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

CHAPTER I
who have not yet made a decision regarding their education are quite
young.
• Social representation of future family and values that lie at its
bedrock
Children of a tender age usually referred to their future in the nuclear
family saying they want to live together with all members: “Together
with my mother, my father and my brother” (III_C_19). Elder
children described the family they would have speaking about the
relationship between members, the number and the sex of the children,
and the importance of material welfare and providing a decent
living.
Children interviewed during the research refer to the family frequently,
speaking about their plans for the future, stressing its
importance, the values it promotes and the social security that the
family should ensure. This can be explained by the sad experience of
separation from their parents that made them think about the role
of family and assess its’ role for a child. The large majority of children
stress that they see their future family as a solid union where all
will work together and under no circumstances will separate “I will
not go abroad” (IIA_C_1). Some of them are fully convinced that: “I
will never leave my children as I know how difficult it is. I will always
say how much I love them; I will try to help them solve their problems”
(III_C_19).
The focus-group participants mentioned that they would set up a
family only when: “I will finish my education and will have a permanent
job” (FG_C_2_rural), in order to reduce the risk of an eventual
separation they experienced in their childhood.
Some of the respondents would accept to live modestly but together
with the family: “better less money but with my family” (III_C_15).
These statements are important especially in the case of parents who
left abroad just to make provision for their children.
The study revealed also some specific situations amongst which we
present the case of a 17 year old girl living in the countryside with
both parents abroad and left in her aunt’s care. For this child the effects
of her parents’ migration were extremely harsh: her relationship
with her parents worsened and she had poor communication with her
aunt. Being asked about the social representation of her future family,
it is unsurprising that she mentioned: “I don’t think it will be a happy
one...only conflicts and misunderstanding...I would mend the faults I’ve
made because of my boyfriend...I would oppose my parents’ departure
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