observer
07-15-2008, 04:13 PM
small, pretty girl wearing a pink hair-band sits before me, cuddling her mother tightly. Florina Vranceanu is 4ft 8in tall, has a disarmingly cheeky smile and looks younger than her 11 years.
It is impossible to match this delightful little girl to the horrific tale that led to her journey from a rural corner of Romania to King's College Hospital in London last week to terminate her 21-week pregnancy.
Florina was just ten when she was raped by her mother's brother. The little girl had gone to stay with her grandmother and awoke to find her uncle on top of her. He threatened to beat her if she told anyone and, terrified, she remained silent.
Journey to salvation: 11-year-old Florina Vranceanu and her mother Lacramioara can now make a fresh start
She has none of the worldliness of some girls of her age and had no idea she might be pregnant. So the shocking news was discovered only in its 17th week when she complained of stomach pains and underwent a scan.
It was a devastating blow to this staunchly religious family. Her 26-year-old mother, Lacramioara, recalls: 'The shock was so bad I could barely stand, but I managed to stagger to a bench outside the doctor's office and sit down. Once I could think straight I asked my daughter what happened. To be told that my child had been raped by my own brother was devastating.'
She knew immediately that she wanted Florina to have a termination. 'How could she have this baby, in these circumstances? We are not the sort of family who could give away a child, so we would have had to raise it ourselves. Can you imagine the pain that would have given us?'
So she and her daughter set off on the harrowing journey that would lead them to King's College Hospital. Initially refused a termination in Romania because abortions are not permitted there after 14 weeks, Florina's mother realised her daughter faced the horrifying prospect of giving birth to a baby conceived by that most taboo of crimes, incestuous rape.
Then the story started spreading and, after it appeared in the Press, Roxana Popescu, a Romanian translator married to a British sound engineer read of her plight and vowed to help. She traced Florina's family and offered to fly the girl and her mother to Britain to have a termination here, where the upper limit for abortion is 24 weeks. The operation took place last Friday.
But for all the relief that brought them, the past couple of weeks have been agonising for Florina and her devoted mother. 'Thank God it's over,' says Lacramioara. 'I am so, so relieved. Before the operation, I hugged Florina and kissed her and told her that none of this was her fault and that everything was going to be all right.
'For me, it was clear right away that she could not have this baby and Florina felt that way, too. As time went on, she became more terrified. But since the operation, it has been wonderful to see her slowly become more like the girl she used to be.'
Florina nods and shyly says she's happy it's all over. But although she smiles and her face lights up when she sees the pink dress we have brought her as a gift, for much of our interview she is heartbreakingly curled up by her mother, her face buried on her lap.
'Obviously I am very fearful about the psychological impact this will have on her,' says Lacramioara. 'But we must be positive and do whatever we can to ensure she has a happy future.'
While in London, Roxana has been showing Florina and her mother the sights to take their mind off things. There have been trips to Hamleys and Madame Tussauds and walks in Regent's Park. 'I think it is all very surreal for Florina,' says Roxana.
No one is under any illusions that it's all over. A few days after the operation, Florina was disconcerted and confused when her breasts began lactating.
Florina's mother is painfully aware that there will now be a stigma attached to the little girl and there is a very real possibility that no one will want to marry her back in Romania.
Nothing will be the same again. When Florina and her mother fly back to Romania today, they know people will stare. The family, who belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church and follow a strict moral code, are poor - food is cooked on a log fire and water is collected from an outdoor pump.
Florina, her nine-year-old sister, Anca, her mother and 33-year-old father, Florin, live in a two-bed wooden property in the village of Piatra Soimului in eastern Romania.
Florina's father is a forester and, until five months ago, the family led a peaceful and happy life. But everything changed that fateful day when Florina paid a visit to her grandmother, who lives nearby. Florina's 19-year-old uncle, Adrian Fasola, still lives at the house with his mother and was there when she visited.
That day, Florina had told her mother she fell asleep on the sofa, with her grandmother next to her and her uncle on a chair. She awoke some time later to find her grandmother gone and her uncle next to her.
'She told me he grabbed hold of her, took off her clothes and put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming,' says Lacramioara.
'Then he raped her. Afterwards, he told her that if she told anyone what had happened he would beat her and so would I and her father. She was terrified into staying quiet.'
Florina was denied an abortion under Romanian law
After the attack, Florina went home and told nobody. A week or so later, she went to her grandmother's house again. Afraid of encountering her uncle alone, she went only after being reassured by a friend that her grandmother was definitely there.
But when she arrived, there was no sign of her grandmother. When she knocked on the door, her uncle opened it and pulled her inside. Then he raped her again and repeated his threat for her to keep quiet.
Florina, her mother says, knew her uncle had 'done something bad to her', but she had no sex education and was too scared to say anything.
The weeks went by. Florina put on weight, but looked a little chubby rather than pregnant. Then, however, she began to get stomach pains. Two years beforehand she had had her appendix removed.
