Nicolae Lițoiu

"Yes, one of the things they found great pleasure in: to check you after washing. They would take us to the shower once a week. Well, your pores open up when you wash, right? Just imagine. Hot water. They wouldn't let us combine it with cold water. So the shower was as short as possible. After that they would let cold water run. So it was a contrast. One prison mate, Victor Totu, fell in the bathroom because of this contrast and the lack of food. His heart started beating fast and he fell down. R: He felt sick. I: We helped him out of the bathroom. They also had checks. Every now and then.... Every month or one month and a half, we would take our mattresses and everything else we had out of the cell. On the hallway. We would lie facing the ground, not on the mattress, but directly on the cement floor. They would take us to the showers. And then, warmed up as we were, they would force us to lie on the cement floor. They would hold us like that until you felt sick, there on the cement floor. It's a miracle from God that I didn't get sick. I suffer from rheumatism, but nothing more serious than that, I don't have lung problems or something else."

"I: So I was taken to Rahovei transit camp, here, next to Bucharest. I was held there until November 1982. On November 17, 1982, I was boarded on a coach - destination: Aiud. They tied me in so-called gypsy chains. You placed your foot on an anvil and they would fasten it, so with the foot in the shackles, they would rivet the shackles. Others had shackles with a safety-lock, so they used a key to lock them. They riveted mine so I would remember. You can imagine, no matter how relaxed your foot was, being barefoot, you could feel those strikes and the whole vibration running through your body. It was horrible. R: How long did it take to get to Aiud? I: To Aiud? We left from Basarab station at about 10 A.M. and arrived in the night, at about 11-12 P.M. They took us on a regional train. And until they made all the necessary maneuvers to get it out, they held us for several hours. It was enough. Just think about it, we had to jump out of the train with both feet at once. Railway stations and trains are more civilized nowadays. But back then, you had to jump over two feet (60-70 cm) from the last step to the platform. And you also had to take your bag, then jump. Most of us fell to the ground. They hit us with clubs so we would get up. They immediately got us in a van. They drove us in the night to Aiud prison and placed us in a special room, along with common criminals."