Revolted students obtain audience with Premier

Prime Minister Vlad Filat changed his schedule for today in order to be able to discuss with representatives of the Congress of Nongovernmental Organizations and of young people, who became victims of companies that send students to work in the U.S. The journalists were informed about the meeting by the head of the public association “Moldova Mea” Fiodor Ghelici in a news conference on August 12, Info-Prim Neo reports. The conference scheduled for 11am was themed “Hundreds of deceived students will stage a protest to demand that they are paid back the money collected for the 'dream' trip to the U.S.” The journalists were told that related subjects will be made later, after the meeting with the Premier. On Wednesday, close to midnight, the young people were informed that the Prime Minister will have a meeting with them. Asked why they called the news conference, Fiodor Ghelici said that hundreds of students cannot recover their money as they became victims of swindlers. In order to go to work in the U.S., the students transferred by US$2,000-3,000 to accounts in Cyprus and other countries, but went nowhere because the companies that signed illegal contracts with them wash their hands of everything or even disappeared. The students are in despair as they have to repay loans. Ghelici said many of the students who went to the U.S. through these companies sleep on the street and eat from garbage bins as nobody waits for them there. Fiodor Ghelici said one of such companies is headed by Olga Stepanenko, a member of the PCRM's party committee in Buiucani district and the mother of five children. Another company is the one that invited Toto Cotugnio to a concert in Chisinau. The performance did not take place, but the money for the tickets have not been yet refunded. Ghelici expressed his bewilderment at the fact that these companies are not deprived of licenses. He promised they will provide more details and reveal names of persons who are behind this business after the meeting with Vlad Filat. Fiodor Ghelici and other representatives of the Congress of Nongovernmental Organizations said the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau did not yet react to cases of swindle involving companies that send students to the U.S. Hundreds of students took out loans and applied to go to the U.S., Vladimir Asnas, a second-year-student of the Technical University of Moldova, has told Info-Prim. He said he has a copy of the contract with the company and the receipt, but cannot get his money back. He also said he has mates who got to the U.S., but cannot return home as they do not have money. The organizers said a news conference will be held after the meeting with Vlad Filat.