Nistru war veterans protest in support of two war invalids

A group of veterans of the armed strife on Nistru staged on Wednesday a protest rally in downtown Chisinau to support two men who returned from war without their legs and who are now in dire need of prostheses, Info-Prim Neo reports. As the costs involved are estimated at roughly €40,000 and the pension offered by the government is inadequate, the protesters demand that the state must cover the costs. They also demand higher benefits for war veterans and for war widows taking care of minor children. Grigore Barcaru was only 15 when he was crippled by a land mine. Besides, he has a disabled, bedridden child and a monthly pension of 142 lei. “The prostheses we use now make us move like robots, causing us pain. The only solution is to buy new prostheses”, says Grigore Barcaru. Pavel Berzan, the second veteran without legs supported by the protesters, says that he many a time asked the central and municipal authorities for financial assistance, but was never heard. Berzan was injured during the war when he was disarming bombs in Cosnita. According to the president of the Association “Tiras-Tighina”, Anatol Caraman, the claims of the protesters also include raising the invalidity pension to 4,000 for the first severity degree and to 3,000 for the second degree. Currently, the highest pension a war invalid receives is 900 lei. Moldova has 269 Afghanistan war invalids and 243 Nistru war invalids.