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Czas na Zywiec · 05-21-2004, 11:33 PM

Moldova's missing generation

Martyn Bond
BBC correspondent in Moldova

Despite gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova has failed to find its feet and its residents are the poorest in Europe. Opportunities for work are so limited that emigration is becoming the norm.

Anton is 16-years-old and lives in a village 100 kilometers (just over 60 miles) north of the capital, Chisinau.

Anton is a serious and responsible youngster; he runs a small farm and looks after the family.

He has one cow, several pigs, lots of chickens, and three younger brothers and sisters.

And since he was 13, he has had no time to go to school.

Both his parents live and work abroad. Three years ago his mother left for Italy.

Home alone

Initially she wrote and phoned regularly, and she sent home money every month to help the family.

But then contact grew thinner, and eventually the money dried up.

Then his father left for Germany. Anton and his younger brothers and sisters became what are euphemistically called "social orphans".

In Anton's village every second house has someone who has gone abroad to find work.

A whole middle generation is missing, leaving grandparents and grandchildren to tend the animals and the crops.

Anton and his brothers and sisters are no exception.

Roughly half of all Moldovans of working age have decided that life abroad is better than life at home.

Wages in Moldova are pitifully low. Official statistics make Moldova the poorest country in Europe.

Average income is less than £2 ($3.50) a day. That is lower than in parts of Africa.

Commonplace corruption

No wonder civil servants expect to supplement their income with gifts from the public they deal with.

Petty corruption is rife, from the policeman who expects 50 Lei ($3.50) - in order not to book you for a traffic offence, to the doctor who expects extra gifts - in cash or kind - if he is to treat you, especially out of hours.

And at the higher governmental level, very few are setting a better example.

Financial scandals abound, both in government and opposition circles. A small political elite is plundering the state's meagre resources.

Currently the owner of an internet company cannot get the licence he needs to operate unless the political party his father leads toes the government line.

This sorry picture is set in what could be a world of plenty.

The soil in Moldova is about the best you find in the whole of Europe.

There is a local saying that if you plant a dead stick in the soil here it will grow into a fruit tree.

That is why the country has been fought over so many times, belonging variously to Turkey, Russia, Romania and briefly to Germany.

Although it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, in the latest elections Moldovans even had the dubious distinction of being the only electorate in Europe to vote an unreformed communist party back into power.

The communist government is running true to form in keeping a strong hand on TV and radio, so you might not know about what is happening elsewhere in the country if you relied solely on news media.

This government, like all previous ones, has its problems - especially dealing with the lawless breakaway province of Transdniestra on its eastern border - but ordinary people try to ignore politics and just get on with making the best of their own difficult situation.

Western aspirations

A trained translator, Natasha, is desperate to move to the West where her skills would be much better rewarded than in Chisinau.

Almost all her former classmates from school are already abroad.

Like just about everyone I spoke to in the capital, she knows that a forged passport with a visa for travel to the European Union is easily available.

She has calculated how long she would have to work abroad to repay the $2,500 (£2,000) it costs.

Much quicker for professional women like her, she argued baldly, than for the unskilled, whose best hope might be to clean the homes of the rich in the West or to be sold into prostitution.

Another acquaintance, Liliana, summed up the dilemma of many educated young women in this country.

She is 25-years-old and wants to marry but swears she will never marry a Moldovan.

Nor will she marry a Russian or a Romanian.

Her great-grandfather's family was deported by the Russians, her great-grandmother's family by the Romanians, and memories here are very long.

In any case, she reasons, as a modern woman she could never adjust to Moldovan male attitudes.

A local proverb has it that "an unbeaten woman is like an unclean house."

So Liliana, like Natasha and Anton's parents, all look West, as do so many Moldovans, especially the young and the well educated.

Over 70% of Moldovans want their country to join the European Union.

It may be the triumph of hope over reason, but if ever that happens, it would at least take away the need to buy a visa on the black market.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...nt/3729719.stm

I've seen a few people on these boards constantly complain and critisize everything their parents do, so I thought I'd post this. Maybe it'll make you realize you don't have it as bad as you think you do.

AKA · 05-21-2004, 11:40 PM

Man, that's awful. Sounds like people are emigrating from there in droves; it's a shame they feel they have to do it.

It's also a shame they have to pretty much be be adults by the time they're about ten years old - or younger.

Thanks for the article, Chris.

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 05-21-2004, 11:42 PM

That's awful.

This world really sucks, and it's not getting any better.

And you're right. None of us should complain, but we do. We don't realize half the time how much better off we are.

Cashodeen · 05-22-2004, 12:22 AM

That's so saddening. I went to school with an exchange student from Moldova. She was of the small minority who grew up in a rather privileged family, but she'd talk about the poverty and other problems her country was going through. It's just terrible.

dawsongirl · 05-22-2004, 01:04 AM

I suppose it would help matters if more people knew Moldova existed. I seriously had no clue. And I love geography.

