Misha and His Brothers

Misha, or Mihai Kfitaef, is a 37 year-old Lipovan fisherman in Sulina. Like Misha, there are a number of Lipovans, Russian descendants, in the Delta, and many of them work as fishermen. He and his brothers used to go fishing whenever the wind is mild. But, stricter restrictions on fishing around the Danube Delta, partly caused by Romanian's joing EU, made their life harder. Because of the new rules, the fishermen in the area have to spend certain periods just staying at home until the season starts. Misha said the life is getting harder and harder in the past years, but the government has done nothing for the fishermen. "This is my country," he said. He has a wife and two children, and because of the inflation and stricter restrictions, he barely manages it. Still, he and his brothers, like many men in the Delta, don't have other options but continue fishing. Their thick and rough hands tell you how hard their work is. People called my hands a girl's hands. In fact, their hands are like three times thicker than mine.