(slow music)
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- Welcome, everyone.
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We're excited to share
some country wisdom with you.
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- King Solomon had
a thing or two to say
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about the path to wisdom.
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In Proverbs 4, he wrote,
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"Let your eyes
look directly forward,
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and your gaze be
straight before you.
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Keep straight the
path of your feet,
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and all your ways will be sure.
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- Join us now
for country wisdom.
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(slow music)
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You wave
goodbye to your husband,
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you see your dad, and you can't
figure out what's going on.
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The bus leaves. Now, what's
the next thing that happens?
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You're on the bus
heading on a tourist vacation.
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- I think
everything with that excursion
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was miracle after miracle.
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But when we went
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in Bulgaria,
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because Romania was here,
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Bulgaria was the
next and next was Turkey.
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The guide just realized
that none of us had passports
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because they didn't
want to give us passports.
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We just had a list with names.
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In Bulgaria, I was
working with a list
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because it was
communist country.
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But when we went in Turkey,
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Turkey was a democratic country,
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and they expect
us to have passports.
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And none of us had passports.
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Then we'd been waiting...
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How many hours, Mommy?
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- Hours. - Maybe eight hours.
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- Hours. Yeah.
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- To the...
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- Border. - Border.
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To receive the okay.
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But the guide came to us
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and said
probably we have to return
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back to Romania.
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That was a very
hard moment for us
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because we were thinking
we went through all this,
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and now
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all our hopes,
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they were
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gone.
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Then we been
praying and said, "Lord,
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you can do miracles.
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You can do something for us."
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And after about eight hours,
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- [Sperantza] It's a long time.
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- Long time,
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the guide came and she said,
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they let us go in
the country, in Turkey.
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- At the border,
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before we even
went through Turkey,
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which was a
miracle after miracle.
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Another miracle that God did
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was when we were actually
waiting at the border in
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Romania. And we
saw the militia men
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actually going through
every single piece of luggage.
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I remember,
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these were armed men,
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they were going
through the luggage.
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And all I could think of
was what was gonna happen,
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if they discovered the...
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- [Michaela] Camera.
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- [Sperantza] The camera
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and the Deutsche
marks in the camera.
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They were
literally just emptying
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the luggage of the people
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and just making a
mess of everything,
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sometimes on the pavement.
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And when our turn came,
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I remember that they
barely looked inside.
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It was at that
moment that I realized,
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"Wow, God, you are with us.
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You are with us."
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Because these people,
they barely looked inside.
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In one bag, because we had two.
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In one bag, they barely looked
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and they said, "Okay, thank you.
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You're good to go."
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And so I think no one
could have possibly imagined
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that a mom with a 14 year old
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would even
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- [Michaela] Think to defect.
- possibly think of defecting.
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I saw God's covering
through that process,
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but then right
before the bus left,
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once again, these
militia men came up.
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Like my dad said,
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there were
informants in the bus.
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They knew
exactly what to look for.
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And they watched this man,
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and this man didn't
have any luggage with him.
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He only had a bag
that was on his shoulders.
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And so as we were ready to
leave, we thought we were done.
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The men stormed the bus again,
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and they pulled that
young man off the bus
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for us to never see him again.
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- So your heart is
just going like this.
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- So our heart is
pounding and we're thinking,
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"Sure enough, what
my dad said is true."
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- They arrested still.
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- They arrested
him right away. Yeah.
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And then arriving in Turkey,
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feeling like we're
gonna have to be doubling up
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with a stranger that
we've never met before.
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Where we can't discuss anything.
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Seeing informants
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literally parked
at every other...
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or maybe two or
three doors down from us.
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And I'm thinking, "How in
the world are we gonna make it?
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How are we gonna be
able to separate ourselves
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from the group?
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How is this gonna happen?"
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And just the bathroom
with the water running
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was our safe haven, literally.
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And that's where mom and I
would just talk very little
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because we didn't know,
"Is there a camera here too?
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Is there something?
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Is there somewhere that they
are listening to us as well."
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And then yet,
through the process,
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we were supposed
to go to the bazaar
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I think the second day,
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and everyone got sick.
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Everyone got sick
with a stomach virus.
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And so they changed the plan.
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And even in that process,
just thinking about that,
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they changed the
plan, so the bazaar,
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which meant that
everyone was free,
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"free"
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to go and spread and go
shopping and look for stuff,
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and then meet again.
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That trip then was
postponed to the last day
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being in Turkey.
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Little did we realize,
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that if that
would've been the second day,
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they would've had one
more day to search for us,
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should we be able to
actually separate ourselves
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from the group.
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And then God
switched the whole process,
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their plan,
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it switched the plan.
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Everybody got sick,
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but funny thing,
we didn't get sick.
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- Amen.
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- [Sperantza] We did
not have a stomach virus.
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We were fine.
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At the same time
though, that evening.
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I remember that
the guide, right?
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The tour guide, mom.
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She asked us, "Can we
join you at your table?"
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Remember what she said to you?
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- Yeah.
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- And she was just...
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- She said, "I am so glad
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that nobody is
defecting in this group."
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(Janice laughing)
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(Jim laughing)
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- Sperantza was by me,
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and I...
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- Just stepped on my foot.
