By Andrea Niederfriniger
Ion Rafira, 37, moved from Romania to Salzburg 15 years ago. He has no permanent residence and sells Austrian street paperApropos to support himself.
He describes himself as a reserved person and he is nervous for his first interview, but also excited that someone is interested in his story. Apart from his social workers at Caritas, he has never spoken to anyone about his life.
He reminisces about a happy childhood; he had everything he could have wanted. But his educated was limited, and he cannot read or write, even in Romanian. He understands German to an extent but struggles to speak it.
Ion’s father was the head of the family: “He had a good job and earned good money,” he says. “But then he died suddenly and everything changed, a lot of it for the worse.” His abrupt pause after this sentence invites no further questions. Today, his brother and sister still live in Romania, but he gives the impression that he is not welcome there.
This article first appeared in Apropos, a magazine sold on the streets of Salzburg, Austria, by people who have limited other ways of earning an income.