Romanian MEP urges Moldova to adopt special law on abandonment

The Moldovan authorities should take urgent action to adopt a special law on abandonment which would provide safeguards for the abandoned children, thinks Romanian MEP Maria Petre. “The massage of the European Parliament must be conveyed and included in the agenda of the next Moldovan parliament and president. The situation of children in Moldova is a part of the country's image, especially in the context of its efforts to join the EU”, said Maria Petre, during a debate event following the screening of the Moldovan director Valeriu Jereghi's movie “Arrivederci” in the European Parliament's hall. When asked by the co-president of the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, MEP Marianne Mikko of Estonia, about the measures taken by the Moldovan Government in this respect, the representative of the Moldovan mission to the EU said that at the request of international organizations the Republic of Moldova elaborated two reports in 2008 concerning the situation of children. The European official expressed her regret that the movie doesn't illustrate any of the measures taken by the government to improve the situation. Valeriu Jereghi's Arrivederci depicts the situation of the Moldovan children left behind by their migrant parents. It is the story of two siblings, aged 5 and 7 years, who face numerous struggles and look after each over, waiting for the day when they will be able to go to their mother in Italy. Besides the drama of the abandoned children, the film raises another very serious issue – the drama of the wives left behind by their husbands, who start new families abroad. The visit of the Arrivederci crew to the European Parliament is a first leg of a European tour during which the movie will be shown in Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon and Roma, including for numerous Moldovans living there. Arrivederci won the Top Prize of the Euro-Asian Forum in Moscow in November last year. “Arrivederci can be understood by many nations that will ask themselves, as the Moldovans do, – what happened to our souls, why did we become estranged from each other, why can’t we offer warmth to our children?”, the director explained.