CEE Story From The Mission Field
Flight of the Youth
December 19, 2007
Flight of the Youth
Sprinceana Pamfil has a bright future. The 19-year-old makes good grades in school. He’s never been in trouble and has a good head on his shoulders. He is interested in politics and has the potential to make big changes for his country.
These changes, however, may never happen. There are not many opportunities in Moldova for young people, so most leave the country—just as Pamfil plans to do.
Just days before he leaves the country, Pamfil talks about the friends that grew up with him. One now lives in Turkey and another in Italy. “Hmm . . . ,” he says, surprised, “I can’t think of one friend that is still in Moldova. Everyone has left.”
Moldova is a small country facing mass emigration. Confronted with political instability, collapsing incomes, and rapidly rising unemployment, people began emigrating from Moldova on a large scale in the first half of the 1990s. The mass exodus continues today.
Because few opportunities are available for legal migration, most of this emigration has been illegal. The Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service estimates that 600,000 to 1 million Moldovan citizens (almost 25 percent of the population) are working abroad, most illegally. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) thinks these estimates are too low and guesses the total tops well over 1 million. Human trafficking is a prominent feature of this enormous outflow.
Due to the clandestine nature of these migration flows, however, no official statistics exist. In interviews with state officials, migration experts, and returned migrants, the following countries were mentioned as the main destinations: Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Israel. Most of these countries were chosen due to geographic distance, job availability, and common languages.
Those working in other countries scrimp and save in their adopted land. They send money back to relatives in Moldova, giving an “unofficial” boost to the local economy.
Remittance
In a country with essentially no tourist trade, the hundreds of money exchange offices in the capital city indicate the importance of remittances to the Moldovan economy.
Because this money does not go through “official” channels, it is hard to estimate an accurate total. There are widely varying estimates of the scale of these remittances. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures, official transfers amounted to $223 million. However, it is likely that these official transfers represent only a fraction of the total amount. IOM estimates that more than $500 million per year is sent to Moldova from abroad. The World Bank ranks Moldova second highest in international remittance in GDP. In 2005, remittance was estimated to be just under 30 percent of Moldova's GDP.
The inflow of remittances is apparent in urban living standards that often appear higher than the official statistics. Most of the money inflow is used for food or the acquisition of apartments. The high cash inflow, because it is spent almost exclusively on imports, has led to years of low inflation and stable exchange rates.
The livelihood of many living in the villages depends on money sent from relatives living abroad. Nina Vrabie’s daughter lives and works in Greece. Vrabie takes care of her grandson and depends heavily upon her daughter’s income. A government retirement pension is not even enough to pay to heat her house or keep them fed.
“The young leave our country because there is no work. If they stay, there is no money,” Vrabie says. “Young people cannot help us (children, parents, and elders) if they stay in the country.”
The Great Brain Drain
While working abroad answers an immediate need for income, its effects on the future can be devastating. Moldova’s brightest minds and future leaders have left the country and will probably never return.
Many of these migrants are part of Moldova’s well-educated, highly skilled elite workers. Losing these workers creates a vacuum in professional jobs such as education, medicine, law, etc. Valeriu Ghiletchi, former member of the Moldovan parliament, admits most of the younger generation leave because they see no hope for their country.
“Many don’t see hope in Moldova. The young people are especially affected by this,” Ghiletchi says. “They don’t see hope in Moldova and try to emigrate to a Western country in hopes of making a better life.”
Because most of the emmigrants are in the younger age group, the demographic balance in Moldova has shifted to the older generation. They remember the “good old days” and the generally better standards of living during the Soviet era. Thus, the drain of the younger generation (who do not vote) has decisively contributed to the election victories of the Communist Party at the national elections.
Baptist churches have been affected by emigration. Ghiletchi, who is now the Moldovan Baptist Union president, says emigration is the one of the biggest losses and challenges for churches. Each month, a different leader or rising leader decides to emigrate.
“We baptize around 1,000 people every year, but we lose about 500 each year from our churches due to emigration,” Ghiletchi says. “This issue greatly affects our churches, especially in the villages where there are no longer young people, just children and grandparents.”
Baptists, as well as other organizations within Moldova, are trying to find ways to provide opportunities for the younger generation, so they do not have to leave. Ghiletchi says providing hope is the only way to get people to stay. He stayed because he has hope in Moldova and God.
“If all the young leave, who will change the country?” asks Ghiletchi.