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- Stepped on her foot,
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not to have any
reactions somehow.
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- Yeah.
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- So the plan is formulating.
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So finally my mom is telling
me what we're going to do.
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She said, "Okay, tomorrow
we're going to the bazaar."
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And I thought,
"Okay, well, let's just..."
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Because we had a
big piece of luggage,
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and then a smaller.
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A little handbag, duffle bag.
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And I thought,
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"Okay. Well, let's just put
my clothes in that duffle bag.
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And I started to do that.
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And mom said,
"What are you doing?"
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And I said,
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"Well, we're gonna put
the clothes in the duffle bag.
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My clothes."
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She said,
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"We can't put any of your
clothes in the duffle bag."
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And I'm thinking, "I'm 14.
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What do you mean we can't
put my clothes in the bag?
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What does that mean?"
(interviewers laughing)
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And so mom
said, "You understand,
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we are going to
separate ourself from the group.
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If anybody finds
this bag, she said,
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"That will be a giveaway,
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a dead giveaway,
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that we are trying to defect."
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She said, "The
only thing we can take,
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is the camera, and
the Deutsche marks inside.
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That's all we can take."
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So I had one
little summer dress on me.
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And mom, the
clothes on her back.
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And so I realized at that point
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that that's all we could take,
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and the camera,
and the Deutsche marks.
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The thought was that...
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She said, "Okay, we're
going to go to the bazaar.
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When we watch the
entire group leave,
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we're gonna try to separate
ourselves from the group,
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and we're gonna
get back into a taxi,
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and we're gonna take a
taxi to the Austrian embassy,
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she said.
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And then we're
going to tell them,
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that your...
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- Political asylum.
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- That we want political asylum.
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And then that we want to
be reunited with our family,
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my aunt and uncle in Austria."
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And I thought,
"Okay, that's a good plan."
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And I remember mom
actually writing in Turkish,
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in Romanian,
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and translating in a
little, little tiny dictionary
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in Turkish words,
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"Help, escape,
political asylum."
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And so I thought,
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"How in the world are
we gonna separate ourselves
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from the group at that point?
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We actually
went into the bazaar.
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We were told that- - We went.
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- Yeah.
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In the bazaar that we could
have a certain amount of time,
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and that at 1:30, the
group would come together.
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There was a tour guide
that was a Turkish tour guide,
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and said, "At 1:30,
you need to be here.
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We will wait for you
for 30 minutes extra.
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If you are not
here within 30 minutes,
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we will realize...
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- We will leave.
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- That you wanted to stay here."
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And those were her words,
which was really, really odd,
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that would come
from a Turkish guide.
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It was not the Romanian
guide, it was a Turkish guide.
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So basically what
they were saying is,
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"This is the
timeframe, you better be here."
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But if you're not here,
we understand what happened.
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And so that was
strange. I remember that.
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And then Dr. Dinescu,
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the same lady
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that we were supposed to
actually be in the room with,
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she would want to
be together with us.
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And she just said, "Well,
we're gonna stick together.
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We're gonna stick together."
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And I thought,
"Oh God, have mercy.
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How are we gonna get
away from this lady?"
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And so I remember that
we went into a store, right?
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- No, we went to a store,
00:09:57.49\00:09:58.99
but we told her we
have to go to pharmacy
00:09:58.99\00:10:02.73
to get some pills
00:10:02.73\00:10:03.80
because everybody was sick.
00:10:03.80\00:10:05.10
Then we didn't say we are sick.
00:10:05.10\00:10:07.34
We say, "We have to
buy something." Then-
00:10:07.34\00:10:09.27
- So somehow rather we
were able to separate from her
00:10:09.27\00:10:11.61
and we actually
enter into the bazaar.
00:10:11.61\00:10:13.41
And the bazaar, if any one
of you have been in Turkey,
00:10:13.41\00:10:16.58
it's a metropolis.
00:10:17.38\00:10:18.65
And so the bazaar is
literally a city under the city.
00:10:18.65\00:10:21.78
It's incredible.
00:10:21.78\00:10:22.88
And so they told us
00:10:22.88\00:10:24.29
that we needed to remember
what gate we were entering
00:10:24.29\00:10:26.82
so that we can actually go
back through the same gate,
00:10:26.82\00:10:29.89
because if not,
00:10:29.89\00:10:31.16
you can end up in a
different side of the city.
00:10:31.16\00:10:33.63
And so it was
huge, and the noises,
00:10:33.63\00:10:36.56
and the music.
00:10:37.57\00:10:38.77
It was just such an incredible
stimulation of the eyes.
00:10:40.84\00:10:44.37
I mean, I had never seen
such an incredible place,
00:10:44.37\00:10:47.78
like the bazaar.
00:10:47.78\00:10:49.28
All kinds of things for sale.
00:10:49.28\00:10:51.61
People trying to get
you into their stores to buy
00:10:51.61\00:10:54.92
all kinds of things.
00:10:54.92\00:10:56.12
And I thought, "Oh my goodness,
00:10:56.12\00:10:57.79
how are we gonna make it back?"
00:10:57.79\00:11:00.09
And my mom said,
00:11:00.09\00:11:01.42
"We have to watch for
every person on this trip
00:11:01.42\00:11:03.83
to pass us through.
