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Stories from diaspora// Iuliana Motologa – a world-class fashion trainer based in Dubai

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This week, we want to introduce to you a very special girl from the Republic of Moldova. Her aspirations have a very exotic and, in the same time, stylish form, literally, because she lives in Dubai and works for one of the most reputable companies in the fashion industry. Her name is Iuliana Motologa.

For the beginning, we asked Iuliana to describe her personality, as nobody could ‘paint’ her portrait better than she does: “I consider myself an ambitious dreamer. I am very passionate in whatever I do in life and people who don’t share my passion might find me strange and hard to understand.” Iuliana puts so much heart and soul in whatever she does. She considers herself loyal, appreciating the same in return. I have a critical eye or let’s call it, a keen eye for perfection that creates a constant inner battle within, between the desired utopia and the acceptable reality. On a different note, behind this determined, self-controlled and independent façade, I am a teenager at heart.”

About fashioning her own dreams

4 years ago, Iuliana took an important and courageous decision: doing a master’s degree remotely, at the University of Liverpool, along with working at one of the top fashion companies in the world. How was it possible to combine them? “With many cups of coffee and countless late nights,” claims Iuliana. “It was a challenging stage of my life that stretched me to the limit and pushed my boundaries further than I could’ve ever imagined they could reach.”

Iuliana always dreamt of having a progressive and smooth learning path, being able to experience the joy and problems of a normal student’s life, as she states.

“My case was different, as I chose to be independent, earn my living and invest in my education, rather than await support from my family.”

Moreover, it wasn’t a sudden decision. It took her around 2 years to understand and decide which path she wanted to follow. First, Iuliana moved to the United Arab Emirates and gained her work experience at a British luxury fashion house. “Having a minimum of 2 years work experience was a criterion for selection in the master’s programme I had chosen in marketing, a degree I knew would help me grow in my desired career path,” says Iuliana.

All of us know or guess how hard it is to study and work in the same time. As Iuliana told us, doing that in the UAE was even more challenging: “My Master’s programme with the University of Liverpool wasn’t flexible at all, as some might think when they hear about distance learning. Our programme was well structured, starting with a clear syllabus and ending with precise and strict deadlines. Just to give you some numbers: there were a total of 8 core modules, each one with a duration of 8 weeks and 2 weeks break in between. In addition, we spent 40 weeks on our final project, conducting our own research and writing the dissertation. We used to spend an average of 25 hours per week studying, apart from the 48 hours of work per week, as per the UAE law.” A simple mathematical calculation, gets us a result of about 73 hours of work per week, that meaning around 10 hours every single day (!) Would you now say that it was so hard for you to do it?

Of course, Iuliana had her own methods to resist to such a workload. “To keep me sane, I was trying to travel as much as I could in the 2 weeks of University breaks, scheduling a holiday from work at the same time. I frequently went on ‘wellness retreats’ to tropical destinations or to explore new countries,” recalls Iuliana.

About the benefits of working as a trainer in the fashion industry

“Ever since I had my first interview with my employer in 2014, I expressed a wish to develop myself in this direction, and I started from scratch, learning everything, as a sales assistant.” This is how Iuliana describes her beginnings at the company she is currently working at.

Today, she holds the position of a fashion trainer for Middle East and India. “Now I work for the fashion division, training retail teams on product and brand knowledge with a deep focus on client experience, it’s the best job ever! I interact on a daily basis with more than 35 nationalities, people of different ages, cultures and seniority levels, based in several countries across the region. I constantly learn exciting new things about them,” claims Iuliana.

Iuliana discovered her passion for training over the course of working as a sales assistant: “There was no job opening, and I had no idea where my passion will take me. I just continued doing what I loved the most for almost two years, never failing to complete my official job’s tasks.” And she really loves her job. “What I like the most about my job is that I’m changing my role from coach to trainer and facilitator depending on the situation. The longer I am in the role, the more I realize that my job is not just to pass new information to the audience, but often, to launch new ideas for discussion and facilitate the course of communication.”

The main benefits of working for one of the best companies in the fashion industry (for Kawaii and Harajuku fashion click here), according to Iuliana, is to be surrounded by the best people and that every day, she comes to work with positive thoughts and a smile on her face.

Her job enables Iuliana to have an active lifestyle.  “I travel often and even when I’m in the country, I don’t sit in front of the computer from 9 to 6. Luckily, my job is dynamic and also creative to some extent, which means I’d be on the phone, driving, changing locations, meeting different people, organizing training sessions etc. 60% of my time is preparation and the rest is delivery.”

