Romanian Defectors Given U.S. OK to Stay

Four Romanian acrobats who defected last week while their circus troupe was performing in Los Angeles have been granted political asylum in the United States, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service announced Thursday.

Ernest Gustafson, district director of the INS Los Angeles office, said political asylum was granted to Aurelia Petreschu, 31; Georgeta Serban, 27; Juliania Dumitrescu, 33, and her daughter, Brigitta, 13.

“A favorable recommendation was made (Wednesday) by the State Department, and the political asylum was granted locally. They are free to stay in the country,” Gustafson said.

The four traveled with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. On Aug. 5, they decided to flee while the circus was performing at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

‘Happy as They Could Be’

Dorina Maxwell, a Tustin woman who defected from the same circus three years ago while it was touring Yugoslavia, helped the acrobats escape. Maxwell put the women in contact with the local office of Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who intervened on their behalf.

Maxwell, who knew the four acrobats from her time with the circus before her own defection, renewed her friendship with them in Florida last December when the troupe began its current yearlong American tour.

Patricia Fanellia, a field representative at Dornan’s Garden Grove office, drove the women away from the circus the day of their escape. Fanellia said she had talked Thursday with the four Romanians, who do not speak English, and they “were as happy as could be” to hear the favorable news.

The women have said they fled because the Romanian government took an unreasonable share of their earnings from the circus and they wanted freedom. The three adult women have husbands and other relatives in Romania.

Maxwell said the four women remain in seclusion because they still fear retaliation for seeking political asylum in the United States.

“We still have to be very careful. Someone might still want to hurt them,” Maxwell said. “But they are very happy to be free.”

Maxwell also said that the women are anxious to find employment.

“But we are trying to raise money for them to get started. They want to work, but they understand that they must first learn English,” she said.