Culture
PAS to PDM: “Schools are shutting down because people are leaving a corrupt country”
Reading Time: 2 minutes PDM leader Vlad Plahotniuc came with an ironic reaction to PAS president Maia Sandu, who filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office against the leader of PDM.
Reminder: On September 21, PAS lodged a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office in which he demanded the criminal prosecution of the citizen Plahotniuc Vladimir for committing the crime of usurpation of state power.
“If Maia Sandu is watching us right now, I’m announcing her that I’ve also taken over today’s colleagues’ attention at the party meeting. Now she’ll have new evidence to play the political denunciations,” Vlad Plahotniuc ironically declared in the weekly briefing of the party.
“Coincidentally, the topic on the agenda today is Education, the serious problems that are happening because of the closing of schools,” said PDM chairman, further announcing that the ruling party proposed a moratorium on the closure of schools in the country.
Plahotniuc also made the impression of blame on the previous government, which has suffered multiple failures, at which the Action and Solidarity Party said that a man who has become the symbol of corruption, injustice, suffocating the state, democracy and human rights has no moral quality to appreciate change and reform.
“No matter how much the less-fated citizen would want to steal the future of the country, he will not succeed. The man who manipulates and disinforms infinitely does not have the moral right to talk about education,” says the party’s message.
The PAS noted that, regretfully, the educational system has serious problems, and this is because the country was seized by a band of thieves who dealt with their own interest and depleted the state.
“Schools are shutting down because people are leaving a corrupt country. Schools will open when corruption is closed,” declared PAS.
Important
#WorldForUkraine – a map that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression
The international community and volunteers from all over te world have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against the Russian aggression. In a digital world – it is an interactive map of public support of Ukrainians under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.”
„Today, along with the political and military support, emotional connection with the civilized world and truthful information are extremely important for Ukraine. The power to do it is in your hands. Join the #WorldForUkraine project and contribute to the victorious battle against the bloodshed inflicted on Ukraine by the aggression of the Russian Federation”, says the „about the project” section of the platform.
Go to the streets — Tell people — Connect and Unite — Become POWERFUL
Volunteers have launched #WorldForUkraine as a platform that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression. In digital world – it is an INTERACTIVE MAP of public support of Ukrainians worldforukraine.net under the hashtag #WorldForUkraine – rallies, flash mobs, protests around the world. In the physical dimension – it is your opportunity to take to the streets and declare: “No to Putin’s aggression, no to war.” There you may find information about past and future rallies in your city in support of Ukraine. This is a permanent platform for Ukrainian diaspora and people all over the world concerned about the situation in Ukraine.
So here’s a couple of things you could do yourself to help:
* if there is a political rally in your city, then participate in it and write about it on social media with geolocation and the hashtag #WorldForUkraine
* if there are no rallies nearby, organize one in support of Ukraine yourself, write about it on social media with geolocation adding the hashtag #WorldForUkraine
The map will add information about gathering by #WorldForUkraine AUTOMATICALLY
Your voice now stronger THAN ever
All rallies are already here: https://worldforukraine.net
Important
How is Moldova managing the big influx of Ukrainian refugees? The authorities’ plan, explained
From 24th to 28th of February, 71 359 Ukrainian citizens entered the territory of Republic of Moldova. 33 173 of them left the country. As of this moment, there are 38 186 Ukrainian citizens in Moldova, who have arrived over the past 100 hours.
The Moldovan people and authorities have organized themselves quickly from the first day of war between Russia and Ukraine. However, in the event of a prolonged armed conflict and a continuous influx of Ukrainian refugees, the efforts and donations need to be efficiently managed. Thus, we inquired about Moldova’s long-term plan and the state’s capacity to receive, host, and treat a bigger number of refugees.
On February 26th, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Moldova approved the Regulation of organization and functioning of the temporary Placement Center for refugees and the staffing and expenditure rules. According to the Regulation, the Centers will have the capacity of temporary hosting and feeding at least 20 persons, for a maximum of 3 months, with the possibility of extending this period. The Centers will also offer legal, social, psychological, and primary medical consultations to the refugees. The Center’s activity will be financed from budget allocations, under Article 19 of Provision no. 1 of the Exceptional Situations Commission from February 24th, 2022, and from other sources of funding that do not contravene applicable law.
The Ministry of Inner Affairs and the Government of Moldova facilitated the organization of the volunteers’ group “Moldova for Peace”. Its purpose is to receive, offer assistance and accommodation to the Ukrainian refugees. The group is still working on creating a structure, registering and contacting volunteers, etc. It does not activate under a legal umbrella.
