Sighet Romania is Elie Wiesel’s 1928 birthplace with around 40,000 people. And it is very close to the Ukrainian border, which is how I found this blog. I was searching for "Ukraine adopted".

It doesn't directly link to Ukrainian adoption. But it was amusing to read. It is written by a Canadian named Matt who studies at Oxford.

Read this blog, to see how Matt accidentally became a Jew and couldn't find a polite way out.

Feeling the pressure, I started concocting a lie about how I was adopted as a child and never learned 'my true identity as a Jew' until only a year earlier. Thankfully this lie was never put into pratice and remained buried deep within my guilt-ridden conscience.

From: Maramures

He also walked from Sighet, Romania to Ukraine. The Ukrainian border guards were befuddled and suspicious of Matt. It was uncommon for English speakers to cross the Ukrainian border on foot.

He has some other interesting posts.... like what happened to Tito's Mausoleum.

Another interesting blog..

I fear that the mere mention of the family's Romani origins at the end of the article will be enough to solidify common perceptions of the Roma as violent.

Then again, would it have been ethnically insensitive to simply refer to them as Hungarians? Moreover...should we commend the paper for using Roma instead of Gypsy?

And Matt has read The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade. I have been thinking about reading it. I found about it a few weeks ago.

While the book is full of flaws (that I might address later), the biggest problem is the way it presents Eastern Europe. Although he comments on how severe unemployment/inflation/corruption play into this, too much of his argument relies on the fact that this is a "barbaric part of the world". Presenting East Europeans as morally bankrupt and backwards people does not actually tell us anything about why "Natashas" are such a widespread phenomena.

From: What an utter disappointment...

The image above is the Red Army Cemetery in Sighet Romania.