00:11:03.83\00:11:05.29
And we have to
remember where we're at,
00:11:05.29\00:11:07.03
so that we can exit back."
00:11:07.03\00:11:08.93
As we were
entering into the gate,
00:11:09.96\00:11:11.60
I remember
seeing a sea of taxis.
00:11:11.60\00:11:13.70
And you said to me, this...
00:11:13.70\00:11:15.87
You just kind of nodded.
00:11:15.87\00:11:16.97
Like, "This is where
we need to come back to.
00:11:16.97\00:11:20.08
This is where we're
gonna grab a taxi from."
00:11:20.08\00:11:22.34
Remember?
00:11:23.71\00:11:25.11
And then you insisted that
I would get a pair of sandals.
00:11:25.11\00:11:28.48
And I thought, "I don't
need a pair of sandals."
00:11:28.48\00:11:30.25
(male interviewer laughing)
00:11:30.25\00:11:31.25
- I'm okay. I'm okay."
00:11:31.25\00:11:32.55
And you said,
00:11:32.55\00:11:33.96
"But we need to get
you a pair of sandals."
00:11:33.96\00:11:35.89
And I'm thinking,
00:11:35.89\00:11:36.76
"When my mom says
00:11:36.76\00:11:38.13
we need to get your pair
of sandals at 14 in Romania,
00:11:38.13\00:11:40.43
you do what mom says."
00:11:40.43\00:11:41.83
So we went and we
got a pair of sandals.
00:11:41.83\00:11:44.30
Right?
00:11:45.60\00:11:47.17
- [Michaela] And we met
with some people from the group.
00:11:47.17\00:11:48.47
And as we tried
to make our way back,
00:11:48.47\00:11:51.87
thinking that we had
passed everyone into the group,
00:11:51.87\00:11:55.48
the tour guide was
right in front of us and said,
00:11:55.48\00:11:59.31
"Where are you
going, Mrs. Totpal?"
00:11:59.31\00:12:01.18
- I hold in my hands a
dramatic and engaging book.
00:12:02.48\00:12:04.69
You want me read you something?
00:12:04.69\00:12:06.25
"He made it, he
made it. He's alive.
00:12:06.25\00:12:08.49
With those words, my
father dropped the phone,
00:12:08.49\00:12:10.53
collapsed to the ground,
00:12:10.53\00:12:12.16
and began crying uncontrollably.
00:12:12.16\00:12:14.56
Shocked, I stood there, my heart
pounding faster and faster.
00:12:14.56\00:12:17.73
My mind began jumping
to frightening conclusions.
00:12:17.73\00:12:21.24
After what
seemed like an eternity,
00:12:21.24\00:12:23.14
my parents
motioned for me to sit down.
00:12:23.14\00:12:25.94
Scared, I lowered
myself to the ground,
00:12:25.94\00:12:27.81
squeezed in between them.
00:12:27.81\00:12:29.78
And for the very
first time in my life,
00:12:29.78\00:12:31.71
I heard them whisper to me
00:12:31.71\00:12:33.05
the incredible plan my
family had orchestrated
00:12:33.05\00:12:36.15
to escape
communist Romania to freedom.
00:12:36.15\00:12:39.75
- When Adriana
Pasos was just 14,
00:12:39.75\00:12:42.82
her family became targets
of the Romanian secret police.
00:12:42.82\00:12:46.73
And this book,
Hope In Present Danger,
00:12:46.73\00:12:49.76
tells her incredible story.
00:12:49.76\00:12:52.23
You can get your copy
00:12:52.23\00:12:53.54
for a donation of
just 14.95 or more
00:12:53.54\00:12:57.41
at
talkingdonkeyinternational.org.
00:12:57.41\00:13:00.78
That's,
talkingdonkeyinternational.org.
00:13:00.78\00:13:04.18
- When we saw the guy there,
00:13:07.95\00:13:11.85
was very difficult.
00:13:11.85\00:13:13.22
But I think God again, gave
me the presence of the spirit.
00:13:13.22\00:13:18.29
- [Sperantza] The wisdom.
00:13:19.09\00:13:20.20
- The wisdom to
be able to answer.
00:13:20.20\00:13:22.16
And was a wonderful thing
00:13:23.26\00:13:26.27
because I made Sperantza
to accept to buy those sandals
00:13:26.27\00:13:30.87
because we show it to her
00:13:30.87\00:13:32.94
and we went to
the pharmacy, right?
00:13:32.94\00:13:36.38
We decided to go to
the pharmacy because
00:13:36.38\00:13:39.51
(people speaking simultaneously)
00:13:39.51\00:13:41.05
everybody knew
that was a situation,
00:13:41.05\00:13:43.69
but we weren't affected.
00:13:43.69\00:13:45.89
Then in this
way, we just went out.
00:13:45.89\00:13:49.72
That was the reason how
we presented to the guide
00:13:51.09\00:13:55.80
and said, "Okay, see you later."
00:13:55.80\00:13:58.47
We left.
00:14:00.27\00:14:01.64
- So I think that for me, I
remember that when I saw her,
00:14:01.64\00:14:05.44
I felt like my feet just stepped
00:14:05.44\00:14:08.08
into glue,
00:14:09.51\00:14:11.05
because I thought,
"What are we gonna say?"
