Surviving the Orphanages: What Happened to Romania's Abandoned Generation?
25:50
Europe
Surviving the Orphanages: What Happened to Romania's Abandoned Generation?
Beyond Borders visits Romania to uncover the legacy of former dictator Ceausescu’s state-run orphanages - and how far the nation has come since its dark past.
April 24, 2025

The fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 exposed the horrors of his state-run orphanages. Images of hundreds of thousands of malnourished, neglected children captured hearts around the world. International adoptions soared - until it all came to a halt amid fears of trafficking and exploitation. Decades later, Beyond Borders returns to Romania to uncover the legacy of one the darkest chapters in the nation’s history. We visit abandoned institutions that still echo with pain, speak with survivors of the system and meet those fighting to end institutional care for good. But how far has the country really come? And can it ever shake the shame of this dark legacy?

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