Life under the streets
The poor in Bucharest carve out a living in the sewers

Daily Mail May 19, 2014 Matthew Blake

Bruce Lee, King of Bucharest's Sewers (5-20-2014, 7 pm, Channel 4, UK, 13 min.)

How the diseased and destitute are forced to carve out a grim existence in the sewers of Eastern Europe

Hundreds live in Romanian capital Bucharest's vast network of sewers. All have HIV and a quarter have TB, while glue is the universal drug of choice. The adults were "sewer children" of the fall of communism and never left. At the head of the society is "Bruce Lee", who mentors, rules and deals drugs. Now this underground society is exposed in a new film by Channel 4 News.

Once dubbed "The Paris of the East", Romanian capital Bucharest is a city teeming with ornate architecture, baroque palaces and tree-lined boulevards. But beneath its mansions and iconic squares lies a second city, that no tourist gets to see — an underground kingdom of outcasts and drug addicts living in the city's vast network of sewers.

Here everyone is HIV-positive and a quarter have TB, yet they are left to rot in the darkness, huddling against heating pipes and snorting glue to stay warm.

At the head of this city of vice is one man, named "Bruce Lee" from his street-fighting days. A father, mentor and drug-dealer to all, he brings safety — and a bottomless supply of glue — to the "sewer children" of Bucharest, many of whom have lived there since the fall of Communism two decades ago.

Now this underground society is exposed in a new film by Channel 4 News's Paraic O'Brien, Jim Wickens & Radu Ciornicuc. This is their dispatch.

"Sewer children": Beneath the baroque mansions and iconic squares of central Bucharest lies a second city, that no tourist gets to see — an underground kingdom of outcasts and drug addicts living in the city's vast network of sewers.

Drugs and disease: Here everyone is HIV-positive and a quarter have TB, yet they are left to rot in the darkness, huddling against heating pipes and sniffing glue to stay warm.

By Paraic O'Brien, Jim Wickens & Radu Ciornicuc

We're standing outside Bucharest's Gara de Nord in the pouring rain, waiting for an invitation. You can travel to the heart of the EU from this train station, but our journey will take us just a few metres. On the surface the newest member to the European club has worked hard to redefine itself. But there's a another Romania, underground.

When Ceausescu fell, there were tens of thousands of children in orphanages and in state "care" in Romania. But in 1990 a series of reports revealed, what a nightmarish misnomer that was. Scenes of neglect and cruelty on our televisions, reminiscent of the concentration camps. So what happened to those children? We've been told, that some moved into the tunnels underneath Bucharest, drug addiction was rife, some had had children of their own.

Glue sniffing: The smell of a metallic paint called Aurolac, snorted by the addicts from small black bags, is overpowering.

Home sweet home: The entrance to this underworld is a hole in the pavement on a traffic island in front of the station.

Top of the chain: They're all on their way to "the counter" to see "Bruce Lee". Half naked, his arms and legs are covered in thick chains and padlocks, he doles out Aurolac for the equivalent of 50p a hit.

The entrance to this underworld is a hole in the pavement on a traffic island in front of the station. By late afternoon they start to wake up, clambering up out of the ground, like the undead. Among them is a little boy, Nico, who looks about twelve. We find out later that, "little" Nico is in fact seventeen, but his development has been stunted by the drug abuse. He agrees to send word down, that we'd like to meet the boss. This underworld, we're told, has an overlord and you only get to go down by invitation. A couple of hours later word comes back up, that he will see us now. On our hands and knees we pothole down into the darkness and a parallel universe.

Hell's disco: The whole place is wired with electricity and there's a stereo system pumping out dance music.

Dog days: The place is full of dogs — there's just enough room in the tunnel to let a group of puppies scamper passed.

It's the heat, that hits you first. These old tunnels were part of Ceausescu's grand design to centrally heat the city. Then the smell, a metallic paint called Aurolac, snorted by the addicts from small black bags. Next up the music. The whole place is wired with electricity, there's a stereo system pumping out dance music. If they had a club night in hell, it would feel like this. We're in the first chamber, they call it The Office. You try not to gawp. Out of the corner of your eye a woman with a syringe between her legs; a little boy stares at you with the Aurolac bag at his mouth, pumping slowly, like a black heart. Everyone here is HIV positive, a quarter have TB. They're all on their way to "the counter". The man behind the counter is called "Bruce Lee" after his street fighting days.

Mainline to addiction: A resident inspects a needle containing a synthetic drug similar to methadone.

No invite, no go. Beginning outside Bucharest's Gara de Nord you need an "invitation" from "Bruce Lee" (standing) to be let in.

"King of the Sewers": "Lee's" arms and stomach, a patchwork of tattoos and scarring from a lifetime of self-harm

Half naked, his arms and legs are covered in thick chains and padlocks, his leather waistcoat covered in key rings, broaches and medals. His arms and stomach a patchwork of tattoos and scarring from a lifetime of self-harm. He points to a tattoo on his inner thigh, which reads: "Bruce Lee, King of the Sewers".

He asks us, whether we've brought anything for the kittens. Two kittens are passed along to the counter. He opens a tin of sardines for them, they wolf them down on the drug counter in front of the queue of addicts.