00:14:11.05\00:14:13.15
And it was those
sandals, you said to her mom,
00:14:13.15\00:14:16.18
you said,
00:14:16.18\00:14:17.59
"Oh, look at the sandals that
I just got from my daughter."
00:14:17.59\00:14:18.69
We wanna go back
to the same store
00:14:18.69\00:14:20.66
and it's around the corner,
if you wanna check it out.
00:14:20.66\00:14:23.49
It's an amazing space.
00:14:23.49\00:14:24.89
And we just wanted to
look at something else again".
00:14:24.89\00:14:29.23
And in addition to that,
00:14:31.53\00:14:32.63
we need to go
and find a pharmacy.
00:14:32.63\00:14:33.77
And so it was
that kind of an answer,
00:14:33.77\00:14:37.31
but I remember my heart
00:14:37.31\00:14:38.71
just getting ready
to come out of my chest
00:14:38.71\00:14:40.61
because I knew that
what we really wanted to do
00:14:40.61\00:14:43.58
was actually move
further, closer to the gate.
00:14:43.58\00:14:47.05
And I think the fear also, mom,
00:14:47.05\00:14:49.12
being into that bazaar
and the sounds and the smells,
00:14:49.12\00:14:52.89
the sight was
just so overwhelming.
00:14:53.99\00:14:56.76
People trying to get
you into their stores.
00:14:56.76\00:14:59.49
And then I think
for me, it was the fear.
00:14:59.49\00:15:01.93
If we get lost here, we
will never know how to get out.
00:15:01.93\00:15:05.83
What are we gonna do?
How are we gonna get out?
00:15:05.83\00:15:08.17
As we stepped into
the light, as I remember,
00:15:08.17\00:15:11.81
the bazaar, it was
dark. - [Jim] Yeah.
00:15:11.81\00:15:13.88
- [Sperantza] And so
stepping into that light,
00:15:13.88\00:15:16.38
it was almost like,
00:15:16.38\00:15:18.51
we could take a breath
at that moment to know that,
00:15:18.51\00:15:21.75
wow, there's one more
step and maybe one more step.
00:15:21.75\00:15:24.95
One more step that will
get us closer to freedom.
00:15:24.95\00:15:28.36
And getting into that taxi
was the first taxi that we saw.
00:15:28.36\00:15:32.36
As the taxi...
00:15:32.36\00:15:33.76
I remember you giving him
this little piece of paper
00:15:33.76\00:15:36.40
that you had written.
00:15:36.40\00:15:37.67
- [Michaela] Yeah. -
[Sperantza] In Turkish.
00:15:37.67\00:15:39.03
"We want to go to the Austrian
embassy, political asylum."
00:15:39.03\00:15:41.90
And so the taxi going
around and around and around,
00:15:41.90\00:15:44.94
I thought, "What is he doing?
00:15:44.94\00:15:47.14
Is he lost? Or does he
just wanna take our money?
00:15:47.14\00:15:50.21
Is he going to turn us in?"
00:15:50.21\00:15:51.51
Because Turkey was also renowned
00:15:51.51\00:15:54.25
in actually
turning back refugees,
00:15:54.25\00:15:57.52
or people who were
asking for political asylum.
00:15:57.52\00:15:59.92
That was at least the fear
00:15:59.92\00:16:01.49
and the word that we
had heard in Romania,
00:16:01.49\00:16:03.63
that we had to be
careful with that as well.
00:16:03.63\00:16:05.93
The taxi finally stopped,
00:16:08.33\00:16:10.03
and he pointed to
us, the Austrian embassy.
00:16:11.17\00:16:13.77
He was lost.
00:16:13.77\00:16:14.80
He didn't know
exactly where that was.
00:16:14.80\00:16:15.87
And so he finally
stopped, we paid him.
00:16:15.87\00:16:18.74
Mom paid him,
00:16:18.74\00:16:19.97
and then we got to
the Austrian embassy.
00:16:19.97\00:16:21.71
And when I saw the
plaque of the Austrian embassy,
00:16:21.71\00:16:24.15
I thought,
00:16:24.15\00:16:25.21
(Sperantza exhaling)
00:16:25.21\00:16:26.48
"Here we are.
00:16:26.48\00:16:27.52
We made it. We made it."
00:16:27.52\00:16:29.45
So the anticipation
of, "Wow, we're free.
00:16:29.45\00:16:34.12
We made it."
00:16:34.12\00:16:35.16
So we made our way up
00:16:35.16\00:16:36.76
to the second floor
of the Austria embassy.
00:16:36.76\00:16:38.49
And with my little
German, tried to explain
00:16:38.49\00:16:41.36
and asked for us to
speak to the council.
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.57
And so they said, "Do
you have an appointment?"
00:16:44.57\00:16:47.57
(Sperantza speaking faintly)
00:16:47.57\00:16:48.37
"We don't have an appointment.
00:16:48.37\00:16:49.77
We don't have an appointment.
We just dropped in literally.
00:16:49.77\00:16:52.91
(male interviewer giggling)
00:16:52.91\00:16:53.78
Just dropped in."
00:16:53.78\00:16:55.18
And the wo- - We
want political asylum.