Concerned that there might be complications relating to this, her mother took her to the doctor and was referred to a hospital for an ultrasound scan. It was there, on June 2, that a doctor told Florina's horrified mother that her ten-year-old daughter was 17 weeks pregnant.
'I said to him: "Doctor, you are mad, this is a ten-year-old child," and he replied: "Woman, do not call me mad, your daughter is pregnant."
'When Florina finally told me what had happened, words cannot do justice to how I feel about my brother. The shock was all the worse because he has always been so good to Florina; he doesn't drink or smoke, he is not someone you think of as trouble.
'All I can say is that if I had seen him after I found out, he would not be alive today. He is not my brother any more.' But Lacramioara was not able to confront her brother. After speaking to her daughter, she told the police what Florina had said, and where they could find her brother at work in the forest.
He was arrested and bailed, disappearing as soon as he was released. (He was finally tracked down on Monday at a carpentry workshop 130 kilometres from the village.)
Lacramioara was shocked to be told the law prevented Florina, who turned 11 on June 7, from having a termination. In desperation, she insisted her daughter be admitted to hospital, believing that once in the care of doctors a termination would take place. She was wrong and her daughter was discharged, still pregnant, after a week.
At this point details of Florina's plight were leaked to journalists - by whom, her mother does not know. A press conference was called by government health officials. There, says Roxana, the translator who has befriended them, Florina's name was revealed without her permission and subsequently published.
'They are a simple family who did not realise their right to privacy,' she says. 'They have been badly treated.'
Doctors and government officials met to discuss the case. There was much handwringing but no action.
Pro-lifers and church groups had their say, telling Florina's parents their daughter should have the child. Others spoke of their abhorrence that a child of ten who had been raped by her uncle was being pressured to have this baby. Florina's mother was deeply distressed when one doctor told her that Florina's life would be endangered if she was forced to carry the baby to full term because she was so small.
In London, 46-year-old Roxana read the story and was horrified. The vote by British MPs in May to retain the 24-week upper limit was fresh in her mind and she felt she must act.
British pro-choice groups are holding up Florina's case as an example of why the 24-week limit must stay as it is, although there is little doubt that Florina's circumstances are profoundly different to those of many teenage girls who seem to use abortion as a form of contraceptive after casual encounters.
Roxana, who has a 17-year-old daughter, tracked down the family through a Romanian journalist.
'I was appalled that Florina was being put through this,' she says. 'Knowing that she could be helped in Britain, I had to act.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1034497/The-11-year-old-Romanian-schoolgirl-raped-uncle-tells-moving-story-abortion.html
It is impossible to match this delightful little girl to the horrific tale that led to her journey from a rural corner of Romania to King's College Hospital in London last week to terminate her 21-week pregnancy.
Florina was just ten when she was raped by her mother's brother. The little girl had gone to stay with her grandmother and awoke to find her uncle on top of her. He threatened to beat her if she told anyone and, terrified, she remained silent.
Journey to salvation: 11-year-old Florina Vranceanu and her mother Lacramioara can now make a fresh start
She has none of the worldliness of some girls of her age and had no idea she might be pregnant. So the shocking news was discovered only in its 17th week when she complained of stomach pains and underwent a scan.
It was a devastating blow to this staunchly religious family. Her 26-year-old mother, Lacramioara, recalls: 'The shock was so bad I could barely stand, but I managed to stagger to a bench outside the doctor's office and sit down. Once I could think straight I asked my daughter what happened. To be told that my child had been raped by my own brother was devastating.'
She knew immediately that she wanted Florina to have a termination. 'How could she have this baby, in these circumstances? We are not the sort of family who could give away a child, so we would have had to raise it ourselves. Can you imagine the pain that would have given us?'
So she and her daughter set off on the harrowing journey that would lead them to King's College Hospital. Initially refused a termination in Romania because abortions are not permitted there after 14 weeks, Florina's mother realised her daughter faced the horrifying prospect of giving birth to a baby conceived by that most taboo of crimes, incestuous rape.
Then the story started spreading and, after it appeared in the Press, Roxana Popescu, a Romanian translator married to a British sound engineer read of her plight and vowed to help. She traced Florina's family and offered to fly the girl and her mother to Britain to have a termination here, where the upper limit for abortion is 24 weeks. The operation took place last Friday.
But for all the relief that brought them, the past couple of weeks have been agonising for Florina and her devoted mother. 'Thank God it's over,' says Lacramioara. 'I am so, so relieved. Before the operation, I hugged Florina and kissed her and told her that none of this was her fault and that everything was going to be all right.
'For me, it was clear right away that she could not have this baby and Florina felt that way, too. As time went on, she became more terrified. But since the operation, it has been wonderful to see her slowly become more like the girl she used to be.'
Florina nods and shyly says she's happy it's all over. But although she smiles and her face lights up when she sees the pink dress we have brought her as a gift, for much of our interview she is heartbreakingly curled up by her mother, her face buried on her lap.