For the equivalent of 50p he sells bags of a metallic paint called Aurolac. A synthetic drug similar to methadone is also on offer and injected. On the cabinet, where he keeps the drugs, there's photo of the little boy, we met outside, Nico. "He's my child, I adopted him off the streets. He had many problems, drugs, you name it," he says. "I banned him from using syringes, only Aurolac. But I did that too late."

More drugs: A synthetic drug similar to methadone is also on offer and injected.

Puppy love: There is a twisted order to "Bruce Lee's" underground fiefdom. Social workers say, he tries to protect the young ones from sexual predators.

Hard life: "Lee" looks through pictures of his friends and of him as a child. He was abandoned by his mother aged three.

We will come back to Nico, but in the meantime it's time for the tour. "Bruce Lee" tells us to follow him and squeezes into another tunnel behind the counter. The place is full of dogs. There's just enough room in the tunnel to let a group of puppies scamper passed. We're told, they've never seen the light of day. After crawling for a few minutes, we're in the next chamber: "Bruce Lee's" bedroom.

He shows us another tattoo: a boy in shorts. "That's me as a child. My mom abandoned me three days after birth at the hospital. The staff took me in. I was brought up in orphanages and when Ceausescu was toppled, so was I. I’ve been living in the sewers, since I was a child, with many others, that are now dead."

Survivor: "Lee" has been living in the sewers, since he was a child, with many others, that are now dead.

Tragic: "Bruce Lee" puts his arm around Nico. Last year Nico contracted full blown AIDS and nearly died in hospital.

Safe and warm: He pays protection money to a local gang. Also, addicts are less likely to die down here, because he offers them a sort of safety and a warm place to sleep.

There is a twisted order to "Bruce Lee's" underground fiefdom. Social workers told us, he tries to protect the young ones from sexual predators. He pays protection money to a local gang. Also, addicts are less likely to die down here, because he offers them a sort of safety and a warm place to sleep. Next stop: the section of the tunnels called the Hotel.

We go through room after room. There are pictures on the wall in some, one has a television with a chintzy china cat on top, another has artificial grass. During the winter months this place is full. This afternoon just a few couples, lying on the "grass", holding on to each other.

"See, what I've done to the place?", "Bruce Lee" says. "Most of the people here are from the orphanages. I tried to organise them. We want to prove, that we are not, like what they believe: the scum of society, rats or prisoners or whatever. The system doesn't look after them. They come to me for food, warmth, parental advice, understanding. We are a family, we want to be a family here and that’s, what we are."

Decor: There are pictures on the wall in some rooms, while one has a television with a chintzy china cat on top. Another has artificial grass.

Not scum: "Lee" says, he wants to prove, that "we are not, like what they believe: the scum of society, rats or prisoners or whatever".

"Lee" says: "They come to me for food, warmth, parental advice, understanding. We are a family, we want to be a family here and that's, what we are."

He says, he wants to bring us "upstairs" to meet a woman called Raluca, who has set up an informal shelter for the people of the sewers. We retrace our steps on hands and knees and crawl out of another hole behind a bus stop. A group of bewildered-looking commuters look on. Thus begins the final bizarre leg of the journey. "Bruce Lee", his minder: a man called Alex and about 15 dogs tramp across Bucharest. Above ground "Lee" seems nervous, pumping hard on the Aurolac bag.

As we arrive at the shelter, Nico shows up. "Bruce Lee" puts his arm around him. Last year Nico contracted full blown AIDS and nearly died in hospital. "'Bruce' was the one, who visited me in hospital everyday," he says. "He brought me money and juice and sweets. Along with Mrs. Raluca here is, where I now live. They were the only ones."

Free for all: A dog tries his luck in a cauldron of drugs on the "counter".

Happy family? Channel 4 News's portrait of "Lee", Nico and Raluca is a dappled, confusing, family snapshot full of darkness and light.

When Nico's parents separated, his father brought him to live on a rubbish tip outside Bucharest. He spent his days picking through the rubbish, trying to find things to sell, while his father drank. He eventually ran away, started taking drugs and living on the streets.

"Bruce Lee" won't let him inject anymore, but the silver streaks of Aurolac mark him out. Nico desperately needs anti-viral treatment, but the state hospital can't treat him, whilst he is still sniffing paint.

When Raluca eventually arrives, it's dusk. Under the trees in her back yard she's brutal, when asked about "Bruce Lee's" drug dealing: "I would like to kill him, to punish him. But for the sake of the street people, I can't. They depend on him."

"Bruce Lee" walks over and puts his arm around Raluca. Then Nico makes room for himself between them, smiling. And it dawns on you: these are the only two adults left in Nico's life. "Bruce Lee" referred a dying Nico to Raluca. Raluca, in turn, got Nico professional help. It's an unorthodox treatment model, but it worked for one young boy, sort of.

"We are a family," Raluca says. "We have our problems, but we are a family." As the light fades, we have time for a photograph of the trio. A dappled, confusing, family snapshot. Full of darkness and light.

Watch "Bruce Lee, King of Bucharest's Sewers" in a special report for Channel 4 News this Tuesday at 7 pm!