mafia, and yet local activists and forest rangers still risks their lives in the fight for preserving the forest. According to Greenpeace, the Romanian state loses around € 1.5 billion a year to illegal logging. Each year, 18 million m3 of timber is allowed to fell, but in reality, more than 38 million m3 of timber is felled. Tree exported to the European market and used by big companies like IKEA and others, leaving the largest virgin forest in Europe out of control to a corrupt and violent industry. Romania, October 2019

About half of young people between the ages of 16 and 34 have already made plans to leave Romania. Most of them are attracted by the higher wages offered by companies abroad. About 3.4 million Romanians have left the country in the ten years since its entry into the EU in 2007, a huge proportion of a population that now numbers about 19.5 million. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the country’s population is expected to sink by over a fifth in the next 30 years. This Would be the steepest population drop in the world. A brain drain that is highly problematic for the development of Romania and leaves the youth with a unsecure future for themselves.

A portrait of the famous garden Tivoli in Copenhagen during COVID19 which has created economic challenges for the 176 years old amusement park. Due to the pandemic the director, Lars Liebst had to dismiss 233 employees. He describes it as the worst day in his life but adds that Tivoli will always have to renew itself. The director sees the old garden as a renewer of childhood memories.

Our everyday lives will not be the same again in the near future. “There will be a before and after the Corona crisis”, says the Prime Minister. I turn off the screen and I am struck by the feeling that it can all be just the same. The list of projects I should do grows ever longer. Instead, I open the computer and watch another episode about World War II. Here the enemy is concrete and possible to see.