00:16:55.18\00:16:56.81
- The woman said to us...
00:16:56.81\00:16:58.38
She looked at us,
she said, "I'm so sorry.
00:16:58.38\00:17:00.55
The council cannot see you."
00:17:01.58\00:17:02.92
And we said to her,
00:17:02.92\00:17:04.49
we said, "Well, we're
from Romania, and on excursion.
00:17:04.49\00:17:08.06
We're seeking political asylum
00:17:08.06\00:17:09.56
due to the
religious persecution."
00:17:09.56\00:17:12.09
So here we were thinking we
had just made it to freedom,
00:17:12.09\00:17:15.86
just to be told,
"There is nothing we can do.
00:17:15.86\00:17:20.70
We cannot help you.
00:17:20.70\00:17:22.10
And I remember looking at
mom and mom looking at me,
00:17:22.10\00:17:24.67
and I'm thinking,
00:17:24.67\00:17:25.67
"What now?"
00:17:26.51\00:17:28.51
Here we were in a metropolis,
00:17:28.51\00:17:30.98
not knowing a soul,
00:17:30.98\00:17:32.38
not speaking the language.
00:17:32.38\00:17:34.42
Two women in a Muslim country.
00:17:34.42\00:17:36.75
Mom, 34. I'm 14.
00:17:36.75\00:17:39.32
Where do we go? What do we do?
00:17:39.32\00:17:42.09
Where are we?
What is happening now?"
00:17:42.09\00:17:44.99
And I remember
sitting down, right?
00:17:44.99\00:17:47.40
on a ledge
00:17:47.40\00:17:48.63
of a fence
00:17:49.70\00:17:50.97
right in front of
the Austrian embassy.
00:17:50.97\00:17:53.70
And just for...
00:17:53.70\00:17:55.00
I don't even know how
long, just sitting quietly.
00:17:55.00\00:17:57.41
We didn't know what to say.
- [Michaela] We didn't know.
00:17:58.81\00:18:00.24
We were confused. - We
didn't know what to say.
00:18:00.24\00:18:01.51
We were so confused.
00:18:01.51\00:18:02.74
We were so scared.
00:18:02.74\00:18:04.98
I remember finally,
00:18:04.98\00:18:06.51
mom, you said, "Maybe
the bus will pass by here."
00:18:06.51\00:18:10.69
- And I thought, "What?"
00:18:14.16\00:18:15.86
Maybe the bus will pass by
here and we can go back home.
00:18:17.19\00:18:21.20
And I'm like, "There is no home.
00:18:21.20\00:18:23.13
We can't go back.
00:18:23.13\00:18:24.67
We have to go
forward. There is no way back."
00:18:24.67\00:18:28.30
And as mom said that, I saw a...
00:18:28.30\00:18:31.31
Well, it looked
like a man in uniform.
00:18:31.31\00:18:33.24
We didn't know what he was,
00:18:33.24\00:18:34.48
but it was somebody in uniform.
00:18:34.48\00:18:36.01
He was in a blue uniform
with a cap and a gold tassel,
00:18:36.01\00:18:39.38
I remember.
00:18:39.38\00:18:40.72
And I just thought,
"Well, maybe he can help us."
00:18:40.72\00:18:43.52
I don't speak the language.
00:18:43.52\00:18:44.75
I don't know.
00:18:44.75\00:18:45.55
We had to cross the street.
00:18:45.55\00:18:47.39
He was across the
street. And I remember...
00:18:47.39\00:18:49.16
I said, "Mom, let's go.
00:18:49.16\00:18:50.46
Let's just go.
00:18:50.46\00:18:51.56
Let's talk to this
man. Maybe he can help us."
00:18:51.56\00:18:54.10
So I remember-
00:18:54.10\00:18:54.93
- [Michaela]
You spoke in French.
00:18:54.93\00:18:56.26
- Crossing the street
and approaching this man,
00:18:56.26\00:18:59.37
and trying to
speak to him in French.
00:18:59.37\00:19:01.24
He doesn't understand me
because he doesn't speak French.
00:19:01.24\00:19:03.61
But I did say political asylum.
00:19:03.61\00:19:05.61
I said,
00:19:05.61\00:19:06.74
(Sperantza speaking
in foreign language)
00:19:06.74\00:19:08.54
in French.
00:19:08.54\00:19:10.18
And so he looked at us
and he said, "Come with me."
00:19:10.18\00:19:12.98
in Turkish.
00:19:12.98\00:19:13.98
And he just motioned to us
00:19:13.98\00:19:15.22
because I couldn't
understand what he was saying.
00:19:15.22\00:19:16.32
He didn't
understand what I was saying.
00:19:16.32\00:19:17.62
But he figured, two
women in a Muslim country.
00:19:17.62\00:19:20.79
Clearly we were not from
there, clearly we were lost,
00:19:20.79\00:19:23.83
clearly we were helpless.
00:19:23.83\00:19:25.13
I don't know what our
faces must have looked like.
00:19:25.13\00:19:27.13
I don't know what the fear...
00:19:27.13\00:19:28.50
He probably read
the fear in our faces.
00:19:28.50\00:19:30.80
And so he took us around.
00:19:30.80\00:19:32.53
We didn't realize
that around the corner,
00:19:32.53\00:19:34.54
there was
actually a police station.
