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

Conclusions and recommendations
(in the case of children the total of assumed responsibilities: raising and
educating their little brothers/sisters; of maternal and/or paternal duties,
etc.), that determine psychical and physical exhaustion and lead to suicide
attempts in some cases.
The communication of the child with his/her parents through technical
means reduces the effects of emotional deprivation. It should be mentioned
that most children have the possibility to communicate regularly
with their parents, although there are children who know nothing about
the fate of their parents abroad, thus being deprived totally of communication.
The communication process is more frequent in the case of children
than in the elderly, while the elderly who take care of their grandchildren
communicate more often than their single peers. Consequently, the need
for communication is more acute for the elderly and especially in the case
of those who are single.
An important factor in a child’s personality development is represented by
the parent who remained at home and/or the caregiver. It is frequent that
the father, being at home, cannot create a favourable and secure environment
for his children (especially young ones). The study shows that some
children have a tense relationship with their fathers; despite presence of
one of the parents they are still deprived of their needs for affection, understanding
and security.
The study reveals that children left behind do not establish friendly relationships
with their peers for several reasons: they are not understood, they
hesitate to disclose family secrets, lack leisure time, etc. Support networks for
these children are less developed, most often consisting only of discussions
with class teachers, teachers and psychologists. Migration leads to a decrease
in interaction between children with migrant parents and educational institutions
due to: (i) the lack of supervision and control from their parents;
(ii) multiple «new» responsibilities of these children; (iii) misunderstandings
with their teachers, peers; (iv) the lack of any partnership between family
and school, etc. The research shows the necessity to undertake new measures
within the educational institution in order to reduce the negative impact
of migration on children: (i) compulsory introduction of psychological
services that would help both, children with migrant parents and teachers to
provide them necessary support; (ii) working out and disseminating various
information sources for teachers and other professionals; (iii) organizing social
activities to reduce loneliness and increase the level of communication,
(iv) working out and disseminating information for parents, etc.
The stressful psycho-emotional condition that children and elderly left behind
experience leads to deterioration of the physical state of the body, developing
organic disorders and diseases. In addition to this, the increased
responsibilities cause mental and physical breakdowns and as a result, ap-
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