'Obviously I am very fearful about the psychological impact this will have on her,' says Lacramioara. 'But we must be positive and do whatever we can to ensure she has a happy future.'
While in London, Roxana has been showing Florina and her mother the sights to take their mind off things. There have been trips to Hamleys and Madame Tussauds and walks in Regent's Park. 'I think it is all very surreal for Florina,' says Roxana.
No one is under any illusions that it's all over. A few days after the operation, Florina was disconcerted and confused when her breasts began lactating.
Florina's mother is painfully aware that there will now be a stigma attached to the little girl and there is a very real possibility that no one will want to marry her back in Romania.
Nothing will be the same again. When Florina and her mother fly back to Romania today, they know people will stare. The family, who belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church and follow a strict moral code, are poor - food is cooked on a log fire and water is collected from an outdoor pump.
Florina, her nine-year-old sister, Anca, her mother and 33-year-old father, Florin, live in a two-bed wooden property in the village of Piatra Soimului in eastern Romania.
Florina's father is a forester and, until five months ago, the family led a peaceful and happy life. But everything changed that fateful day when Florina paid a visit to her grandmother, who lives nearby. Florina's 19-year-old uncle, Adrian Fasola, still lives at the house with his mother and was there when she visited.
That day, Florina had told her mother she fell asleep on the sofa, with her grandmother next to her and her uncle on a chair. She awoke some time later to find her grandmother gone and her uncle next to her.
'She told me he grabbed hold of her, took off her clothes and put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming,' says Lacramioara.
'Then he raped her. Afterwards, he told her that if she told anyone what had happened he would beat her and so would I and her father. She was terrified into staying quiet.'
Florina was denied an abortion under Romanian law
After the attack, Florina went home and told nobody. A week or so later, she went to her grandmother's house again. Afraid of encountering her uncle alone, she went only after being reassured by a friend that her grandmother was definitely there.
But when she arrived, there was no sign of her grandmother. When she knocked on the door, her uncle opened it and pulled her inside. Then he raped her again and repeated his threat for her to keep quiet.
Florina, her mother says, knew her uncle had 'done something bad to her', but she had no sex education and was too scared to say anything.
The weeks went by. Florina put on weight, but looked a little chubby rather than pregnant. Then, however, she began to get stomach pains. Two years beforehand she had had her appendix removed.
Concerned that there might be complications relating to this, her mother took her to the doctor and was referred to a hospital for an ultrasound scan. It was there, on June 2, that a doctor told Florina's horrified mother that her ten-year-old daughter was 17 weeks pregnant.
'I said to him: "Doctor, you are mad, this is a ten-year-old child," and he replied: "Woman, do not call me mad, your daughter is pregnant."
'When Florina finally told me what had happened, words cannot do justice to how I feel about my brother. The shock was all the worse because he has always been so good to Florina; he doesn't drink or smoke, he is not someone you think of as trouble.
'All I can say is that if I had seen him after I found out, he would not be alive today. He is not my brother any more.' But Lacramioara was not able to confront her brother. After speaking to her daughter, she told the police what Florina had said, and where they could find her brother at work in the forest.
He was arrested and bailed, disappearing as soon as he was released. (He was finally tracked down on Monday at a carpentry workshop 130 kilometres from the village.)
Lacramioara was shocked to be told the law prevented Florina, who turned 11 on June 7, from having a termination. In desperation, she insisted her daughter be admitted to hospital, believing that once in the care of doctors a termination would take place. She was wrong and her daughter was discharged, still pregnant, after a week.
At this point details of Florina's plight were leaked to journalists - by whom, her mother does not know. A press conference was called by government health officials. There, says Roxana, the translator who has befriended them, Florina's name was revealed without her permission and subsequently published.
'They are a simple family who did not realise their right to privacy,' she says. 'They have been badly treated.'
Doctors and government officials met to discuss the case. There was much handwringing but no action.
Pro-lifers and church groups had their say, telling Florina's parents their daughter should have the child. Others spoke of their abhorrence that a child of ten who had been raped by her uncle was being pressured to have this baby. Florina's mother was deeply distressed when one doctor told her that Florina's life would be endangered if she was forced to carry the baby to full term because she was so small.
In London, 46-year-old Roxana read the story and was horrified. The vote by British MPs in May to retain the 24-week upper limit was fresh in her mind and she felt she must act.
British pro-choice groups are holding up Florina's case as an example of why the 24-week limit must stay as it is, although there is little doubt that Florina's circumstances are profoundly different to those of many teenage girls who seem to use abortion as a form of contraceptive after casual encounters.
Roxana, who has a 17-year-old daughter, tracked down the family through a Romanian journalist.
'I was appalled that Florina was being put through this,' she says. 'Knowing that she could be helped in Britain, I had to act.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1034497/The-11-year-old-Romanian-schoolgirl-raped-uncle-tells-moving-story-abortion.html