00:19:34.54\00:19:36.40
And so we tried
to explain to them.
00:19:37.51\00:19:39.04
They asked us if we
spoke English, we didn't.
00:19:39.04\00:19:41.28
They asked if we
spoke German, very little,
00:19:41.28\00:19:43.85
but I told them
French. I speak French.
00:19:43.85\00:19:46.11
And so they
motioned us to follow them.
00:19:46.11\00:19:49.15
Now, three men coming with us,
00:19:49.15\00:19:51.59
and then they took-
00:19:51.59\00:19:52.69
- [Michaela] That
was a scary moment.
00:19:52.69\00:19:53.89
- They took us, right?
00:19:53.89\00:19:55.29
They took us to a place,
00:19:55.29\00:19:57.59
and it was several blocks away.
00:19:59.19\00:20:01.76
It was a building,
00:20:01.76\00:20:03.50
and the building had steps
00:20:03.50\00:20:05.40
going subterraneously
down underneath the ground.
00:20:05.40\00:20:10.17
And so
00:20:10.17\00:20:11.77
I remember
00:20:13.78\00:20:14.88
they motioned us to go down,
00:20:16.58\00:20:18.81
to follow them.
00:20:18.81\00:20:20.35
Three men,
00:20:20.35\00:20:21.45
mom and I,
00:20:21.45\00:20:22.72
in subterraneous steps,
00:20:23.52\00:20:25.65
just going down
00:20:25.65\00:20:26.99
into where it looked
like an opening of a door.
00:20:26.99\00:20:31.16
And I'm like, "What
are they going to do to us?
00:20:31.16\00:20:34.73
What are they going
to do with us, to us?"
00:20:34.73\00:20:37.60
And so one of them- - Just men.
00:20:37.60\00:20:39.77
- Just men. - Just men.
00:20:39.77\00:20:40.80
- No women, no women.
00:20:40.80\00:20:42.30
And so all of a sudden, I
remember one of them entered,
00:20:42.30\00:20:46.88
and brought back a
woman from that place.
00:20:46.88\00:20:51.58
I don't know if it was a
restaurant, if it was a hotel,
00:20:51.58\00:20:55.32
I do not know what
that place was, to this day.
00:20:55.32\00:20:58.59
And this woman came and she
started speaking French to me,
00:20:58.59\00:21:02.22
and she asked me,
"Tell me what you need."
00:21:02.22\00:21:06.23
And so we told them we were
00:21:06.23\00:21:08.26
in a trip, in an
excursion from Romania.
00:21:09.86\00:21:12.27
We had suffered political...
00:21:12.27\00:21:13.87
(Michaela speaking faintly)
00:21:16.17\00:21:17.37
- [Sperantza] We
wanted political asylum.
00:21:17.37\00:21:18.81
We were
requesting political asylum.
00:21:18.81\00:21:20.31
We had separated from the group.
00:21:20.31\00:21:21.68
(Sperantza sniffing)
00:21:21.68\00:21:22.51
We were by ourselves,
00:21:22.51\00:21:24.25
and that we had
suffered religious persecution
00:21:24.25\00:21:27.75
and we needed help.
00:21:27.75\00:21:29.38
And so she
translated to the police,
00:21:29.38\00:21:32.72
and the police said, "Okay.
00:21:33.52\00:21:35.16
Okay, we will help them.
Tell them we will help them."
00:21:35.16\00:21:38.59
And so I remember they said...
00:21:38.59\00:21:40.90
She translated to us.
00:21:40.90\00:21:42.13
She said, "They'll
put you in a police car.
00:21:42.13\00:21:44.10
They cannot process you here.
00:21:44.10\00:21:45.37
This is a small police station.
00:21:45.37\00:21:46.97
They have to take you
to the big police station."
00:21:46.97\00:21:49.04
But I just looked at mom
and mom looked so terrified.
00:21:49.04\00:21:52.34
And finally, I
remember there was a phone.
00:21:52.34\00:21:56.18
They made several phone calls,
00:21:56.18\00:21:58.08
trying to ask for identity.
00:21:58.08\00:21:59.71
couldn't figure it out,
00:21:59.71\00:22:01.12
Couldn't figure out how
they can literally help us.
00:22:01.12\00:22:03.75
Finally, they got
someone, on the phone
00:22:03.75\00:22:06.12
that spoke Romanian.
00:22:06.12\00:22:07.22
And mom spoke,
00:22:07.22\00:22:08.32
and they
clarified certain things.
00:22:08.32\00:22:10.26
And at that point
they said, "Okay."
00:22:10.26\00:22:12.53
Mom, what did you think when
you had that man on the phone?
00:22:12.53\00:22:15.26
What did you think?
00:22:15.26\00:22:16.36
Who did you think
you were talking to?
00:22:16.36\00:22:18.10
- I really believed was
00:22:18.10\00:22:21.07
Romanian ambassador.
00:22:22.24\00:22:24.27
- [Sperantza] And
what was your biggest fear
00:22:24.27\00:22:25.54
at that point?"
00:22:25.54\00:22:26.34
- That we have to go back.
00:22:26.34\00:22:29.11
- So after that conversation,
00:22:29.11\00:22:31.95
they finally were able to
just then take us from there.
