1. Romanian
Communities Allocation in United States
1.1. Study
of Romanian-American population (2002)
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This in-depth study was originated
from the real need to have an accurate number of people
of Romanian heritage that are presently living in United
States. We have taken into consideration official data
published such as the results of the 1990 U.S. Census,
the Romanian Embassy study of 1999, immigration records,
as well as information gathered directly from various
Romanian-American associations, organizations and membership
data of religious denominations.
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This study was completed during June
2000 to March 2002 and reflects a carefull analysis meant
to provide statistics pertaining to the population of
Romanians living in United States, including not just
the first generation immigrants that came from Romania
and declared their ethnic origin as Romanian. Therefore,
other immigrants of Romanian national minority groups
have been inlcuded such as: Armenians, Germans, Gypsies,
Hungarians, Jews, and Ukrainians.
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We have also taken into account the
Romanian speaking population that immigrated to the United
States from other countries neighboring Romania, such
as Republic of Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.
Most of them have kept their native Romanian language
and traditions despite the fact that were not living in
Romania.
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Furthermore we have included in this
study the second and even some third generation Romanians
due to the fact that in some areas, mostly in the neoprotestant
churches it seems like the Romanian language was encouraged
and preserved from one generation to another.
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It is also known that every ethnic
community in United States has a number of undocumented
aliens residing in this country. Romanians make no exception,
even though they are not in such high numbers as other
groups. Consequently, they are also included in our study
along with students studying in U.S., most of whom are
active and participate in the life of the Romanian-American
communities. The greater majority of them are in the process
of adjusting their immigration status to permanent residents.
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With all aspects considered as described
above, the total number of Romanians living in the United
States in 2002 is estimated to be 1,200,000, even though
the 1990 U.S. Census data reveals less than half of this
number.
2.
More about Romanians
2.1. Genaral
Info
The Romanian people, like all national groups
of Eastern Europe, are of extremely mixed ethnic origins.
In the main they derive from the Thracian people called Dacians
who lived in the region in late prehistoric and Roman times,
but they incorporate many other elements: the Roman settlers
of the 2nd century A.D., the Slav invaders of the 7th and
8th centuries, Magyar invaders of the 9th and 10th centuries,
as well as Turks, Germans Gypsies, and Jews. Other groups,
the Celts, the Goths, and Tatars, at some time occupied some
part of Romania, and have influenced the racial composition
of its people.
Although there were Greek colonies on the
Black Sea coast from the 6th century B.C., the first centralized
kingdom was of a Thracian people called Dacians. This Dacian
civilization reached its zenith under Decebalus, who is still
honored today. Due to legendary richness of this region, Dacia
was a great temptation for the Roman Emperors. But Dacia was
not easy to conquer, and general after general had to bow
in front of the brave natives. Finally, the Emperor Trajan
conquered the country in 106 A.D. The celebration of the victory
lasted 123 days. Seven years later, Trajan erected a monument
depicting his victory over Dacia, which is called Trajan's
column and still stands today in Rome, Italy. By the mixing
of the two peoples, the Romanian people later emerged. As
a proof of Rome's powerful influence, not only the land was
later called Romania, but also the Romanian language evolved
from Latin. Roman colonization and intermarriages followed,
and the resultant population was Christianized. In 271 A.D.
the Roman legions withdrew, and 1,000 years of sporadic invasions
ensued.
The 165 years of occupation left as a lasting
legacy the Latin language, which survived the many subsequent
invasions of migratory people. Romania is the only Latin country
in Eastern Europe.A "Latin island in a Slavic sea."
With the exception of Hungary on the northwestern border,
Slavonic countries surround it.
2.2.
Minority Groups in Romania
Late in the 9th century the Magyar tribes
invaded the Hungarian plain from the South Russian steppe.
They came by way of the Carpathian passes, and some of their
number, the Szeklers, were left behind in Transylvania, or
were deliberately settled there after the arrival of the Magyars
in the present area of Hungary in order to protect the new
state from fresh invaders from the East. The Szecklers have
inhabitted their present area in Northern Transylvania at
least since the Middle Ages.They are still a notable minority
group, having retained their language, only slightly modified
from the Hungarian of Hungary itself. The 1992 census reveals
a total of 1,624,959 Magyars living in Romania, (7.1% of the
population).
The second most important national minority
were for a half a century the Germans, descendent from settlers
who came in the 13th century mainly from the Moselle Valley.
They settled in the good farming country of Transylvania,
and have since constituted a compact and distinctive group,
perpetuating the costume, architecture, and folkways which
they brough from Germany. In 1956 the number of this minority
group was officialy put at 384,708. Despite some social and
especially cultural achievements obtained until 1989, the
German population in Romania dropped dramatically. Only a
fourth of them had confidence in the promises made by the
rulling bodies at the end of 1989 and the beginning of 1990,
the rest of this minority group emigrated to Germany and other
western countries. The census of 1992 shows the total number
of Germans living in Romania being 119,462 ( 0.5% of the population).
