Attending on Friday the launch, at the Gaudeamus Book Fair, of the volume 'Afghanistan - Faces of War' written by Radio Romania News journalist Ilie Pintea, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana emphasized that the sacrifice of the Romanian service people in the Afghanistan theaters of operations should not be forgotten, as it belongs to the history and memory of the Romanian nation.
"It's a difficult subject, because Afghanistan was war, it was complicated and it left traces. I have colleagues at NATO who even had problems readjusting to work in Brussels, after we had to pull out from there, to leave behind many people, Afghans who put in effort and worked for us, our friends. Even more so we should remember those moments, because in politics and in international life, a subject often gains public prominence, war even more so, and when it ends, a sort of selective amnesia sets in. We are not allowed to forget. We are not allowed to forget those who sacrificed themselves, the Romanians who fought under the NATO flag, for the country," Geoana said, declaring himself "deeply grateful" for the sacrifice of the Romanian troops, agerpres reports.
"We are proud of you, we congratulate you, and if you would do us the honor, I would take some copies of the book to the NATO Library. (...) You are part of the history and memory of this nation, we are deeply grateful. It's easy for us to talk, when we haven't been through such difficult moments. There are many who laid their lives down, there are many families who are still suffering," Geoana said.
Also attending the event were the widow and daughter of the posthumously promoted sub-lieutenant Madalin Stoica from the 280th "Brave Hearts" Infantry Battalion, killed in the line of duty in a booby trap attack, and Major Florin Jianu, who signs the preface of the volume.
"Humanity has one eye on Ukraine and one eye on Israel, these are the world's hot spots at the moment. And it is very easy to forget recent history, these people who did something for Romania and who are now perhaps anonymous, I'm not only talking about those who died in Afghanistan, but also about those who passed through there. There are 30,000 soldiers who for 20 years passed through Afghanistan, who faced danger every day there, who contributed to changing people's lives for the better, because that's what the Romanian Army did in Afghanistan. Beyond the combat missions, those civil-military cooperation missions were extremely important for the people there," author Ilie Pintea said.
According to him, it is essential that those who lost their lives and those who fought and returned home are not forgotten.
Ilie Pintea accompanied for five times the Romanian battalions deployed to Afghanistan, bringing back hundreds of photos from the Kandahar military base. These were presented in an exhibition dedicated to Madalin Stoica's memory, which was opened in December 2017, on Romania's National Day. The exhibition was also mounted at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest, at the Radio Romania Press Center, in Los Angeles, and at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
In 2018, Ilie Pintea was awarded the Emblem of Honor of the Defense General Staff for his activity alongside the Romanian troops in the Afghanistan theater of operations.
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