Nurse recalls dawn of Romanian democracy Published Jan. 22, 2009 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. -- It's not often a person is able to witness the birth of democracy, but 2nd Lt. Margareta Beg is proud to say she has. The lieutenant, a nurse with the 81st Inpatient Operations Squadron medical inpatient flight, is a native of Romania, which until 1989 was a Communist dictatorship ruled by Nicolae Ceauşescu. "I lived in Timişoara, Romania's second largest city, located in the western part of the country," she said. Her secondary school education included nurse training. "Under communism, high school and nursing school were combined so by the time you completed high school, you could join the work force. I attended school during the day, six days per week, and did clinicals at night. It was the hardest thing I ever did." Revolution erupts Life in Romania changed forever when she was 18 years old. The "revolution" actually began in Timişoara, Lieutenant Beg said. "I remember being cold and hungry all the time. There were long lines for food. Only the ruling class had privileges. "My parents were factory workers; my grandparents were peasants. They had little education. My parents had only high school educations. My mom realized the importance of education and pushed me to attend high school. I was an only child -- this was a decision many made because life was so hard. Everything was rationed, just like during World War II. " In December 1989, the government arrested Lazlo Tokes, an ethnic Hungarian priest who was accused of making anti-government statements. This event set off the antigovernment actions in Timişoara, and eventually the coup d'état that ultimately ousted Ceauşescu, about a week before Christmas 1989. "The antigovernment demonstrations started and the mob went around and started to burn everything in the center of the city. My dad said that where we lived people dressed as civilians came in and started shooting the crowd. Ceauşescu had been out of the country, but returned and ordered the army into the city. The army refused to carry out his orders." Cries for freedom Her parents were at work in the factory when the first "spark" of revolt occurred. "The factory workers revolted, refused to work and were asking for food. The government responded with armored personnel carriers which were posted at the factory gates. They thought they could intimidate the people, but they couldn't." The country was in turmoil. "Every day there were meetings in the main city square. People were on their balconies crying they wanted freedom. When the shooting started, people tried to run into the cathedral, but the priests wouldn't open the doors. The authorities picked up the bodies and took them to Bucharest for cremation. They were trying to erase any trace of the uprising. "The authorities actually took night shift workers from the factories out of town, gave them weapons and brought them to attack the citizens in the square. However, when they arrived, they were tired and hungry, and the citizens met them with food looted from the stores. No shots were fired." Lieutenant Beg said Ceauşescu had removed food and just about everything else from the shelves and packaged them for export to pay the national debt. By 1989, the national debt had been paid, but there was practically nothing left to export and the country descended into chaos. She continued, "On Dec. 16 and 17, the special security forces came into the city to attack the citizens. I was working then, and from Dec. 18-24, I went daily to the square in the morning then to work in the evening. All I wanted was a gun! "People were shouting, 'Down with dictators! We want freedom!' We kneeled down and prayed, which was against the law. We wouldn't go home because we feared we would be hunted down and taken away. "Christmas Day, I was working in the children's hospital and heard security forces were coming to attack us. We removed most of the children, but fortunately the attack never happened. "The government took all the students and shipped them off because they feared the students were behind the revolt. In the meantime, most cities around the country erupted." Lieutenant Beg said Ceauşescu and his wife took off in a helicopter and were dropped off somewhere in the country. "The whole afternoon while I was at work, everyone was driving around and celebrating, shouting, 'He's gone! He's gone!'" The Ceauşescus apparently headed for Tirgoviste in southcentral Romania and tried to hide in a factory. People in the area learned he was there and called the army who arrested the former leader and his wife. Following a brief trial, the couple was executed. "I remember staying up all night watching the trial on TV," the lieutenant recalled. "I wanted to see the whole thing but fell asleep. I just wanted to know the tyrant was gone." Even today, Lieutenant Beg becomes emotional as she recounted how joyful the people were when they learned Ceauşescu was gone. Although there was a brief period of anarchy following the coup, it didn't take long for fledgling democracy to develop. "Unions were formed and the first free elections were held. Some people tried to tell us how to vote, but we didn't listen to them. "The borders opened and we went to Belgrade (Serbia) and Budapest (Hungary). We left the country and then returned, just because we could!" Path to America Then life changed again for the then-21-year-old nurse. In 1992, shortly after Operation Desert Storm, Kuwaiti representatives were hiring contract nurses who could speak English, which was taught in Romanian schools. Lieutenant Beg was hired and experienced her first plane ride as she flew to the oil-rich desert country that August. Two years after she married an American contractor, they returned to his Idaho home, but the marriage ended in 1999. Lieutenant Beg wanted to attend nursing school, but her Romanian training wasn't transferable. "I really wanted a nursing degree and knew the military would provide educational benefits," she said. "I visited an Air Force recruiter and asked if they accepted immigrants. I didn't think I'd be accepted but the recruiter showed me a tape about the Air Force. He left the room and returned shortly. To my surprise, I was able to enlist." Air Force opportunities She entered the Air Force in April 1997 as a medical technician and served from November 1997 to July 2005 at Keesler Medical Center. The lieutenant was accepted into the Airman Education and Commissioning Program in 2005 and attended the University of South Alabama where she earned her nursing degree in August 2007. "I requested to return to Keesler," she commented. "Many people I had known when I served there left after (Hurricane) Katrina, but many are returning." Having lived much of her life under communism, Lieutenant Beg became a U.S. citizen in 2000. "I waited three years to get my citizenship through my military service. I was told I could be anything I wanted -- except president. I love being a U.S. citizen, with all the opportunities it affords. Being an American is something very special." She added that when she travels back to the Romanian village her family originally came from near Timişoara, "I feel like a princess." She tries to return every year, especially now that her father is ill. "My parents were here in 2002. When I asked them to come I really didn't expect both would receive visas, but they did. They are fine in Romania. They've retired to the family village (about half the people are 'Begs') where our family has been for generations." She concluded, "Never in my dreams did I think I'd be in the U.S., in the military. It's phenomenal!"