Lilia Nenescu, one of the “Moldova for Peace” volunteers, said that the group consists of over 20 people. Other 1700 registered to volunteer by filling in this form, which is still available. The group consists of several departments:
The volunteers’ department. Its members act as fixers: they’re responsible for connecting the people in need of assistance with the appropriate department. Some of the volunteers are located in the customs points. “The Ministry of Inner Affairs sends us every day the list of the customs points where our assistance is needed, and we mobilize the volunteers”, says Lilia Nenescu.
The Goods Department manages all the goods donated by the Moldavian citizens. The donations are separated into categories: non-perishable foods and non-food supplies. The volunteers of this department sort the goods into packages to be distributed.
The Government intends to collect all the donations in four locations. The National Agency for Food Safety and the National Agency for Public Health will ensure mechanisms to confirm that all the deposited goods comply with safety and quality regulations.
The Service Department operates in 4 directions and needs the volunteer involvement of specialists in psychology, legal assistance (the majority of the refugees only have Ukrainian ID and birth certificates of their children); medical assistance; translation (a part of the refugees are not Ukrainian citizens).
According to Elena Mudrîi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, so far there is no data about the number of Covid-19 positive refugees. She only mentioned two cases that needed outpatient medical assistance: a pregnant woman and the mother of a 4-day-old child.
The Accommodation Department. The volunteers are waiting for the centralized and updated information from the Ministry of Labor about the institutions offering accommodation, besides the houses offered by individuals.
The Transport Department consists of drivers organized in groups. They receive notifications about the number of people who need transportation from the customs points to the asylum centers for refugees.
The municipal authorities of Chișinău announced that the Ukrainian children refugees from the capital city will be enrolled in educational institutions. The authorities also intend to create Day-Care Centers for children, where they will be engaged in educational activities and will receive psychological assistance. Besides, the refugees from the municipal temporary accommodation centers receive individual and group counseling.
In addition to this effort, a group of volunteers consisting of Ana Gurău, Ana Popapa, and Andrei Lutenco developed, with the help of Cristian Coșneanu, the UArefugees platform, synchronized with the responses from this form. On the first day, 943 people offered their help using the form, and 110 people asked for help. According to Anna Gurău, the volunteers communicate with the Government in order to update the platform with the missing data.
Translation from Romanian by Natalia Graur
On the Nistru, near the village of Varnița, a few colored pens with blue dots in the middle travel up and down the river. If you get closer, the pens become kayaks, and the blue dots – the students of the kayak-canoe school. You can also see that there is a larger boat, where the trainer Mihai Chitaica is sitting, taking care that nobody flips over, that the children paddle well, and encouraging a healthy competition. On the water, nobody asks them where they’re from and what language they speak. Nistru and Mihai Chitaica unite them all: the students from Gura Bîcului, from Varința and the ones from the North district under the administration of Bender.
Mihai Chitaica, Master in Sports, trains around 15 children in kayak-canoe
He smiles a lot and the red cheeks emphasize his good mood. This is how he wants the children to remember him. Mihai Chitaica is 68 years old, he has retired a long time ago, and he does everything for the children who come here to learn how to paddle on Nistru river.
Mihai Chitaica is a master in sports. Besides training and competing as a veteran, for many years he has worked in the field of carpentry, having a small workshop near the river, in the village of Varnița, Anenii Noi. But, while seeing the children and their trainers of kayak-canoe from Bender, kayaking down the river, his heart would melt. So he put a kayak on the river and slowly remembered the rowing technique, the rhythm and what it feels like when the drops of water sprinkle your face. He worked up the courage and rowed down the river.
He understood that he can do more, and today he trains at least 15 children. Some of them were “stolen” by sports lyceums or clubs from other countries, and he is very proud of them. He is not upset, because it is “the choice of each of the child,” says Mihai Chitaica. He is very happy with their results, at the same time saddened by the fact that children couldn’t train during the pandemic – they couldn’t train enough, couldn’t organize competitions in Varnița, couldn’t go abroad for competitions.
The school is attended by the children from Gura Bîcului, from Varnița, but also from the North district under the Bender administration. “When they come here, I tell them ‘You are all equal to me. When you are here with me, you are my responsibility for the two hours, and you have to behave as I tell you to.’ One of the trainers from Bender once told me: ‘I noticed that your children don’t have quarrels.’ And I told him that I just don’t accept it, it’s that simple. If I hear any swearing, they get punished. You know how I punish them? I make them do push ups, lift weights.”