Another minority group that was somewhat
protected by the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu during
his reign, are the Gypsies. It seems like after the 1989 events,
regardless of their attempts to emigrate in the western countries,
most of them have returned to Romania with the money made
abroad and built castles for themselves and their children.
Many of these Gyspy-Tin-Roof castles with poor architectural
style can be seen along the roads in Romania today, and in
their courtyards expensive luxury cars have taken the place
of their old horse pulled wagons. These fortunate gypsies,
however, make up for a very small percentage of their ethnic
group. Unfortunately, the greater majority of them are still
living bellow poverty level. The cleaned-up, dressed-up, and
sharp looking westernized gypsies, together with the greater
majority that have never left Romania were making up for a
total of 401,087 people in 1992, (1.8% of the population).
Other minority groups are relatively small.
The Yugoslavs (Serbians), numbering 46,517 in 1956, have decreased
following the fall of communism and moved west in Yugoslavia
or other western countries, much like the Germans did. The
1992 census shows a total of 29,408 Serbians living mainly
in the southwest in territory (0.1% of the population). They
live in an area that is ethnically very mixed, with German
and Hungarian communities in addition to the Romanian and
Yugoslav.
Jews lived in Romania in the 15th century,
but the majority came in from Poland and Russia during the
19th century. They usually lived as a class apart from the
rest of the population, and in 1939, a total of 517,754 were
recorded by the census as Yddish speaking. The Jewish population
was greatly reduced by the territorial losses of 1940. The
Jewish community suffered a great loss from war time persecution,
thus in 1947 numbered about 428,300. This number was once
again reduced by immigration to Israel, and in 1956 the Jews
numbered only about 146,000. During the Communism regime,
numerous Jewish families were allowed to leave Romania, but
the cruel part was that money was received in exchange for
each Jew leaving. Following the events of 1989 and the opening
of the borders, the number of Jewish population has dramatically
diminished leaving many synagogues literally empty. The 1992
census shows only 8,955 Jewish people living in Romania.
In the East Romania includes part of the
settlement area of Ukrainians, Russians, Tatars, Turks, and
Bulgarians. Each of these communities is, however, quite small;
the largest, the Ukrainians, Ruthenians and Hutzuls, numbered
in 1992 a total of 65,764 people, (0.3% of the population).
Other minorities living in Romania according
to the 1992 census are as follows: 38,606 Russians (0.2%);
29,832 Turks (0.1%); 24,596 Tatars (0.1%); 19,594 Slovaks
(less than 0.1%); 9,851 Bulgarians (0.05%); 4,085 Croatians;
4,232 Poles; 3,940 Greeks; 1,957 Armenians; others 8,602.
2.3.
The First Romanians in America
Romanians have a recorded presence of over
250 years on American soil. In the middle of the year 1748,
a Transylvanian priest named Samuel Damian immigrated to America
for scientific reasons. Damian conducted various experiments
with electricity and even caught the attention of Benjamin
Franklin (they met and had a conversation in Latin). After
living in South Carolina for a few years, Damian left for
Jamaica and disappeared from historical record. In 1849, a
group of Romanians came to California during the Gold Rush
but, being unsuccessful, migrated to Mexico. Romanians continued
to immigrate to America during this period, and some distinguished
themselves in the Union Army during the Civil War. George
Pomutz (1818-1882) joined the Fifteenth Volunteer Regiment
of Iowa and fought at such battlefields as Shiloh, Corinth,
and Vicksburg and was later promoted to the rank of Brigadier
General. Nicholas Dunca (1825-1862), a captain serving in
the Ninth Volunteer Regiment of New York, died in the battle
of Cross Keyes, Virginia. Another Romanian-born soldier, Constantin
Teodoresco, died in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
2.4.
Significant Immigration Waves
The first major wave of Romanian immigration
to the United States took place between 1895 and 1920, during
which 145,000 Romanians entered the country. They came from
various regions, including Wallachia and Moldavia. The majority
of these immigrants - particularly those from Transylvania
and Banat - were unskilled laborers who left their native
regions because of economic depression and forced assimilation,
a policy practiced by Hungarian rulers. They were attracted
to the economic stability of the United States which promised
better wages and improved working conditions. Many did not
plan to establish permanent residency in America, intending
instead to save enough money to return to Romania and purchase
land. Consequently, tens of thousands of Romanians immigrants
who achieved this goal left the United States within a few
years and by 1920 the Romanian American population was approximately
85,000.
Between 1921 and 1939, the number of Romanians
entering the United States declined for several reasons. Following
World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina, Bassarabia, and other
regions under foreign rule officially became part of Romania,
thus arresting emmigration for a time. In addition, the U.