00:22:31.95\00:22:36.69
They motioned to
us to follow them.
00:22:38.69\00:22:40.12
And so we followed them,
00:22:40.12\00:22:41.26
and they opened a big van.
00:22:41.26\00:22:43.19
The van opened.
00:22:44.06\00:22:45.63
And I remember that
there was white sheets
00:22:45.63\00:22:48.50
on the seats of the van.
00:22:48.50\00:22:51.13
And there was a
little light just dangling.
00:22:51.13\00:22:53.64
It looked like an
Alfred Hitchcock movie.
00:22:53.64\00:22:56.60
We got in,
00:22:57.94\00:22:59.21
we had our little duffle bag,
00:22:59.21\00:23:00.61
the orange duffle bag.
00:23:00.61\00:23:02.24
And the door
slam shut behind us.
00:23:02.24\00:23:04.98
We didn't know where
they were gonna take us.
00:23:04.98\00:23:06.72
They didn't tell us.
00:23:06.72\00:23:08.15
We had no idea
what the next step was.
00:23:08.15\00:23:10.89
When that door
slammed shut, it felt so dark.
00:23:12.02\00:23:16.26
And then we just heard
footsteps around the van,
00:23:16.26\00:23:18.79
men talking again.
00:23:18.79\00:23:20.43
We didn't know where
we were going to be taken.
00:23:21.53\00:23:23.87
And so the trip continued on
00:23:23.87\00:23:26.63
for what seemed
like a very long time
00:23:26.63\00:23:29.60
through very uneven terrain.
00:23:29.60\00:23:32.31
We were wondering,
"Where are they taking us?
00:23:32.31\00:23:34.71
What are they going
to do to us." Remember?
00:23:34.71\00:23:37.01
And I remember just
clinging onto you and saying,
00:23:37.01\00:23:39.51
"Mom, it's so dark in here."
00:23:39.51\00:23:41.25
- And you said,
"Mommy, they gonna kill us."
00:23:42.32\00:23:45.39
I said, "No."
00:23:45.39\00:23:46.76
I said, "Definitely
not. God is with us."
00:23:47.86\00:23:51.26
This is what I told her
because I realized her fear
00:23:51.26\00:23:55.76
(Sperantza speaking faintly)
00:23:55.76\00:23:56.73
But I was scared also because...
00:23:56.73\00:23:59.83
I said, "Why we have to
00:23:59.83\00:24:02.60
be in a closed van like this?"
00:24:02.60\00:24:05.67
I didn't realize.
00:24:05.67\00:24:06.64
- There were no windows.
00:24:06.64\00:24:07.84
The only windows
thing... - No windows.
00:24:07.84\00:24:08.64
And I remember you telling me
00:24:08.64\00:24:10.01
there was a little grill
in the corner of that van.
00:24:10.01\00:24:13.95
And I remember mom saying to me,
00:24:13.95\00:24:16.38
she said, "I
want you to focus..."
00:24:16.38\00:24:17.95
She said, "Look there."
00:24:17.95\00:24:19.09
She said, "There's
a little bit of light
00:24:19.09\00:24:20.52
that you can see
through that grill."
00:24:20.52\00:24:22.29
She said, "If you can
just focus on the light,
00:24:22.29\00:24:25.06
the darkness will disappear."
00:24:25.06\00:24:26.46
Just focus on the light, honey.
00:24:26.46\00:24:28.10
Just focus on the light.
00:24:28.10\00:24:28.90
And I remember the light motif.
00:24:28.90\00:24:30.70
It was just constantly the
refrain that mom would say,
00:24:30.70\00:24:33.30
"God is with us, God is with us.
00:24:33.30\00:24:35.20
He promised, he won't leave us.
00:24:35.20\00:24:36.50
He promised he won't leave us.
00:24:36.50\00:24:38.14
Don't fear, don't
fear. God is with us."
00:24:38.14\00:24:40.71
And then after what
seemed like an eternal trip...
00:24:40.71\00:24:44.28
- [Michaela] That was...
00:24:45.15\00:24:46.25
- We heard.
00:24:46.25\00:24:47.32
- [Michaela] We
heard a terrible noise.
00:24:47.32\00:24:49.75
I really figured.
00:24:49.75\00:24:51.45
I thought this is a prison,
00:24:51.45\00:24:53.72
definitely.
00:24:53.72\00:24:54.82
The way how you
read in stories like...
00:24:54.82\00:24:58.73
I said, "What is this?
00:24:58.73\00:25:00.66
This doesn't sound
like embassy or something.
00:25:00.66\00:25:04.53
This is like a prison."
00:25:04.53\00:25:06.63
The chauffeur, the guy,
00:25:09.20\00:25:11.41
I mean, the driver came,
00:25:11.41\00:25:14.88
opened the doors. -
[Sperantza] No. Well,
00:25:14.88\00:25:15.98
we heard the sound
of those gates opening.
00:25:15.98\00:25:17.28
- Yeah.
00:25:17.28\00:25:18.61
- [Sperantza] So it was
like the sound reverberating,
00:25:18.61\00:25:20.02
like boom, boom, boom.
00:25:20.02\00:25:22.98
And then the car moving
inside wherever this was.
