On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence, IPN News Agency decided to depict the portrait of the current Republic of Moldova. For the purpose, we challenged a number of people, including state officials, politicians, businessmen, civil rights activists and persons without posts and titles, but who have what to say. The generic picture is entitled “Thoughts about and for Moldova”.
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Aureliu Batrinac, medical doctor: I see the country as a teenager who is slow to grow up and uncertain in front of some important challenges.
With big aspirations, but lacking courage and unity
Despite its age of 25 years, Moldova is more like a teenager, the country is slow to grow up and uncertain before the challenges ahead of us – we think something, then we change our minds. This is how Aureliu Batrinac sees Moldova after two and a half decades of independence. He thinks we have big aspirations, but don’t have enough courage and unity to overcome our problems.
The doctor says that Independence is both an achievement and a challenge. Moldova has managed to develop its own constitutional and legal framework, to educate its citizens, to grow its economy and local products, to establish its own health care and social protection systems – everything that a sovereign country needs.
Moreover, the country made its own mark in the world through household names like Grigore Vieru, Eugen Doga, Maria Biesu and the young wave of talents that includes the likes of Valentina Nafornita, Ilian Garnet, the bands Zdob si Zdub, Brio Sonores and many others. The fact that Moldova produced such personalities is a big accomplishment.
As regards the failures, Batrinac says everyone is aware of them but he wants us to learn to look ahead with more confidence and courage and to develop a true sense of patriotism. He wants a country where everybody is happy, with many children and young people, where the elderly people are respected, a country with multiple opportunities and prospects.
Things to learn
The doctor compared Moldova’s independence with the autonomy of a young man previously used to being subordinated, who did not take his own decisions when it was time to spread his wings. He is shy and is looking for help and advice from those around him, who seem stronger, but he is still a promising and charismatic young man.
Aureliu Batrinac underlined that Independence is a state, a phenomenon with a load of contextual and semantic relativity. Independence means that the country has a name, borders, state symbols, etc. A country’s degree of independence can be defined legally, economically, culturally, etc. In a globally interconnected world and on the background of regionalization tendencies, the countries’ dependence on one another in front of the new challenges becomes obvious. Moldova is part of several regional and international organizations and communities, is cooperating with other countries, is signing treaties committing to some common rules, standards and responsibilities.
Today, no country can develop in isolation. We mutually influence each other, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to coexist on this Earth and to evolve so rapidly. In this regard, Moldova must learn to collaborate efficiently and lead a smart diplomacy.
Efforts for a brighter future
Speaking about his own line of work, Aureliu Batrinac said that medicine was one of the few fields to actually adopt modern technology and practices. There have been many reforms, including the harmonization of the national health care system with the European structure and tendencies. The field was liberalized, which opened the path for the creation of many private institutions. This increased access to medical services, improved their quality and reduced the number of patients going abroad for specialized and expensive treatment. We have access to the latest technologies and can treat diseases that were incurable 10 or 20 years ago.
As a heart surgeon, every time he goes to a conference abroad, Aureliu Batrinac is fascinated by what the latest medical technologies can do. Back home, when he sees patients with severe heart diseases that could be prevented or young people with heart problems, he wants to offer them the same treatment conditions and opportunities as abroad. This is one of the reasons why he is staying in Moldova. He thinks that only with the contribution of each of us, the country where we were born and which we call motherland, can have a brighter future.
According to Aureliu Batrinac, Moldovans are a people with a rich history and traditions, who are less willing to accept changes, but stay loyal to deeply-rooted values. Moldovans smile less often, but honestly. They are a hardworking people who know how to celebrate family events and honor traditions. Moldova is a small country at the crossroads of big powers and this helped its cultural development and self-identification as a nation.
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Aureliu Batrînac is a heart surgeon and medical director at the Medpark International Hospital. Previously, he was head of the Republican Hospital’s Heart Surgery Department and deputy director of the Cardiology Institute in Chisinau.
Anastasia Rusu şi Mariana Galben, IPN
The articles of the series “Thoughts about and for Moldova” started to be published on July 18. Among the protagonists are: Dumitru Alaiba, Iurie Ciocan, Ana-Maria Tulea, Ion Manole,Olga Gagauz, Stella Ciobanu, Iurie Leancă, Victor Parlicov, Doru Curosu, Igor Meriacre, Valeria Seican, Ciprian Raetchi, Andrei Nastase Ghenadie Galca, Arcadie Barbarosie,Valeriu Matei, Eugen Doga, Dumitru Postovan, Petru Macovei, Tatiana Negrus, Maia Sandu, Viorel Soltan, Valentin Gutan, Gheorghe Erizanu, Mariana Onceanu-Hadarca, Viorel Cibotaru, Iulia Iabanji, Aureliu Batrînac, Petru Bodarev, Sergiu Prodan, Igor Dodon etc. When contacted, Nicolae Timofti, Andrian Candu, Pavel Filip, Marian Lupu, Vladimir Voronin, Mihai Ghimpu, Renato Usatyi, Valeriu Turea and others also agreed to give interviews.