{"id":442931,"date":"2016-11-12T09:27:37","date_gmt":"2016-11-12T09:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=442931"},"modified":"2016-11-12T10:24:45","modified_gmt":"2016-11-12T10:24:45","slug":"mass-exodus-from-moldova-the-fastest-shrinking-country-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/mass-exodus-from-moldova-the-fastest-shrinking-country-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass Exodus from Moldova, the Fastest Shrinking Country in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 7<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

CHISINAU, Moldova — On a rainy October day, two years ago, Oleg Bumbac, 29, landed at Luton Airport, in southern England. While walking on the airstairs, dressed in a blue business suit, Bumbac realized that he left Moldova for good.<\/p>\n

“I felt a bittersweet feeling of guilt and excitement. I did it, I said to myself,” remembered Bumbac. After six years of medical school and four years of working as an emergency doctor in Moldova, he realized that he couldn\u2019t live anymore with a salary of 134 Euro a month. He needed to\u00a0leave.<\/p>\n

Bumbac is not the only Moldovan fed up with the country enough to move away. More than 15 percent of Moldova\u2019s population, some 550 thousand citizens, currently live outside Moldova, according to Civis Centre of sociological, political and psychological investigations. The total number of migrants translates into a third of the employable population while every fifth of them is actually a highly qualified worker (teacher, doctor, economist or engineer). According to BBC, four people exit the country for a better life every hour, making Moldova the fastest shrinking country in the\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

Moldova is now at a crossroads. After almost twenty years, the country faces the first direct presidential elections. On Nov. 14, the day after the second round, pro-Russia candidate Igor Dodon or pro-Europe rival Maia Sandu will officially become the head of state. If pro-Russia candidate Igor Dodon wins presidency, Moldova could forge closer ties with Russia again. Meanwhile, Bumbac will vote for a European future in the heart of England. “In the first round, there weren’t enough ballots. I am afraid that not everyone will be able to vote on Nov. 13, but I am so moved. Moldovans across the world are gathering together to choose their president,” said Bumbac .<\/p>\n

\"Oleg

Oleg Bumbac (29, doctor) is one of 550 thousand citizens of Moldova who left the country. Photo: Victoria Colesnic<\/p><\/div>\n

From Moldova to England<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oleg Bumbac was born in a small village, surrounded by vineyards and fruit gardens, called Hajdieni in northern Moldova. He graduated the lyceum in Glodeni city, where he edited a local newspaper with a close friend. As a child, Bumbac loved to study and was the teachers\u2019 first candidate for different academic competitions. After graduating school, the boy decided to become a doctor, so he moved to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. \u201cThe admission contest was fierce. More than fifteen candidates competed for each place,\u201d Bumbac said. Yet, he managed to get a state-funded scholarship at the Faculty of General Medicine.<\/p>\n

After six years of challenging studies, Bumbac got his first job as an emergency assistant in the Municipal Emergency Hospital. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to be easy, but it felt impossible. I don\u2019t remember days when the emergency kit had everything it was supposed to. I had the most important medicine, but the kit was never full.\u201d Meanwhile, in 2013, Bumbac\u2019s salary was about 100 Euro for ten 24-hour shifts per month while the living wage (the minimum income necessary to meet basic needs) was 98 EUR. In order to survive, Bumbac used to take more shifts. \u201cOf course, I chose the cheapest rent. But to be able to pay even that, I had to take 15-18 shifts every month. Sometimes, I had to stay for 48 hours straight, because there were not enough doctors, which also happened frequently,\u201d Bumbac stated.<\/p>\n

Even employed as an emergency room doctor, Bumbac didn\u2019t receive more than 130 EUR. According to him, every emergency medical team should have at least one doctor and two to three assistants, but these teams were never complete. \u201cSo I had to respond to the patient\u2019s request completely alone. A lot of pressure was put on the doctors. And, of course, in these stressful conditions, I was not allowed to make any mistakes,\u201d said Bumbac.<\/p>\n

The idea of leaving Moldova was always in the back of his head. \u201cA lot of my colleagues had left and I was so tired to live slightly above minimum wage. I wasn\u2019t able to buy clothes, books or to travel anywhere,\u201d said Bumbac. He managed to survive because of his mother who also left the country and started working in Greece in order to help the family. For more than 15 years, she cooked pastries and taught Russian language. \u201cShe was my help, I wouldn\u2019t have made it without her,\u201d said Bumbac.<\/p>\n

During the following six months, Bumbac passed through a lot of interviews, collected recommendation letters and prepared for the big journey. When he was told that he had gotten a job at a private hospital in England, he needed a few minutes to realize his life was about to change drastically. \u201cI had very mixed feelings. I left my job with a feeling of guilt, because I was leaving my colleagues behind, amazing doctors, who are not guilty that the medical system in Moldova is ruined. But I was also so excited! I knew it was going to be huge,\u201d said Bumbac.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, on Oct. 16, Bumbac passed for the first time the threshold of the British hospital. \u201cI was excited, but also very stressed. I had to prove that I am a good doctor if I wanted to stay. I even took a small bag because I didn\u2019t know what this unbelievable journey would bring,\u201d said Bumbac.<\/p>\n

Now Bumbac lives in London and is the hospital\u2019s doctor on call. Every day, he supervises up to 60 patients or more, responds to all kinds of emergencies and works with his patients\u2019 physicians on their follow-up treatment. He talks warmly with his patients about Moldova. \u201cI even have this prepared presentation. It sounds like this: Moldova is a tiny country between Romania and Ukraine. It has the biggest wine cellars in the world and the tastiest wine in Eastern Europe,\u201d said Bumbac like talking to an invisible camera. At work, on his desk, he keeps a small traditional clay bell. \u201cIt has Moldova written on it and it has this small vine leaf as the bell clapper, so that I don\u2019t forget where I should return,\u201d he\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

No wind of change<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 7th of April, thousands of demonstrators claimed that 2009 parliamentary election results were fraudulent and gathered in major cities of Moldova demanding a recount, a new election, or resignation of the communist government. In Chisinau, where the number of protesters rose above 30,000, the demonstration escalated into a riot. On this day, Bumbac protested peacefully in the center of the capital. \u201cI am not a rebel. I couldn\u2019t throw stones, but I was on the side of those who did, because that communist government deserved the stones. Unfortunately, the change that we had brought [the pro-European parties] didn\u2019t fulfill our expectations for a bright European future,” he said. At these presidential elections, Bumbac thinks that Moldova has a chance to start over. “Watching the debates, I realized that Igor Dodon is a rasist, intolerant person. Maia Sandu is the only honest candidate, that has a plan on fighting the corruption’, said Bumbac. “If we\u00a0don’t win this battle, I sincerely don\u2019t see any perspectives in Moldova for now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to a national survey, conducted by Magenta research company in March 2016, 83 percent of citizens of Moldova think that the country is going in the wrong direction while 60 percent of Moldavans claim that they are worse off than they were last year. On top of it, 74 percent are convinced that the situation will either not change or will become even worse.<\/p>\n

\"infographic\"<\/h2>\n

Vitalie Varzari, a local consultant at the International Organization for Migration believes that \u201cthe lack of trust in the state institutions, the disappointment in the society and the country encouraged migration.\u201d On the other hand, Ruslan Sintov, sociologist and director of Civis Centre of sociological, political and psychological investigations, is convinced that the effects of the disappointment are yet to be seen. \u201cIf the economic situation in the country does not get better, people will continue to leave. According to our surveys, another 100 thousand citizens have intentions to leave Moldova in the next 12 months. Moreover, the number of those who took all their family members with them doubled during the last two years,\u201d Sintov affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\t\t