The European Union is a dream for many Moldavians. Three quarters of the population has a positive attitude towards a possible EU membership. But currently the country is still far from that.
At this moment Moldova is at a political crossroads. But will it move into the direction of the EU?
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A brothel in Turkey gets raided by the police. Everybody inside gets arrested. One of them is the Moldovan Natasha. Although she is forced to work as a prostitute, she ends up as a criminal in a terrible Turkish prison. The conditions are harsh. Natasha receives no medical or physical help. She has to pay for her food and to make things worse, she is humiliated by the guards.
“Everything about this example is true,” says Lilia Gorceag. “Except the name.” Gorceag worked with Natasha as a psychologist at the International Organization of Migration. The organisation has a shelter for victims of human trafficking in one of the suburbs of Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.
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“Change doesn’t come overnight,” says Mihai Pascovschi. “But we have to be patient and believe in the things that we are doing.” The twenty two year old is an optimist in a country full of pessimists. “Our generation wants immediate change, or they give up. But we come from a really bad situation, and there is a long way to go.”
Since the age of 16 Pascovschi has been involved in politics. He talks full of passion about it. For a long period he was vice-president of the youth organization of the Liberal Party in Moldova. Now he’s trying to get his way into the political arena.
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It’s a warm Saturday morning in May. The twenty two year old Gheorghe Lozovanu is working in the yard of his parents house. There are rows after rows of strawberries. The fields are still green, but in some spots the red fruit is popping out.
Strawberries are everything for Lozovanu. “You cannot have too many of them,” he smiles. “Everybody wants to eat our strawberries. In our village, we are famous.” He takes a small plate and finds the biggest and the best.
But the love for strawberries is not the most interesting thing about Gheorghe Lozovanu. In a country where a quarter of the workforce is abroad, it’s hard to find someone who has made a clear decision to stay in Moldova.
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