“Oh, oh, oh, you don't have to go. Ah, ah, ah. Fire! Fire!” Emulating the fascination of artists through the ages, Led Zeppelin romanticized “fire” in their song “Black Dog.” Fire. It is purifying. It is passionate. It is consuming. Though these qualities may be true, fire is only romantic to those who are not near it. Fire takes on a different connotation on the Romanian streets.
Under the covering of an unfinished building, Eugen was fast asleep with his blond head pressed against the cold concrete. In the drowsiness between being asleep and awake, he felt something moving around his feet. Eugen struggled to consciousness to find an older Gypsy boy with matches attempting to set fire to his shoes. Eugen quickly jumped up and ran to safety.
Having escaped one danger, Eugen had no idea that another was awaiting him. He was safe for the moment, but he now had no shelter. He was not only tired but also very cold. His worn knit stocking cap, torn winter coat and synthetic pants did not bring much warmth. So he gathered together some cardboard and other trash and started a fire. He knelt over the flame until he felt the blood return to his numb hands. Then he stood up and lit a cigarette. Eugen began to feel warm inside and out. The comfort was calming after his crisis with the Gypsy boy. Suddenly, Eugen felt a surge of heat up his leg. He looked down to see his plastic pants aflame. He screamed out with pain, dropped his cigarette, and fell to the ground, rolling around until the fire was extinguished. The shock passed, but the pain grew even worse. Eugen hobbled to the hospital with his burned leg, where the doctors diagnosed him with third degree burns and kept him for four months.
Fire is something that all the street children play with, yet they all get burned. During the cold Romanian winters, fire is necessary for survival, as it prevents hypothermia. Still many street children bear the scars of burned flesh. But the fire is more than a tool to keep warm; it is the quintessence of life on the streets. It is dangerous and painful. It is difficult to control. It is consuming. Billy Joel's song articulates this well, “ We didn't start the fire. No we didn't light it but we try to fight it. We didn't start the fire but it still burns on and on and on.” Eugen was thrown into the fire by no choice of his own. He quickly learned how to defend himself and how to fight the fire of street life; but, for him and for other street children, it still burns on and on and on and on.