“I’m very lucky to be able to travel for work to places like Beirut, Delhi, Doha, Kuwait, Paris and Amsterdam. At times, I choose to extend my weekend and explore the city. When I come back to Dubai, I prefer to have relaxing weekends, catch up with friends, and go to my Salsa classes.” Iuliana reveals that she is in a constant quest for an interesting sport activity, which she would share with a friend.

About living in a completely different world

Iuliana lives in Dubai – a fast-paced city that can host people of any nationality, with any preferences and lifestyle. “There are so many things to try and activities to embrace in Dubai. You can enjoy yoga, surfing, sport kite, Latino dances, horse-riding, dune bashing etc. The comment that most of expats will tell you is that there is not enough time to practice all of them. Time is money indeed and we can all feel it here,” states Iuliana.

Iuliana says that a must-have thing in such a city is a car. “The city is spread out. So, having a car is essential for getting around easily although there is a public transport system. It’s much more convenient and comfortable to have your own vehicle, especially in the hot summer months.”

She was only 22 when she moved to Dubai. Iuliana lived in Moldova until she turned 19, went to USA through a summer programme in Texas, studied in Northern Italy for a bit less than a year and had an internship in Switzerland. “The latter one was an eye-opening experience that planted the wanderlust seed in my heart. It equipped me with courage to tap into the Middle Eastern world.”

Her views and mindset suffered a big transformation since she moved to Dubai. “I tend to think that this change has left a major footprint on who I am today. I’ve learned to keep my mind open and my face straight when talking to someone from a different background,” she says.

Iuliana entered a diverse new colourful world. “There is not one single Arab culture. There are multiple cultures that translate in different behaviours, dialects, and traditions within this region. The Arab world is composed of so many countries from North Africa to the Asian continent, and what was a surprise for me is that, sometimes they don’t even understand each other’s Arabic sentences because of the dialect. The Gulf countries remain a mystery for me, as I had only professional interaction with true locals, but I can tell you about Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians, Moroccans, Iraqi, Iranians who have one thing in common: the love for food, and their food is absolutely delicious!” Our protagonist says that she was able to give up on the traditional Moldovan “plăcinte”, for the food she tried there.

People of Arabic cultures are friendly, light-hearted, and very warm, as Iuliana states.

“They are very passionate (pretty much like me), but short-temper people. You’d hear many times them saying: “do not awaken the Arab within me.”

Still, there are things she didn’t manage to get used to: “Until today, I can’t get used to the fact that the work week starts on Sunday and ends on Thursday.”

About her short escapades to Moldova

“I come back home once every 4-5 months to see my dear family. Luckily, they are all in one place, so I get to see them all at once. Most of my friends have moved abroad though, and we try to meet regularly somewhere in Europe.” Iuliana prefers coming home in summer or for New Year. “All of my trips back home must include a visit to one of the wineries, or a rustic restaurant somewhere outside Chișinău. I enjoy taking my family out and pampering them while I’m at home.”

Iuliana highlights the big contrasts between Chișinău and Dubai in terms of nature and the taste of fruits and vegetables in summer. “The number of trees and the intensity of the fresh air is something I can’t neglect when coming from Dubai to Chișinău. The flavour of our fruits and vegetables in summer and all the organic options sold in the outdoor markets is something I constantly long for while living in Dubai.” Yet, the gloomy atmosphere is noticed by Iuliana as well: “When I’m in Moldova, I can sense a deep melancholy and nostalgia surrounding people passing by.”

About her future plans

Iuliana is not going to leave Dubai any time soon. “Dubai has been my settled place for a longer period of time (5 years and a half now to be exact). This place has offered me so many opportunities I could maybe only dream of at my age.”

“I’ve invested so much of my time and efforts into what I have now, that for the moment, I just want to enjoy the fruits of my work without thinking of where is ‘next’? Unless an opportunity falls on top of my head out of nowhere.”

As Iuliana says, a lot of things have changed as compared to 8 years ago when she would’ve left everything to move to the US. “I don’t think and wish the same anymore.”

For now, she dreams of learning horse riding and eventually buy a horse. “My father might laugh while reading this, because this is what the 5 years old Iuliana always wanted. I would love to learn how to ride a horse professionally and even buy my own horse eventually.” There is one more thing: “I want to ensure a peaceful life for my parents and show them the world. I’m determined to do that.”

Photos: personal archive

Jurnalistă that speaks English very well. De aia Maria are grijă că prietenii noștri străini să nu piardă nicio informație valoroasă despre actualitatea din Moldova.

