Mile Cărpenișan


Mile Cărpenișan was a war correspondent who covered the wars in Iraq, Kosovo and the effects of the tsunami in Asia. He died due to a septic shock at the age of 34.

Biography

Cărpenișan was born in Timișoara into a family of Serbian origins. He studied at the city's Dositej Obradovici Serbian High School. Afterwards, he went to the University of Craiova, to the Faculty of Management. He also made an intensive 4-year specialization in audiovisual media in Lyon, France.
Cărpenișan debuted in newspapers and continued his career as a local correspondent for Antena 1. He worked for more than ten years as a reporter for Antena 1 and Antena 3, being one of the first Romanian international correspondents. He became well known for his numerous reports about the wars in Iraq and Kosovo, the revolution in Belgrade, the effects of the tsunami in Indonesia and the floods in Banat and Moldova.
While in Iraq, Cărpenișan played a major role during the seizure of three Romanian correspondents in Baghdad:Marie Jeanne Ion, Sorin Miscoci and Eduard Ovidiu Ohanesian.
In 2009 he left Antena 1 and he became a freelancer. That year, he got married with a Romanian journalist called Ramona. They created a travel agency promoting the area of Montenegro.
Mile Cărpenișan died the 22 March 2010, due to a boil after being in coma because of a septic shock. He died at the Timișoara County Hospital and was buried in his hometown.

The Mile Cărpenișan's Challenge

Mile Cărpenișan was an altruist person who believed that people should do good things for each other. Attending to that, he created the "Mile Cărpenișan’s Challenge", a massive call to action to the society. Cărpenișan challenged people to make, daily, one good thing over a week and to see the results of their actions and their personal satisfaction.
Only two weeks before his death Cărpenișan was working hard in order to organize a fundraising and get the money for a bone marrow transplant for Daniel Raduta, a young man who was dying of leukemia.

Posthumous recognition

Romanian president Traian Basescu posthumously offered him the National Order ‘Faithful Service’ in Knight Degree. Besides, the Timișoara's mayor Sorin Grindeanu made Mile Cărpenișan a city's honorary citizen.
The Romanian minister of Defence, Gabriel Oprea, said that "He was a man of high value, a strong and respected voice among the elite of Romanian war correspondents, a journalist that did his noble job with outstanding courage. Through repeated presence in conflict zones alongside Romanian soldiers, he became a veritable brother in arms, a rightful member of the Romanian Army’s great family"

Professional experience

Between 1998 and 2007, Cărpenișan produced about 60,000 news and reports.