AKA · 05-22-2004, 08:04 PM

Bump.

Brent88 · 05-22-2004, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dawsongirl

I suppose it would help matters if more people knew Moldova existed. I seriously had no clue. And I love geography.

I am pretty sure it's in Eastern Europe. I think it's part of the old Soviet Union.

I love geography too. My parents think I'm crazy because I have all these maps in my room.

Anyway... thanks for the article. It does show just how great we have it here.

Dude111 · 10-03-2022, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Czas na Zywiec

I've seen a few people on these boards constantly complain and critisize everything their parents do, so I thought I'd post this. Maybe it'll make you realize you don't have it as bad as you think you do.

Yes this member is right!!

But in all respect,I am grateful for what I have,in many ways!!

They say one doesnt realise until they lose something what they had but I do realise what I have!!

Caroline13 · 10-04-2022, 02:02 PM

When you are struggling with what You Don't Have, Make Yourself a Gratitude List...a side of pros and cons....Americans have so so much.

Furienna · 10-06-2022, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawsongirl

I suppose it would help matters if more people knew Moldova existed. I seriously had no clue. And I love geography.

It is between Ukraine and Romania.

Caroline13 · 10-06-2022, 04:09 PM

So many are missing the Gratitude/Content gene. I am not missing that Gene, perhaps due to how and when I was born and raised.

Just talked to a friend, my age, actually yr older, and she was raised in a higher money type family and I swear she is not content...complaining to me about the food she is served at her lovely assisted living residence. I just about screamed at her. But her life experiences are hers and "maybe" so much she can't change, but maybe a LOT she can change. grrrrrrrrrrrr

GentlemanJim · 10-06-2022, 09:10 PM

LOL, everytime I see the title of this thread, it makes me remember this old tune.

Just Be Thankful

Caroline13 · 10-07-2022, 03:00 PM

A girlfriend and I are discussing these issues and she doesn't think she's grateful enough. She and I were born on kinda opposite sides of the track, but she is very giving and helpful to many in her life. So that is good and I remind her of that all the time.

She is also bringing up forgiveness and how we have to do as much of that as we can. Hanging on to not forgiving only hurts us. I've come a long way in forgiving my ex for how he left my daughter and I. I see a lot of views on this but I have not been able or willing to totally forgive him and he's in his grave.

Also, the 2 words: Thank You. Are so easy to say and I hardly see these words on the forums, including this one.

So Thank You for reading.

05-21-2004, 11:33 PM	#1
Czas na Zywiec what up Forum Star Join Date: Jun 28, 2001 Location: Southwest Side, Chicago Posts: 18,398	Be grateful for what you have Moldova's missing generation Martyn Bond BBC correspondent in Moldova Despite gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova has failed to find its feet and its residents are the poorest in Europe. Opportunities for work are so limited that emigration is becoming the norm. Anton is 16-years-old and lives in a village 100 kilometers (just over 60 miles) north of the capital, Chisinau. Anton is a serious and responsible youngster; he runs a small farm and looks after the family. He has one cow, several pigs, lots of chickens, and three younger brothers and sisters. And since he was 13, he has had no time to go to school. Both his parents live and work abroad. Three years ago his mother left for Italy. Home alone Initially she wrote and phoned regularly, and she sent home money every month to help the family. But then contact grew thinner, and eventually the money dried up. Then his father left for Germany. Anton and his younger brothers and sisters became what are euphemistically called "social orphans". In Anton's village every second house has someone who has gone abroad to find work. A whole middle generation is missing, leaving grandparents and grandchildren to tend the animals and the crops. Anton and his brothers and sisters are no exception. Roughly half of all Moldovans of working age have decided that life abroad is better than life at home. Wages in Moldova are pitifully low. Official statistics make Moldova the poorest country in Europe. Average income is less than £2 ($3.50) a day. That is lower than in parts of Africa. Commonplace corruption No wonder civil servants expect to supplement their income with gifts from the public they deal with. Petty corruption is rife, from the policeman who expects 50 Lei ($3.50) - in order not to book you for a traffic offence, to the doctor who expects extra gifts - in cash or kind - if he is to treat you, especially out of hours. And at the higher governmental level, very few are setting a better example. Financial scandals abound, both in government and opposition circles. A small political elite is plundering the state's meagre resources. Currently the owner of an internet company cannot get the licence he needs to operate unless the political party his father leads toes the government line. This sorry picture is set in what could be a world of plenty. The soil in Moldova is about the best you find in the whole of Europe. There is a local saying that if you plant a dead stick in the soil here it will grow into a fruit tree. That is why the country has been fought over so many times, belonging variously to Turkey, Russia, Romania and briefly to Germany. Although it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, in the latest elections Moldovans even had the dubious distinction of being the only electorate in Europe to vote an unreformed communist party back into power. The communist government is running true to form in keeping a strong hand on TV and radio, so you might not know about what is happening elsewhere in the country if you relied solely on news media. This government, like all previous ones, has its problems - especially dealing with the lawless breakaway province of Transdniestra on its eastern border - but ordinary people try to ignore politics and just get on with making the best of their own difficult situation. Western aspirations A trained translator, Natasha, is desperate to move to the West where her skills would be much better rewarded than in Chisinau. Almost all her former classmates from school are already abroad. Like just about everyone I spoke to in the capital, she knows that a forged passport with a visa for travel to the European Union is easily available. She has calculated how long she would have to work abroad to repay the $2,500 (£2,000) it costs. Much quicker for professional women like her, she argued baldly, than for the unskilled, whose best hope might be to clean the homes of the rich in the West or to be sold into prostitution. Another acquaintance, Liliana, summed up the dilemma of many educated young women in this country. She is 25-years-old and wants to marry but swears she will never marry a Moldovan. Nor will she marry a Russian or a Romanian. Her great-grandfather's family was deported by the Russians, her great-grandmother's family by the Romanians, and memories here are very long. In any case, she reasons, as a modern woman she could never adjust to Moldovan male attitudes. A local proverb has it that "an unbeaten woman is like an unclean house." So Liliana, like Natasha and Anton's parents, all look West, as do so many Moldovans, especially the young and the well educated. Over 70% of Moldovans want their country to join the European Union. It may be the triumph of hope over reason, but if ever that happens, it would at least take away the need to buy a visa on the black market. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...nt/3729719.stm I've seen a few people on these boards constantly complain and critisize everything their parents do, so I thought I'd post this. Maybe it'll make you realize you don't have it as bad as you think you do.
	Last edited by Czas na Zywiec; 05-21-2004 at 11:52 PM.

