Cighid

Cighid is probably the most infamous children's home in Romania. It won notoriety in March 1990 shortly after the fall of the Ceauşescu-Regime.

Background information

In 1966, the regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu decreed a ban on contraception and abortion with the aim of increasing Romania's population. At the age of three years the children were medically examined. Disabled and orphaned children were in huge numbers brought into homes like Cighid or psychiatric hospitals, where they lived under inhumane conditions.^{[citation needed]} Many children died within a few weeks because of hunger, frostbite or diseases.^{[citation needed]}

The children's home Cighid, near the Hungarian border, was discovered in spring 1990 by western reporters. The pictures of sick and malnourished children were published in many newspapers and were shown on many TV stations around the world. Observers described the sight of Cighid with terms like "Child Gulags" or "the Romanian Euthanasia Program".

Charities from America and Western Europe contributed massively to an aid programme which saw Cighid improved. Many of the children being held at Cighid were adopted by Western European families.

See also

• Duplessis Orphans
• Nicolae Ceauşescu

External links

• Life in Ceausescu's institutions (BBC news)

Coordinates: 46°43′08″N 21°39′13″E / 46.71889°N 21.65361°E / 46.71889; 21.65361