Prime minister Ion Chicu has apologized to the diaspora for keeping them away from home throughout this pandemic, many having experienced issues with consular assistance and left stranded in airports. The address was given during the Diaspora Days, an online event, reports IPN.
"In my capacity as Prime Minister, I would like and should begin this speech by apologizing for your being away from home, for keeping you away from your loved ones, for the country, for us, not having created the proper conditions for you to work at home, for you having to work among strangers, for the tears of your children and parents, and for leaving online communication as the only means of connection, one which we, the ones at home cannot get used to," stated Ion Chicu.
The PM has complained to the diaspora about the drought and the tightening of the state budget. However, according to him, "a plague much greater is the Moldovan politics," which doesn't focus on problem resolution, but "uses population divisiveness to get to power." This year, says the Premier, the Government's task is to avoid the collapse of the country's budgetary-financial system, and to secure finances for social and investment pay.
The Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova, Caroline Tissot, has noted that Moldova can be described using the terms "diaspora" and "migration". Moldovan emigrants have contributed greatly to the development of their country, locally within communities, and at the national level, have launched businesses, helped their families. The Government bears an important role in this sense, to create a favorable framework, and Switzerland has supported this process by help the Executive Cabinet develop the "Diaspora-2025" Strategy.
Lars Johan Lonnback, International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission to Moldova, has thanked the Government for updating sanitary protocols at border checkpoints and for revising the law on migrant worker recruitment, which are both extremely important for the diaspora. According to Lonnback, COVID-19 has completely changed the dynamics of Moldovan migration. IOM believes that mobility will increase, yet secure and productive migration requires new international arrangements and procedures. During this pandemic, the diaspora will be much more relevant to the sustainable development of Moldova. Many migrants want to return home and invest, and IOM will support them.
Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova, has said that presently the UNDP is evaluating the pandemic's socio-economic impact, and it has already become clear that it has a major impact on socially vulnerable groups. Therefore, it is important to involve the diaspora in a dialogue to identify potential solutions together, and to overcome these immediate dangers. She has added that in the past few years UNDP, the Government, and the diaspora have cooperated towards migration's positive impact on the country's general development, and to secure social cohesion.
The 2020 Diaspora Days are organized online, August 21 to 23.
