World Refugee Day was observed in Chisinau on June 20 by a series of social events aimed at attracting public attention to the problems faced by people displaced by war, persecution or conflicts, IPN reports.
Head of the UNHCR National Office in Moldova Octavian Mohorea said the day’s slogan this year for all the NGOs that protect the rights of refugees is “One family torn apart by war is too many”.
“In Moldova, 50% of the refugees are from Syria. We now received over 20 applications from Ukraine. The refugees find it hard to integrate into Moldova because it is not a rich country. They need to pay rent and to find a job. We offer them assistance when they need. They are lodged the day they arrive at the airport and continue to live there until the procedures for registering them as refugees are completed,” said Octavian Mohorea.
Director of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum of the Ministry of the Interior Olga Poalelungi said that the number of refugees in Moldova is neither low nor high as every person counts. The reasons for which the people seek asylum are diverse such as military conflicts, wars, epidemics, and natural disasters, but they all boil down to elements of violence, persecution or dangers to the family’s safety. It’s important for Moldovan society to be tolerant towards these people and to understand that they didn’t take the decision to leave their country in haste.
Violeta Crudu, acting head of the Chisinau City Hall’s Social-Humanitarian Division, said that 400,000 lei is annually allocated from the municipal budget for promoting ethno-cultural events. “The capital’s slogan is “Unity in diversity”. We make effort to promote the cultures existing in Moldova, including those brought by the refugees. I think it is a sign of respect on the part of the residents of Chisinau to know their culture without discriminating against them,” she stated.
According to the Bureau for Migration, there are about 400 people in Moldova who benefit from state protection. Of them, 92 are recognized refugees, 203 benefit from humanitarian protection, while 76 are asylum seekers.