S. Immigration Act of 1924 established a quota system which
allowed only 603 persons per year to immigrate from Romania.
The great depression added to the decline of new Romanian
immigrants to the United States; immigration figures reached
their lowest level at the beginning of World War II. Romanians
who did enter the country during this period, however, included
students, professionals, and others who later made notable
contributions to American society. A new surge of immigrants
to the United States was generated by the threat of Nazi occupation
of Romania during World War II. When the Communists assumed
control of the country in 1947, they imposed many political,
economic, and social restrictions on the Romanian people.
Refugees (who had left the country as a result of persecutions,
arrests, or fear of being mistreated) and exiles (who were
already abroad and chose not to return to Romania) were admitted
into the United States through the auspices of the Displaced
Persons Act of 1947 and other legislation passed to help absorb
the flood of refugees and other immigrants from postwar Europe.
Because of the abrupt and dramatic nature of their departure,
the refugees and exiles (estimated at about 30,000) received
special moral and financial support from various Romanian
organizations - religious and secular - in America. These
immigrants infused an important contingent of professionals,
including doctors, lawyers, writers, and engineers into theRomanian
American community and were also more active politically.
They established new organizations and churches and fought
against Communist rule in their homeland.
After the revolution of December 1989, which
brought an end to Communism in Romania, thousands of new immigrants
of all ages came to the United States; and new arrivals (legal
and illegal) continue to enter the country. The elimination
of Communist travel restrictions, the desire of thousands
of people to be reunited with their American relatives and
friends, and the precarious economic conditions in the new
Romania were powerful incentives to come to America for a
new start in life. Among the newcomers were professionals,
former political prisoners, and others who were disenchanted
with the new leadership in Romania. There were also many Romanian
tourists who decided to remain in America. Many of these immigrants
spoke English and adjusted relatively well, even if they took
lower paying jobs than those to which their credentials or
experience entitled them. However, others found neither employment
nor understood the job hunting process, and returned to Romania.
Still others left the United States to try their luck in Canada
or South America. Those who chose to return to Europe settled
in Germany, France, or Italy. According to the 1990 U. S.
Census, there were approximately 365,544 people of Romanian
ancestry living in the United States.
Because early Romanian immigrants were either
peasants or laborers, they settled in the major industrial
centers of the East and Midwest and took unskilled jobs in
factories. The heaviest concentrations of Romanian Americans
can be found in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. A substantial number of Romanians
also settled in Florida and California. Living near the factories
where they worked, first-generation Romanian Americans established
communities which often consisted of extended families or
of those who had migrated from the same region in Romania.
Second and third generation Romanian Americans, having achieved
financial security and social status, gradually moved out
of the old neighborhoods, settling either in suburban areas
or in larger cities, or relocating to another state. Consequently,
there are few Romanian American communities left that preserve
the social fabric of the first-generation neighborhoods.
2.5.
Romanians from the Republic of Moldova
While most Romanian Americans immigrated
from Romania, a significant number also arrived from countries
adjacent to or bordering Romania. The Republic of Moldova,
known as Basarabia before World War II, is in fact a second
Romanian country. Sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine,
it occupies an area of 13,010 square miles (33,700 square
kilometers). Its capital is Chisinãu (pronounced Keesheenau).
The population of 4.5 million consists of 65% Romanians, 14%
Ukrainians, 13% Russians, 4% Gagauz (Turks of Christian faith),
and 2% Bulgarians. There are also smaller groups of Poles,
Belarusans Germans, and Gypsies. While 98% of the population
are Eastern Orthodox believers, some Moldavians are Protestant
and Jewish. The Official language of Moldova is Moldovan (a
dialect of Romanian), and the second language is Russian.
The country’s flag is the same as Romania’s: red,
yellow, and blue vertical stripes, with the emblem of Moldova's
coat of arms added in the center.
During the Middle Ages, Basarabia was an
integral part of the Romanian principality of Moldavia; but
it later became a tributary to the Ottoman Empire. In 1812,
following the Russian-Turkish War (1806-1812), Basarabia was
annexed by Tsarist Russia until the 1917 October Revolution.
In 1918, as a result of the Romanian population majority vote,
Basarabia was reunited with Romania; but in 1940, the Soviet
Union, in a pact with Nazi Germany, gained control of the
land. During 1941-1944, Romania recaptured the territory but
lost it one more time at the conclusion of World War II, when
the Soviet Union incorporated Basarabia under the name of
the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. After the fall of
Communism, in 1991, the country became independent and took
the name of the Republic of Moldova. It underwent various
changes (free elections, a multi-party system of government,
and economic reforms) before reaching an understanding in
1996 with separatist movements in two regions, Dnestr and
Gagauzia. There was also a movement for reunification with
Romania, but the majority of the population opted for independence.
