In Romania’s Jiu Valley, once-mighty industrial complexes are today reduced to ruins. If some buildings were demolished with the closing of the mines, other structures were left to the elements — and to destitute human beings scavenging for scrap metal. Not only are job opportunities scarce, but the streets themselves are almost deserted. Yet not so long ago this was a bastion of workers’ resistance, the hotbed of the miners who toppled a government, clashed with peaceful protesters — and even took policemen hostage.

The history of the Jiu Valley miners is indicative of the role that trade unions played in the postcommunist Romanian transition, acting as a de facto opposition to the mass privatizations and tearing-up of the social model that became known as “shock therapy.” This was, in short, a similar rite of passage to free-market capitalism that other Eastern Europe nations fell prey to in this era. Here, unions perhaps showed greater industrial muscle. But amid Romania’s turbulent 1990s they couldn’t stop the other trend of the time — workers becoming slaves to the slot machines.

With the closing of the mines and rising mass joblessness, the gambling industry crept in, aiming to profit off the workers’ desperation. This industry’s influence has indeed grown exponentially in recent years — sponsoring sports leagues, aggressively lobbying the government, and stifling dissent by all means available. Late last year, journalists from prominent newspaper Libertatea even got fired after they refused to hand in article drafts about the gambling industry prior to publication.