How it all began


Anja, a former classmate, told me of her summer spent with psychiatric patients in a crumbling castle in Transylvania. Of all the stories of injustice, friendship, warmth and doubt she brought back with her, there was one image that I couldn’t let go of – patients cowering beneath their bed sheets, struggling to preserve their last vestige of privacy.

I decided to go to Bánffy Castle to find out for myself – not to raise awareness of the terrible conditions, but to experience some of life’s most basic pleasures. To capture the moments of happiness that give people with nothing to hope for the strength to carry on.

The project could only be realised with the assistance of the specialist team from Beclean e.V., a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving living conditions for psychiatric patients in Romania.

www.beclean-ev.org