Singer-songwriter Andrei Paunescu told AGERPRES that a motto for the Colectiv Memorial could be “Let us never forget about those sadder than us,” a line from his late father Adrian Paunescu’s poetry “Never,” and that the lesson after this tragedy is “let us not forget in an active manner, and let us put aside defeatism for literature only.”
AGERPRES: What do you think about the creation of a Colectiv Memorial, as a symbol against forgetting?
Andrei Paunescu: The Colectiv Memorial is welcome for two very important reasons: a) it is dedicated to those who suffered and died in the horrible tragedy of 2015 and b) it will forever remind Romanians that forgetting and apathy are two of our biggest sins. For the artistic side of the monument, I recommend you contact the architect of the Sighet Memorial Radu Mihailescu of Timisoara, the achiever of a masterpiece at Sighetu Marmatiei.
AGERPRES: How do you envision this Colectiv Memorial? Should it be built at the site of the tragedy or elsewhere?
Andrei Paunescu: Simplicity is what should characterise the memorial. If the venue is not the same as the tragedy scene, because it is very crammed, it will be important for the memorial not to be located somewhere at the peripheries, but in a busy place also accessible to pedestrians, not hidden in a park just to tick off doing it but lacking an always fresh public impact.
AGERPRES: Given the situation of the space where Colectiv Club operated, who and to what extent should handle the design and building of a Colectiv Memorial, including finding the necessary financial resources: the Romanian state or the NGOs?
Andrei Paunescu: This will be everybody’s memorial, so both public and private contributions should be welcome. The problem is if the Government manages the fund raising it will take forever to complete and also thefts will be heavy. If an NGO does it, there is a danger of the aim of the memorial being high-jacked under the influence of the project financiers. If there is double management, everybody will be responsible.
AGERPRES: What motto do you think should define this Memorial?
Andrei Paunescu: “Cat om ma socot, duc pe frunte toti spinii / Si crucea mi-o port, ca si cand as zbura, / Caci omul e om cat mai are opinii, / Aceasta-i opinia mea” (Adrian Paunescu, “Opinia mea” (My Opinion), 1979) (As long as I say I am human, I carry the thorns on my head/ My cross I also carry as if that were my fly/ Because humans are humans while they still have their opinions/And that is what I proclaim). Or again from Adrian Paunescu: “Let us never forget about those sadder than us ” or “Nimeni nu e singur pe pamant, / Cineva in grija lui il are, / Nici cei singuri singuri nu mai sunt, / Daca are umbra fiecare” (Nobody is lonely walking the Earth/ As somebody cares for them/ The loneliest loners they are no more/ As long as their shadows still show).
AGERPRES: What do you think should be the most important lesson for those who visit the Colectiv Memorial?
Andrei Paunescu: It is already noticeable that we have learned almost nothing from this tragedy. Forgetting is taking root, apathy rekindles and numbness is gripping the collective conscience of the majority. That is why the lesson would be: let us not forget in an active manner, and let us put aside defeatism for literature only. More…