Zanoaga (work in progress)

Like many other Romanians, people from the village of Zanoaga, just north of Bucharest, started moving abroad when Ceausescu's rule came to an end. When Romania joined the EU, the departures increased. Most of the remaining residents of the village are older people living off pensions, social benefits or remittances from relatives abroad. The exodus reflects a phenomenon that has deeply altered  Zanoaga and countless other Romanian villages: People leave the country for better paid work in Western Europe and only come back for weddings, christenings and funerals, or not at all.