05-21-2004, 11:42 PM	#3
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	That's awful. This world really sucks, and it's not getting any better. And you're right. None of us should complain, but we do. We don't realize half the time how much better off we are.
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

10-04-2022, 02:02 PM	#9
Caroline13 Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 30, 2021 Location: So Calif Posts: 14,483	When you are struggling with what You Don't Have, Make Yourself a Gratitude List...a side of pros and cons....Americans have so so much.
	__________________ Inexpensive Health Insurance = Grape Seed Extract Keep It Simple

10-06-2022, 09:10 PM	#12
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	LOL, everytime I see the title of this thread, it makes me remember this old tune. Just Be Thankful
	__________________ On my word as a gentleman!

05-21-2004, 11:40 PM	#2
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	Man, that's awful. Sounds like people are emigrating from there in droves; it's a shame they feel they have to do it. It's also a shame they have to pretty much be be adults by the time they're about ten years old - or younger. Thanks for the article, Chris.

05-22-2004, 12:22 AM	#4
Cashodeen Hi. Forum Star Join Date: Aug 30, 2001 Posts: 11,363	That's so saddening. I went to school with an exchange student from Moldova. She was of the small minority who grew up in a rather privileged family, but she'd talk about the poverty and other problems her country was going through. It's just terrible.

05-22-2004, 01:04 AM	#5
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	I suppose it would help matters if more people knew Moldova existed. I seriously had no clue. And I love geography.

05-22-2004, 08:04 PM	#6
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	Bump.

10-06-2022, 04:09 PM	#11
Caroline13 Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 30, 2021 Location: So Calif Posts: 14,483	So many are missing the Gratitude/Content gene. I am not missing that Gene, perhaps due to how and when I was born and raised. Just talked to a friend, my age, actually yr older, and she was raised in a higher money type family and I swear she is not content...complaining to me about the food she is served at her lovely assisted living residence. I just about screamed at her. But her life experiences are hers and "maybe" so much she can't change, but maybe a LOT she can change. grrrrrrrrrrrr

10-07-2022, 03:00 PM	#13
Caroline13 Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jan 30, 2021 Location: So Calif Posts: 14,483	A girlfriend and I are discussing these issues and she doesn't think she's grateful enough. She and I were born on kinda opposite sides of the track, but she is very giving and helpful to many in her life. So that is good and I remind her of that all the time. She is also bringing up forgiveness and how we have to do as much of that as we can. Hanging on to not forgiving only hurts us. I've come a long way in forgiving my ex for how he left my daughter and I. I see a lot of views on this but I have not been able or willing to totally forgive him and he's in his grave. Also, the 2 words: Thank You. Are so easy to say and I hardly see these words on the forums, including this one. So Thank You for reading.