One-hundred kilometers to the East of Bucharest on the River Donau lies the village of Stancea. It is there that the river forms the border between Romania and Bulgaria. In the final week of April 2006, the meltwater and the excessive rain cause the water from the river to rise. After two days, the whole village is underwater and the populace flee with their possessions to the hill nearby. The army and the Red Cross set up camp on the hill where hundreds of people spend the night. At first the camp gets many journalist visitors, and even a politician and an ambassador pay Stancea a visit. Money is promised to rebuild the village and to reinforce the dikes to protect the village in the future. The water is going down so slowly that the camp has to stay for months. The flood has left many of the traditional homes of straw and loam uninhabitable.
Two years later...
Two years after the water has gone down, the electricity network is replaced and new roads are laid down. Most of the distressed families are given materials and rebuild their homes on their own. The corrupted government in Stancea does not manage these materials well and as a result, not everybody gets their fair share. Some people even sell their materials to buy alcohol and cigarettes. The mayor has lots of plans for how to protect the village from future floods, but no money.