Immigrants from Moldova who came to America
before World War II, as well as those who arrived later (about
5,000 in the 1990s), consider themselves members of the Romanian
American community, using the same language, worshiping in
the same Eastern Orthodox or Protestant churches, and preserving
the same heritage. They are also fully integrated in Romanian
American organizations and support the reunification of their
land of origin with Romania.
2.6.
Macedo-Romanians from Balcanic Countries
Macedo-Romanians, also called Aromanians
or Vlachs, live mostly in Albania, but also in Greece and
Macedonia. In addition, they have lived in Yugoslavia and
Bulgaria for over 2,000 years. Their history goes back to
the First and Second Centuries A.D., when the Roman Empire
included the territories of today’s Romania and neighboring
Balcanic countries. It is estimated that there are about 600,000
to 700,000 Macedo-Romanians in the above mentioned countries.
They know the Romanian language, but they also use their own
dialect consisting of many archaisms, characteristic regional
expressions and foreign influences. Macedo-Romanians consider
themselves Romanian, and belong to the same Eastern Orthodox
Church. In the United States, there are about 5,000 Macedo-Romanians,
settled mostly in the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode
Island, New Jersey and Missouri. The first wave of immigration
took place at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, while
a second wave was recorded after World War II, and family
reunifications continue to this day.
Macedo-Romanians are characterized by their
hard work, the high esteem in which they keep their families,
and the value they place on education. They adjusted well
to American life and preserved their cultural heritage via
their own organizations. Although the younger generation of
Macedo-Romanians are proud of their heritage, they display
strong trends of assimilation and tend to use English more
than the language of their ancestors.
2.7.
Romania's National Minority Immigrants in U. S.
Romanian national minority groups of various
ethnic backrounds immigrated to the United States along with
the bulk of Romanian ethnics, and many still use or know the
Romanian language. Such ethnic groups to be considered are:
Armenians, Germans, Gypsies, Hungarians, Jews, Russians and
Ukrainians who came from Romania during the 20th century.
2.8.
Armenians
There are about 20,000-25,000 Armenian Americans
who immigrated from Romania especially after World War II
because many were former businessmen, industrialists, and
professionals and whole families had been deprived of their
economic positions and suffered other represions by Romania's
Communist regime. The majority settled in New York, California,
Massachusetts, and Michigan.
2.9.
Germans
The Germans who immigrated from Romania consist
of two main groups: Swabians from Banat, Transylvania and
Bukovina, and Saxons mainly from Transylvania. Swabians started
coming to America in the 18th century. Thier immigration continued
in the 19th century. They were joined by an influx of Saxons
at the turn of the century and in the next two decades. Many
immigrants were farmers, craftsmen, manual workers, and settled
mostly in Mid-western states. Thousands of new immigrants
arrived after World War II. Presently, the total Romanian-German
population in the United States and Canada is estimated at
about 50,000-60,000 people.
2.10.
Gypsies (Romas)
Gypsies who came from Romania consist of
three groups: Kalderash, Ludars (Lautari in Romanian), and
Romungre (descending from Transylvania). Their immigration
started at the turn of the century and continued in the next
two decades. A new influx was recorded after World War II.
They settled mostly in New York, California, Maryland, Texas,
Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey and Florida. The majority
are musicians, fortune tellers, horse traders, vehicle dealers,
construction workers, tinkers, and metal workers, and many
are still travelers. Their total population is estimated at
about 10,000-15,000 people.
2.11.
Hungarians
The Hungarians from Transylvania immigrated
to America at the turn of the century. The influx continued
in the next two decades and was slightly resumed after World
War II. They mostly settled in New York, New Jersey, Ohio,
Chicago and Florida. Presently, the population is estimated
at about 15,000-20,000.
2.12.
Jews
Romanian Jews started arriving in America
in the first half of the 19th century. Mass migration increased
in the 1880s and at the turn of the century, because of discriminatory
legislation. By the 1930s, over 130,000 Romanian Jews were
in the United States. The flow of the immigration resumed
after World War II, with the arrival of thousands of victims
of the Holocaust or refugees fleeing the Communist regime
in Romania. Some came via Israel. Presently, there are about
200,000-225,000 Romanian Jews in both America and Canada,
mostly living in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami,
Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
2.13.
Russians
Along with the previous minority ethnics
from Romania, came also Russian immigrants from the
region of Dobrogea, adjacent to the Black Sea.
Ukrainians/Bukovinians Ukrainians immigrated
to the United States mostly from the region of Bukovina, integral
part of Romania before World War II, but presently divided
between the Northern Bukovina under Ukrainian control, and
Southern Bukovina under Romanian rule. It is estimated that
the Ukrainian Americans from Bukovina number about 10,000.
Their ancestors came at the turn of the century for economic
reasons, but several thousands came after World War II via
Germany and Austria as displaced persons. They settled in
New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, and Illinois.
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