There was once upon a time a shepherd.

His name was John [] Walking his sheep on the

lands of Parang, playing the flute, gazing at the sky and being happy in his poverty and
ignorance.1

River murmurs and gushing wind. Between tall pines and firs, little huts huddle together,
scattered along a few cart routes. The isolated valley, carving its way between towering
mountains follows its secular path into isolation. The only commotion is produced by flocks
of sheep and cattle taken up to grassy pastures. Sometimes amongst the pebbles in the
brooks or the sides of the vertical cliffs, lumps of coal crop up and black streaks appear
under freshly ploughed earth.
The black stone that burns is used to heat humble houses and in some blacksmiths
workshops, but the area remains rural, adapted to a natural landscape that changes very
little.
This was the Arcadian stage of the Jiu Valley, before its exploitation as a mineral basin.

[] herding his sheep, one beautiful day he arrived on the mountainside from where one
could see Petrila. He stared in awe : never had he seen so many people, or imagined so
many houses, such a bright world with tall colourful smoke towers could be possible on this
earth. [] He put his ear to the ground and from its depths he could hear mysterious
hammering.[] the sound of the sirens played a new song for him, far more pleasant than
any of his flute tunes 2.

That was Petrila, the workers colony, brought in to work for the mining exploitations from all
corners of the Austro Hungarian Empire. A mixture of ethnicities accounting for the sudden
development of the small village with just hundreds of families at the beginning of the XIX th
century into a powerful workers center. Europe is a poor continent, but Petrila is a world 3,
never in its evolution would these words describe it better. A cosmopolite atmosphere of
community with more than 10 thousand inhabitants, of variable cultural backgrounds,
shared the same living conditions the humble semidetached rural houses of the colonies,
their lives gravitating around the mines activity, union days, pubs, Sunday church and park
walks4. There was a bowling alley, football and festivities . A tough, but dignified way of
life, in the spirit of labour values, of community. Life in the colony and the underground
galleries was the catalyst for group solidarity and a strong sense of identity that remained
until present times. This was the the time of the Black Diamond Republic in Jiul Valley. 5

1 Sirbu, I. (1973). Povestiri petrilene. 1st ed. Iasi: Junimea.

2 Ibidem

3 Sirbu, I. and Ghica, M. (1991). Jurnalul unui jurnalist fara jurnal. 1st ed. Craiova:
Scrisul Romanesc.

4 DIGI TV, et al. "ROMNIA FURAT | Jaf De Miliarde n Valea Jiului". Digi24.Ro, 2017,
http://www.digi24.ro/special/campanii-digi24/romania-furata/romania-furata-jaf-de-
miliarde-in-valea-jiului-413159.

5 3 Dup Alba Iulia. Ce s-a petrecut in Valea Jiului, Viitorul, XXI, no 6130, Friday,
July 27, 1928; in reply to the interview by the Sub-State Secretary Gh. Ttrescu,
Pompiliu Ioniescu declated for Dreptatea (Adevrul asupra faptelor din Valea
Jiului, II, no 236, Sunday, July 29, 1928
Petrila, transformed by the communist dream of energy independence loses its rural
aspects- the colonies are erased, houses leaving way to concrete panel blocks and prefab
garages home. Programs of workforce mobilization dictated that waves of 2000, 5000, 7000,
11000 be rapidly brought from the poorest areas of the country to support the mining
industry6.

The town is humid, cold and dirty. A general moral depression is ruling. A certain political
indifference paints in absurd touches all good hopes. Theres nothing left to do. The red dice
are thrown. Lets wait7.

1994 , the closure of the first mine marks a lengthy process of industrial restructuring. After
the fall of communism, the mining sector remained a privileged sector with relatively high
wages and a politically influential trade union,whose relationship with the government has
been quite close rather than antagonistic.

A timeline for activities related to the mines is as follows:

1991 Autonomous coal authorities (Regia) were established following the abolition of
CMVJ and a process of comprehensive restructuring and reorganization was begun.
1994 Lonea Pilier Mine (Lonea) ceased activities.
1998 On November 20, 1998, exploitation of Jiu Valley coal was separated from the
activity of the Banat coal mines, and the Romanian Government established the
National Hard Coal Company (CNH) (Romanian: Compania Naionala a Huilei),
headquartered in Petrosani, to administer the mines. Also established were the
companies Centrul de Calcul Electronic Petrosani (Computing Center Petrosani),
Unitatea de Administrare a Caminelor si Cantinelor Valea Jiului (Management Unit of Jiu
Valley hostels and canteens), Atelierul de Proiectare Tehnica (Technical Design
Workshop), and Retehnologizare (Refurbishment).
1999 Campul lui Neag (Campul lui Neag) and Petrila Sud (Petrila) Mines ceased
activities.
2003 Dalja Mine (Petrosani) ceased activities.
2004 Valea de Brazi Mine (Valea de Brazi, located near the town of Uricani ) ceased
activities.
2006 Aninoasa (Aninoasa) Mine ceased activities.
These six closures were followed by the closures of Brbeni (Lupeni) and Iscroni
(Aninoasa) mines.
2012 On November 26, 2012, the Romanian legal entity Societatea Naional de
nchideri Mine Valea Jiului S.A. (National Society of Jiu Valley Mine Closures SA) was
established and owned by the State (the sole shareholder represented by the Ministry of
Economy) to serve as an aciunii company operating under Romanian law.

6 Chiribuca, Dan. SINTEZA, 2016, http://revistasinteza.ro/despre-minerit-valea-jiului-

si-esecul-anuntat-al-unei-restructurari-amanate/.

7 Ungureanu, Cornel. "Ion D. Sirbu - Inedit: Alt Roman Epistolar". Memoria.Ro, 2017,
http://www.memoria.ro/marturii/perioade_istorice/inceputul_comunismului/_ion_d_do
t__sirbu_-_inedit:_alt_roman_epistolar/917/.

2014. National Institute for Research and Development in Mine Safety and Protection from Explosion.

By March 2015 there were seven active mines: Lupeni, Vulcan, Livezeni, Lonea, Uricani,
Paroseni, Petrila. Four of these mining units are considered to be profitable (Lupeni,
Vulcan, Livezeni, Lonea) and operate within the Hunedoara Energy Complex (CEH).
Three of these seven (Uricani, Paroseni, and Petrila) have been designated as
unprofitable and are slated to be closed by 2018, operating within the Jiu Valley National
Society for Mine Closure (SNIMVJ). [http://cronicavj.ro/wp/?p=15645]

Through mine closures, forced layoffs and voluntary severance, the number of actual miners in the Jiu
Valley has decreased considerably. The mine closures were accompanied by large numbers of lay-offs of
miners. It is estimated that in 1989 there were some 40,000-50,000 mine workers (including both actual
underground miners and auxiliary workers). The number of mine workers in the Jiu Valley in 2000 was
estimated to be between 18,000-20,000, this number decreasing by some sixty percent during the
previous ten-year period. Approximately 25% of these total mine workers worked above ground. The
impact on unemployment has been considerable, and with eleven of the original fifteen mines closed by
2018, the immense social disruption is only going to increase.

*
8 mining units closed between 1994-2015: Campul lui Neag, Valea de Brazi, Brbeni,
Aninoasa, Iscroni, Dalja, Petrila Sud, and Lonea Pilier.
** 3 mining units considered to be unprofitable (Uricani, Paroseni, Petrila) are operating
within the Jiu Valley National Society for Mine Closure (SNIMVJ) and are to be closed by 2018.
4 mining units considered to be profitable (Lupeni, Vulcan, Livezeni, Lonea) are operating
within the Hunedoara Energy Complex (CEH).