Misunderstanding opportunities: (post-)resettlement issues in the Recea neighbourhood of Alba Iulia
Journal Title: Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology - Year 2013, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
Although its gold mining project has been locked in public debates and permit reviews for over a decade, a Canadian-Romanian company privately negotiated with the inhabitants of Roşia Montană commune, Romania, to buy their households and lands, and resettle them in a specially built neighbourhood in the city of Alba Iulia. This paper suggests that while the paternalistic character of resettlement has allowed resettlers to partially keep their group identity, and partially to reconstruct it in relation with the host community, it was also based on a misunderstanding of the relationship between resettlers and the organiser of resettlement. Drawing on field research, the resettlement was studied as a “continuous process” spanning three years (2010-12), during which this paper identifies (1) the changes in lifestyle, (2) the mechanisms of community regeneration, and (3) postresettlement initiatives of resettlers. Although greater living costs (utility bills, real estate taxes, transportation) and unemployment seem to be balanced by better living conditions and greater educational opportunities for their children, the ambivalent paternalistic aspect of the resettlement has negatively influenced the development of the new community. While at first community issues were unsuccessfully addressed to the company, recent public improvement initiatives by resettlers have caused tensions between the two sides.
Authors and Affiliations
Cătălin Buzoianu, Sebastian Țoc
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP40975
- DOI -
- Views 180
- Downloads 0
When the mosque goes Beethoven: Expressing religious belongings through music
The present article will provide insight on music as a vector of religious belonging: a female choir at a mosque in the Lake Geneva Metropolitan Region has reinterpreted Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with new text about the g...
Video games and insightful gameplay
Compaso’s special issue on “Insightful Gameplay” looks at the insights we can win from playing and analyzing games and their players from a multitude of perspectives and before various disciplinary backgrounds. It expl...
A sociological examination of international placement learning by British social work students in children’s services in Malaysia
This paper discusses research findings into a study of UK student learning on international social work placements in Malaysia in collaboration with two Malaysian universities: Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti...
Unique or double standard to aging in sports? Case of retired gymnasts
The study aims to capture a socially constructed analysis of gendered media representations on retired Romanian gymnasts. The theoretical input discusses gendered representations, body projects, discursive tactics appl...
The role of the Internet in shaping environmental concern. A focus on post-communist Europe
Common sense, as well as scientific evidence, frequently use the generalization that compared to the citizens of the West, citizens of the ex-communist countries are less environmentally concerned as far as during the...