specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

CHAPTER I
ishable goods: “I buy food” (III_C_10); “For Internet” (III_C_17);
“Pay the bills and for our house” (III_C_22); “School supplies, my
brother pays the electricity and gas bills, we buy sweets, potato chips”
(III_C_27), Sometimes the money is used for investing in their
house or paying their education fees, etc.: “My sister left for Romania
to study at the university”.
Another aspect of the research refers to learning a new social role of
managing money. In this context, the interviewed children showed
different abilities to spend the money. Their answers depend on their
priorities–spending money for entertainment, for daily necessities,
household, school, or trying to save the most of money received from
parents. By the way they spend money, children left behind differ
from those whose parents are in the country: “The fact that they have
more money, they are better dressed, even when they come to school,
when they go in a store they can afford to buy whatever they want,
but the ones with parents at home are held on a leash. They are not
given all the money they want every day” (FG_C_3_rural). This situation
creates a feeling of discomfort for the children whose parents
remained at home. There are also cases when children whose parents
are abroad helped the poor ones from their community, being aware
of their needs.
Parents themselves have reservations regarding their children’s
ability to spend money. Trying to prevent deviant behaviour, some
parents prefer to direct money to the caregiver. Children understand
and accept such a decision: “They don’t give it to us because they
know we’ll spend it... Anyway we don’t need it and they fear that we
would buy cigarettes, drugs and stuff like that” (III_C_13).
It is important to mention that there are situations when children
are “spoiled” by remittances. In such a way parents wish to compensate
for the absence of care and affection, therefore providing some
goods and additional services. “It is very important that parents, when
sending money, know exactly what their children are going to do with it.
There should be an official person-in-charge with their children’s care”
said the experts.
Money management strategies are mainly oriented towards allocating
resources to provide a decent life. Meanwhile the research highlighted
different ways of prioritization in spending the money: from
paying the fee for education to spending money on entertainment.
Among other social responsibilities children should take is the way of
spending the money, as any deviation in the management of remittances
will be felt to a certain extent at the community level.
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