Labor Ministry urges parents not to abandon children abroad

The high number of repatriated Moldovan children made the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family to launch an appeal to the Moldovan migrants not to abandon or leave their children without supervision in a foreign country. The appeal was made in a news conference on January 30, Info-Prim Neo reports. Many children who go abroad together with their parents are later abandoned and exposed to the risk of being exploited and engaged in work and begging activities. The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family is the authority that deals with the repatriation of these children, said Minister of Labor Valentina Buliga. “We want to reduce the number of Moldovan vagrant children abroad and thus call upon all the women and families from Moldova not to abandon their children abroad,” she stated. The repatriated children are reintegrated into the extended families or taken to temporary accommodation centers. The repatriation process lasts for a month to half a year. About 1 000 lei is spent on repatriating a child from Ukraine, 6 000 lei for a repatriation from Russia, and over 10 000 lei from another western country. “The children whom we try to reintegrate into society react differently to our actions. Their reactions depend on the traumas they suffered and their mental state,” said Lilia Goroceag, psychologist of the Center for Assistance and Protection for Victims and Potential Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings. Nine girls and 17 boys were retaliated in 2011. Eight children were brought home from Ukraine, 17 from Russia, while a child from Italy. The cases of another 30 children are now being examined.