00:25:22.98\00:25:27.06
And then the sound of
the gates shutting behind us.
00:25:27.06\00:25:29.96
- [Michaela] Behind us. Yeah.
00:25:29.96\00:25:31.26
- Again, boom, boom.
Just reverberating sound.
00:25:31.26\00:25:34.10
It was at that point
that I told mom, I said,
00:25:34.10\00:25:36.20
"They're gonna kill us."
00:25:36.20\00:25:37.23
I said, "We're
gonna be in prison.
00:25:37.23\00:25:38.97
They're gonna kill us here."
00:25:38.97\00:25:40.04
And then after
that, the van stopped.
00:25:40.04\00:25:43.14
- [Michaela] Yeah.
00:25:43.14\00:25:43.94
- And then what happened, mom?
00:25:43.94\00:25:45.27
- [Michaela] Then he
came, the chauffer, he came,
00:25:45.27\00:25:48.34
the driver.
00:25:48.34\00:25:49.18
He opened the door.
00:25:49.18\00:25:50.61
And never I would forget
00:25:53.31\00:25:55.98
that gentleman which
came in front of the door,
00:25:57.32\00:26:01.46
open.
00:26:01.46\00:26:02.36
He was smiling and he said,
00:26:04.26\00:26:07.50
"You are welcome,
00:26:07.50\00:26:09.13
Mrs.
00:26:10.30\00:26:11.37
You are on American soil."
00:26:12.17\00:26:14.97
- [Male Interviewer] Wow.
00:26:16.67\00:26:17.77
- And I saw in the
corner of the room,
00:26:17.77\00:26:20.01
American flag.
00:26:21.91\00:26:23.14
And he realized
how scared we were.
00:26:24.85\00:26:27.88
Because he said,
"Please don't fear.
00:26:27.88\00:26:32.25
You don't have any
reason to be scared.
00:26:32.25\00:26:35.46
You are on American soil.
00:26:35.46\00:26:36.96
(male interviewee
speaking in foreign language)
00:26:38.26\00:26:41.36
- [Sperantza] And we
arrived in LAX in the evening.
00:26:41.36\00:26:43.90
(male interviewee
speaking in foreign language)
00:26:43.90\00:26:45.00
- [Sperantza] When
I saw all the lights
00:26:45.00\00:26:46.84
and all the beauty
of that huge place.
00:26:46.84\00:26:49.04
(Corneliu speaking
in foreign language)
00:26:49.04\00:26:50.31
- [Sperantza] I
thought, "This is America."
00:26:50.31\00:26:52.27
(male interviewer
laughing) This is America.
00:26:52.27\00:26:54.18
(male interviewee
speaking in foreign language)
00:26:54.18\00:26:59.25
- [Michaela] Oh.
00:27:11.13\00:27:11.93
- [Male Interviewer] Amen. Amen.
00:27:11.93\00:27:13.73
- More than that.
00:27:13.73\00:27:14.76
- Folks, this is
an incredible book,
00:27:14.76\00:27:17.00
Hope In Present Danger.
00:27:17.00\00:27:18.37
You've only heard a
little bit of this story today.
00:27:18.37\00:27:20.40
Believe me, just
a little bit of it.
00:27:20.40\00:27:22.10
You need to get this book.
00:27:22.10\00:27:23.20
You can go to
talkingdonkeyinternational.org,
00:27:23.20\00:27:25.97
and get your own copy.
00:27:25.97\00:27:27.28
Adriana is a great writer.
00:27:28.21\00:27:30.38
It's an incredible
story, get it today.
00:27:30.38\00:27:32.68
Folks, I just can't
tell you how happy we are
00:27:32.68\00:27:35.82
that you came here
today to meet with us.
00:27:35.82\00:27:36.92
Really, we had a
barn, but it's...
00:27:36.92\00:27:39.45
everything going on
and on mowers everything
00:27:39.45\00:27:40.86
(Sperantza and Janice laughing)
00:27:40.86\00:27:42.89
- But God got us through
this, he got you through it.
00:27:42.89\00:27:45.63
That's what we want
our viewers to understand,
00:27:46.73\00:27:48.50
is how incredible
our God really is.
00:27:48.50\00:27:50.43
- [Sperantza] Yes, yes.
00:27:50.43\00:27:51.23
- Your story in person...
00:27:51.23\00:27:52.33
I love the book,
00:27:52.33\00:27:53.97
but hearing it from you in
person has just been incredible.
00:27:53.97\00:27:59.04
I'm so glad you shared.
00:27:59.71\00:28:00.58
- [Male Interviewer] Amen. Amen.
00:28:00.58\00:28:01.71
Thank you all your
great Americans. That's what-
00:28:01.71\00:28:02.51
- [Sperantza] Thank you so much.
00:28:02.51\00:28:03.65
- Sorry we were
late. - God bless you guys.
00:28:03.65\00:28:04.98
- Thank you very much.
- May the Lord bless you.
00:28:04.98\00:28:07.32
- Thank you for watching.
00:28:07.32\00:28:08.68
Join us again for
another exciting country wisdom.
00:28:08.68\00:28:10.99
- See you next time.
00:28:10.99\00:28:12.15
(slow music)
00:28:12.15\00:28:15.06