Romania – Torn between work and home | DW Documentary
In the 1990s, many Romanians left their homeland in search of work. They left behind deserted villages: children were raised by their grandparents, the elderly lived alone, and communities fell apart.
Antoanela Andonescu — affectionately known to everyone as “Coca” — also left her homeland back then. She worked for decades in Italy as a geriatric nurse. “The harder I work, the sooner I can return,” she kept telling herself. But months turned into years. Her sisters followed her, and home faded into a memory.
When Coca finally returns to her small hometown of Bicaz in eastern Romania, she brings her savings with her — and a new sense of responsibility. She establishes a nursing home for the elderly who were left behind during the great wave of emigration. Almost all the residents in her nursing home have children abroad: Former cement factory worker Vasile has lived here since his family moved to Western Europe.
During an outing with her residents to Lake Bicaz, Coca becomes pensive: “I don’t know how my life would have turned out if I had stayed.” Her own story is representative of an entire generation — torn between their roots and a new beginning.
While Coca has found her way back to her native land, her nieces’ lives have long been rooted in Italy. In the Ostia region near Rome, where some 250,000 Romanians now live, a new home has emerged. Coca’s niece Andra has put down roots there — and wonders how much Romania will still shape her young daughter, Gizelle. What remains of one’s origins when life takes you to a new place? And what does home mean in a world where families are parted by continents?
This documentary tells a story of farewells, new beginnings, and the search for belonging — and of people who, despite all the upheavals, are redefining their sense of home.
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Video “Romania – Torn between work and home | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 06/28/2026 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.