Society

“They are not needy, but they need help”. How Moldovan volunteers try to create a safe environment for the Ukrainian refugees

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At the Government’s ground floor, the phones ring constantly, the laptop screens never reach standby. In one corner of the room there is a logistics planning meeting, someone has a call on Zoom with partners and donors, someone else finally managed to take a cookie and make some coffee. Everyone is exhausted and have sleepy red eyes, but the volunteers still have a lot of energy and dedication to help in creating a safe place for the Ukrainian refugees.

“It’s like a continuous bustle just so you won’t read the news. You get home sometimes and you don’t have time for news, and that somehow helps. It’s a kind of solidarity and mutual support,” says Vlada Ciobanu, volunteer responsible for communication and fundraising.

The volunteers group was formed from the very first day of war. A Facebook page was created, where all types of messages immediately started to flow: “I offer accommodation”, “I want to help”, “I want to get involved”, “Where can I bring the products?”, “I have a car and I can go to the customs”. Soon, the authorities also started asking for volunteers’ support. Now they all work together, coordinate activities and try to find solutions to the most difficult problems.

Is accommodation needed for 10, 200 or 800 people? Do you need transportation to the customs? Does anyone want to deliver 3 tons of apples and does not know where? Do you need medicine or mobile toilets? All these questions require prompt answers and actions. Blankets, sheets, diapers, hygiene products, food, clothes – people bring everything, and someone needs to quickly find ways of delivering them to those who need them.

Sometimes this collaboration is difficult, involves a lot of bureaucracy, and it can be difficult to get answers on time. “Republic of Moldova has never faced such a large influx of refugees and, probably because nobody thought this could happen, a mechanism of this kind of crisis has not been developed. Due to the absence of such a mechanism that the state should have created, we, the volunteers, intervened and tried to help in a practical way for the spontaneous and on the sport solutions of the problems,” mentions Ecaterina Luțișina, volunteer responsible for the refugees’ accommodation.

Ana Maria Popa, one of the founders of the group “Help Ukrainians in Moldova/SOS Українці Молдовa” says that the toughest thing is to find time and have a clear mind in managing different procedures, although things still happen somehow naturally. Everyone is ready to intervene and help, to take on more responsibilities and to act immediately when needed. The biggest challenges arise when it is necessary to accommodate large families, people with special needs, for which alternative solutions must be identified.

Goods and donations

The volunteers try to cope with the high flow of requests for both accommodation and products of all kinds. “It came to me as a shock and a panic when I found out that both mothers who are now in Ukraine, as well as those who found refuge in our country are losing their milk because of stress. We are trying to fill an enormous need for milk powder, for which the demand is high and the stocks are decreasing”, says Steliana, the volunteer responsible for the distribution of goods from the donation centers.

Several centers have been set up to collect donations in all regions of Chisinau, and volunteers are redirecting the goods to where the refugees are. A system for processing and monitoring donations has already been established, while the volunteer drivers take over the order only according to a unique code.

Volunteers from the collection centers also do the inventory – the donated goods and the distributed goods. The rest is transported to Vatra deposit, from where it is distributed to the placement centers where more than 50 refugees are housed.

When they want to donate goods, but they don’t know what would be needed, people are urged to put themselves in the position of refugees and ask themselves what would they need most if they wake up overnight and have to hurriedly pack their bags and run away. Steliana wants to emphasise that “these people are not needy, but these people need help. They did not choose to end up in this situation.”

Furthermore, the volunteer Cristina Sîrbu seeks to identify producers and negotiate prices for products needed by refugees, thus mediating the procurement process for NGOs with which she collaborates, such as Caritas, World Children’s Fund, Polish Solidarity Fund, Lifting hands, Peace Corps and others.

One of the challenges she is facing now is the identifying a mattress manufacturer in the West, because the Moldovan mattress manufacturer that has been helping so far no longer has polyurethane, a raw material usually imported from Russia and Ukraine.

Cristina also needs to find solutions for the needs of the volunteer groups – phones, laptops, gsm connection and internet for a good carrying out of activities.

Hate messages

The most difficult thing for the communication team is to manage the hate messages on the social networks, which started to appear more often. “Even if there is some sort of dissatisfaction from the Ukrainian refugees and those who offer help, we live now in a very diverse society, there are different kind of people, and we act very differently under stress,” said Vlada Ciobanu.

Translation by Cătălina Bîrsanu

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Important

#WorldForUkraine – a map that shows the magnitude of the world’s actions against Russian aggression

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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

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Important

How is Moldova managing the big influx of Ukrainian refugees? The authorities’ plan, explained 

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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

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