The identity state of the citizens of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and Taraclia district is indistinct. On the one hand, at declarative level it is underlined the feeling of integration into Moldovan society. On the other hand, besides the confused character of the civic identity, the ethnic identity is also elusive, the population being divided into those who assume only one ethnic identity and those with the feeling of belonging to multiple ethnic groups, shows a study presented by the Institute for Public Policy, IPN reports.
Study author Vasile Cantarji said the ethnic Gagauz and Bulgarians in Moldova live in complete linguistic isolation from the ethnic majority and state majority in general. “The absolute majority of the representatives of these groups do not know the official language. However, they all know the Russian language, even better than their native language. Moreover, the Russian language in Gagauzia and Taraclia is given precedence in the education process over the official language and mother tongue,” he stated.
The study author noted that the state policies on the linguistic integration of ethnic minorities didn’t produce significant results. The education efforts should be stepped up so as to teach the official language and native languages in the education institutions of Gagauzia and Taraclia.
The attitudes of the ethnic minorities to the state Republic of Moldova are marked by declared loyalty, but also by distrust in its future. Most of the residents of the southern districts see Moldova’s future as part of the Russian Federation or of a union of states created based on the former USSR.
At the same time, the integration into the West in Gagauzia and Taraclia is neither supported nor considered probable. In this regard, the methods of communication on the European integration of Moldova need to be rethought.
The way the people from the region perceive the external events confirm that the domination of the Russian media in this area is a destabilizing factor for the integration processes and civic cohesion in the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the possible linguistic integration efforts should be planned in the long-term, while in the medium term efforts are needed to substitute the Russian media production with national production in the languages spoken by the minorities. In the short term measures should be taken to counteract the media propaganda coming from Russia.
