THE PLANET IN WAITING FOR THE LAST MESSAGE

IN THE SECRET POLICE DUNGEONS

Arrested three days with hard labor, the detainees were obliged to carry piles of wood, stacking them at the opposite end of the yard. After finishing the quota, the wood had to be taken back to where it had come from, stacking it in perfect order. All that was important for man was work which had become “a question of honour” for every citizen. The zeal of the sub-officer who treated these detainees harshly, was stimulated by a slogan that was hung on one of the walls of the building: “We will promote anyone who is devoted to the people‟s cause to a higher rank.” Could the torture of innocent people be really considered a motivation for promotion to a higher rank for those who committed it? And was this was falsely considered as devotion to the people‟s cause? It was later proved that is was so when the state authorities themselves were forced to admit that such abuse and mistakes had been committed during the height of the Stalinist era.

After three days of exhausting labor, a representative of the Gendarme Legion arrived at the post. This superior ranked officer came by carriage. After receiving the sub-officer‟s report, he decided to transport the detainees to the Legion‟s headquarters in Blaj, where another quota of work was fixed: to wash the floors of the entire building with diesel. That evening, the chief of the Legion, on analysing the records of the detainees, decided that the situation wasn‟t in the competence of the Gendarme, but that of the security police. After several phone calls, the detainees were escorted to the security police. It so happened that the security police chief and his deputy were of Hungarian origin. There are many Hungarians with noble souls, just as there are also knaves in every race. These people were, however, unusually cruel. Brought to the gate of the Security police in Blaj, the detainees were received by the duty officer with great interest. After he‟d taken their records from the Gendarme‟s post, the police assistant decided to interrogate them again, talking with each detainee, calling them into the interview room. The position in which the detainee had to stay depended on what he considered to be necessary. Some of them he forced to kneel in front of him, others in another position, as he saw fit. The assistant was a burly man, with a harsh face that gave you the horrors in its ferocity. He hadn‟t made any decision about the detainees because his chief was in the city “hunting” Greek-Catholics, whose activities he had been following daily. As a preventative measure, he had ordered that the men be locked up and the girls put in a different, isolated room. There was also a young 14 year old girl among them who‟d come to the Church from another locality with her brother. Ionel was also among the men locked up, they were lead to a dungeon in the building, where they had the cells. The interior walls were still not plastered, and above the dungeon were the filthy toilets that had faulty plumbing which caused the walls of the dungeon to be soaked with dampness, having an unbearable smell. The dimensions of the cell were so small that the detainees were obliged to permanently stay in the vertical position, which was very tiring. At midnight the sound of vehicles was heard. The Security police chief had finished his “quota”, and had returned triumphant. Having been given the report on the detainees, he decided to amuse himself further. It was probable that his duties of that day hadn‟t used up all his energy. “Bring the repenters out!”

The guard undid the bolts that were on the outside and called the detainees to present themselves before thechief. Only the men had been called. In the corner of the Security police‟ building there was a water tank that was least 3 metesdeep and in which rain water from the roof of the building was collected using a system of specially designed pipes. The tank was covered by a cement cover in which there was an opening of about a square meter, this being covered by a metal lid. There were two and half meters of water in the tank. On raising the upper lid the water could be reached. Because it hadn‟t rained for a long time, the water in the tank was no longer being used or refreshed, and had become filled with all sorts of filth and worms that moved about, producing an unbearable smell. The lid was 30 cm above the ground. The Security police chief and his deputy climbed onto the platform and awaited their victims. The group was made up of the following Christians: brother Georgescu - the Brethren missionary from Bucharest, brother Ion - the Pentecostal elder, brother Simeon - the Brethren elder, young Ionel together with the other young lads among whom was also Ghell, who has some broken ribs from the interrogation at the Gendarme‟s post. When the detainees arrived, the chief gave the following order: “On your knees!” The detainees knelt before the “chiefs”. “Pray!” the vicious order was repeated.