The documentary, Hand Held, directed by Don Hahn presents the story of photojournalist Michael Carroll, who came to Romania in 1990 and discovered the HIV-infected orphans in Romania. Don Hahn is a two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker from the US. The Hand Held documentary was shot in Boston, Bucharest and Bistrita for nearly two years. Mike Carroll was one of the first photographers to travel to Romania after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. His photographs and stories of the pediatric AIDS epidemic in Romania ran in the Boston Globe and New York Times and opened the eyes of the western world to the plight of the Romanian children. For his article in the Boston Globe, Carroll got a Pulitzer prize nomination. Carroll came to Romania after hooking up with a group, including members of the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, that was looking into the plight of Romanian orphans and the nation’s pediatric AIDS epidemic. His photographs opened the eyes of the world and helped create Romanian Children’s Relief, a Southboro charity, with Carroll president, working to support Romanian children and families in need and prevent child abandonment in partnership with its Romanian partner Fundatia Inocenti.
Rep: Romanian Children’s Relief (RCR) has been working in Romania since 1990. Please tell our readers how did you fall in love with Romania and when did you have the feeling that everything you’ve done there will be rewarded one day?
Mike Carroll: My first trip to Romania was an eye opening experience. I was shocked to see a country so ravaged by years of neglect. The infrastructure was in a state of disrepair and the people were like shades on the street, afraid to look at you as you passed by them. It was winter and the grayness of the season seemed to have passed into the souls of the people.
As part of my assignment I photographed the funeral of a child who had died of AIDS. The child and his family lived in a small village 60 km outside of Bucharest. It was when I met and spent time with the family of this poor child that I began to see the real beauty of the country in the faces of its people. This family, in a time of terrible suffering, reached out to me in a most profound way. Their generosity and kindness exemplified the generosity of spirit of the people in the country. I came to know and love and appreciate that spirit. Despite all that had happened to them this family and their friends welcomed me into their world.
Leaving the desolation of the city and experiencing the world of the villages is when I first began to see the real Romania. When I left the city and explored the countryside I began to know and understand the beauty of Romania.
Rep: Hand Held is an amazing documentary. What how the biggest satisfaction making this great epic story?
Mike Carroll: For me the movie is a celebration of all our Romanian staff, who are the ones who will continue serving the children of the country for as long as they are needed. It is tribute to their hard work and dedication that we have been so successful in helping the abandoned and handicapped children of Romania. Our staff is mostly young but they are experienced and professional thanks in large measure to the training they have received from our supporters in America. These young Romanians are the future leaders of the country.
Rep: How does your photography melt the orphans’ lack of parental affection and make them look happy and loved?
Mike Carroll: When you photograph a child and are open to that child a momentary bond develops between you and the child. Children need attention to develop normally and when they are denied that attention they suffer tremendously. Through the camera I open up to them and smile at them and that recognition enables them to feel the love and concern that I have for them. Many times while photographing a child I reach out to them and in no time at all they are in my arms. It is that human contact that they crave. Naturally they smile when they feel comfortable and secure.
Rep: In Hand Held you named “tuica” as being a “rocket fuel”. Did you feel flying to the moon everythime you drank some?
Mike Carroll: I have come to love Tuica. Mostly I love Tuica not for the taste but for the opportunity a glass of Tuica provides for me. To share this wonderful beverage with fiends is an old, honored tradition and one that enables you to enjoy a common experience with the people of the Romania. The fact that everyone either makes Tuica himself or herself or has a friend or relative, who distills it for them, makes the experience of sharing a glass even better.
Rep: Your photographs haved opened the eyes of the world and helped create Romanian Children’s Relief, a Southboro charity. How can people donate and keep this charity going?
Mike Carroll: To support the staff and children, see our web pages at www.rcr.org or www.inocenti.org or write to Romanian Childrens Relief, P.O. Box 496 Pepperell MA 01772
We’re also on facebook. Or call 5083036299