Varnița is a village in the Anenii Noi rayon. It is located on the right bank of Nistru river. It borders with the Bender, the North district being a part of this town, and it is under the administration of Tiraspol.
Varnița is a village in the Anenii Noi rayon. It is located on the right bank of Nistru river. It borders Bender, the North district being a part of this town, and it is under the administration of Tiraspol.
Professional kayaks are narrower than the ones for beginners
In the center of the neighboring village, Gura Bîcului, students are waiting for Mr Mihai, as they call him. On the way to Varința, where the classes of kayak-canoe take places, after the children are picked up in the minibus, they start to discuss the current situation:
— We have a new outbreak in our village.
— Don’t tell me that.
— There are people infected.
— Where? Show me! Who is infected?
— There are in Bulboaca!
— Well, they’re in Bulboaca. But I don’t live in Bulboaca. I live in GB!
— Ok.
Then, when they get to the gym, they change their clothes, run a few circles for warming up and come back to the kayaks near the gym. Two of the younger kids approach a kayak and each of them grabs one by the tip. The children clumsily lift the kayaks, as they slightly shake while being carried towards the river. The older ones put their kayaks on the shoulders and carry them with much ease.
“Hey, girls, stop occupying in the wharf!” shouts the teacher. Mihaela, Cătălina and Ana row just a couple of times and already reach the middle of the river. They stay together to chat, but also to compete. “Align. Ready? Go!” shouts the teacher and the three girls lift their paddles almost simultaneously and, while tilting to the left, they plunge them into the water. They row with their entire bodies, then, in a second, they lift the paddles again and plunge them to their right with the same force. In a few seconds, Cătălina is two meters in front of the other girls. She is the fastest one.
Cătălina Cotelea, one of the fastest students
After rowing, they move to the gym. Cătălina Cotelea is 14 years old and she joined the kayak class in 2018. She has a cold and had to move to the gym, where she teases the younger students. She sits in the lotus position: “Get your bum lower!” Cătălina speaks to her little brother, Gheorghe, with a bossier tone of voice. “She’s neither kind, no mean,” he adds, mentioning that she is actually just strict.
She doesn’t lose sight of the four boys she is in charge with, making them do the plank, then sit in the air, like on a chair, with their straight backs next to the wall. Her tanned face covered in freckles, once teased by her colleagues, now looks too serious to make fun of. But not to Gheorghe. He allows himself to be silly and feel special, because the trainer today is his older sister
In the winter, the younger kids move to the gym and train for spring, when it’s warmer and the ice melts. This is when they take their kayaks on the water
Cătălina inspired Gheorghe to join the kayak-canoe class. He is nine years old and “a month ago, I was the youngest one in my group. And now, I believe that I am the best. I paddle very well and I have the second-best speed.” And Mr Mihai agrees. Last year, he took the boy for his first competition, even if he was two years younger than the allowed age in his category. “He is quick-witted,” confirms Mihai Chitaica, mentioning that he was awarded the first place in the age category of 10-11 years old.
Gheorghe wishes he becomes a gym teacher. “If you are a math teacher, you need to have nerves of steel. But if you are a gym teacher, you tell the children ‘Let’s go, let’s run, let’s…’ you only give commands!” explains the youngest member of the Cotelea family.
The expenses for competitions are most often undertaken by the teacher Mihai Chitaica, but also for the training, the fuel, the kayaks, their repairs, and other expenses. In order to make sure that children can train, Miahi Chitaica decided to make some money from tourism. Previously, he would earn money from carpentry and renting the gazebos, now he has at least eight kayaks and four small homes he can rent to tourists.
Last year, for example, he organized a tour of 26 km for eight men. “In the kayaks I put some wood for the fire, they took their tents and groceries with them. They spent the night near the river and enjoyed it a lot. They now want to come back with their families.” The experimental tour started in the village of Șerpeni, with a rest stop in Speia, and the night was spent in Telița. Although it was a success, he couldn’t continue with the tours this summer due to the pandemic.
Ana Glijinscaea is one of the four girls who joined the kayak-canoe class
Then he bought some lumber and other materials in order to build a pontoon for tourists. “It will be ready in spring,” assures us Mihai Chitaica and asks us to imagine a pontoon floating on Nistru, with a tent on it, and a few young people partying and having a barbeque.
The trainer has great plans for local tourism. These plans will get him closer to his biggest dream – “putting on the water as many children as possible”.
Text: Georgeta Carasiucenco
Photos: Tatiana Beghiu
Editing: Anastasia Condruc
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