One of the proudest moments of my life was being honored by my own country with an award for my “outstanding humanitarian and cultural achievements.” The ceremony was initially to take place on December 1, 2012, to coincide with the National Day of Romania. I had to decline that date because of my duties as a full-time emergency physician at Bingham Memorial Hospital in Matheson, Ontario. It wasn’t the first time I was forced to pass on a ceremony because of my medical responsibilities. The same thing happened many years earlier when I couldn’t attend my own citizenship ceremony in St. John’s. I was the only doctor in the small mining community of Buchans, so the citizenship officials drove seven hours one-way to have a ceremony just for me in the A.M. Guy Memorial Hospital of Buchans. So for this award, the ceremony was postponed until February 15, 2013, in the office of the Consulate General of Romania in Toronto. The award declared me an “International Humanitarian, Philanthropist and Cultural Ambassador” by the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. Many important people attended this ceremony for me, including the new Consul General of Romania in Toronto, Mrs. Antonella Marinescu. Also in attendance were Mrs. Katherine Carleton, the Executive Director of Orchestras Canada, Dr. Alexandru Bologa, former Professor and Chair of Surgery at the University “Babeş-Bolyai” from Cluj-Napoca, my hometown in Romania, and Mr. Mike Milinkovich, mayor of Black River-Matheson community. There were also physicians, friends of mine, journalists and members of the Romanian-Canadian community of Toronto. The very nice letter, about the accomplishments of mine that warranted the award, was delivered as a speech by Dr. Doru Liciu, consul of the office of the Consulate General of Romania in Toronto. It is a very nice speech that summarizes my achievements in music, medicine, travel and philanthropy. I have included a copy of the letter on this website. Some of the details have been written about extensively in other publications, like my 2003 trip to Aberdeen, Scotland, when I led the Canadian Youth Orchestra at the 30th Anniversary of the International Youth Orchestra Festival. Or my famous three months in 1989 as the only physician at the Dr. A. M. Guy Memorial Hospital in the remote mining town of Buchans, Newfoundland. “He was on call for three months 24/7 without any break! He could not travel to St. John's for his Canadian Citizenship papers,” the consul said in her speech. “When the Immigration Officers found out why, in an unprecedented gesture, the top-ranked officers travelled to Buchans, where the Citizenship Ceremony took place in the hospital's Board Room. Newfoundland Premier Honorable Brian Peckford invited Dr. George to St. John's to personally congratulate him for his tremendous work and sacrifices.” Other details are not so well known, like the moon crater sharing my name: “Even on the moon — there is a crater called FREUNDLICH! In many of the countries visited, Dr. George presented scientific papers and received well deserved diplomas,” Dr. Doru Liciu said in the speech. “Many call Dr. George "An Unsung Hero" and "A National Treasure" quite frankly for good reasons.” Though covered in Romania, many in Canada may not be aware of my cultural contributions to Romania, which the speech also mentions: “In Romania, he is a most generous sponsor in the cultural life and has significant contributions in the printing/or reprinting of numerous books, including "Nadia", "Ar fi fost prea frumos" "Argentina", "Zile şi nopţi pe stadion", "Paleta şi planeta”, etc.).” The speech ends with a splendid acknowledgement of my life’s work, for which I will be forever grateful: “Through his exceptional accomplishments in Canada, this fine gentleman of Romanian heritage makes us all Romanians immensely proud. He is a credit and an inspiration to all and first and foremost to Romanians,” Dr. Doru Liciu said in the speech. She continued: “We feel that through his exceptional achievements in Canada, Dr. Freundlich brought honour to his native Romania and has certainly contributed to enhancing its prestige. Dr. George Freundlich is a Canadian citizen, however, in our view he is a public's person and a world citizen. He certainly is an (unofficial) Canadian and Romanian “goodwill” ambassador around the world, and we all are, in turn, proud of him.”
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December 2021
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