A significant part of the refugees in Moldova cannot get employed because they still do not have identification documents. Officials of the Interior Ministry say they are working intensely on this problem and the process of printing and issuing identity cards to refugees will be completed in June, Info-Prim Neo reports. Employment is the most serious problem faced by the refugees in developing countries, besides the problems of dwelling, medical and social assistance. Representatives of the refugees in Moldova repeatedly accused the authorities of irresponsibility and non-fulfillment of the obligations stipulated in the Convention on Refugees, of which Moldova became a party in 1951. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that they still do not have the necessary documents, including passports to travel. ‘The refugees receive social assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (ICNUR), live for a period of up to six months in the asylum seeker’s center and then they are free to find employment. But they do not want to work after they receive no more financial assistance. They look for possibilities of migrating to the West. That’s why they want tourist passports,” Ecaterina Silvestru, deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s Migration and Asylum Bureau, said during a thematic seminar. The cited source said that there are complex refugee support programs, including for their social integration and lodging. In another development, Ecaterina Silvestru said that the refugees in Moldova benefit from the same rights as the country’s citizens: the right to employment, the right to medical assistance, the right to education and information, the right to cultural and religious identity, the right to be protected against any discrimination forms, the right to rest, etc. On the other hand, the refuges repeatedly said that they face numerous problems when they need medical assistance. Vasile Batcu, president of the Moldovan NGO “Save the Children” and program coordinator at ICNUR, said that Moldova cannot provide all the necessary medical assistance to refugees. The key reason is the shortage of financial resources. “Since Moldova cannot cope with all the problems faced by its citizens and solve the problems of the refugees, we are on a permanent search for financial resources,” Vasile Batcu said. Another problem faced by the refugees is the adaptation to the environment of the host country. Given that most of the refugees come from African and Asian countries with different traditions, culture and religion, they meet difficulties in adapting to the traditions and culture of Moldova. Romanian and Russian language courses, special courses for the women that come from Muslim countries and are very inhibited because they are used to another way of living are organized for the refugees with the aim of facilitating their integration and adaptation. “Although there are numerous problems, the society in Moldova is very open and welcoming. The people do not discriminate and are not xenophobic towards the refugees,” legal consultant Marcel Colun said. There are about 250 asylum seekers and refugees in Moldova that come from over 20 countries.