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

CHAPTER I
Among leisure time activities participants of the research mentioned:
walking, playing soccer, the PC, track and field events, writing poems but
not about parents.
The way children spend their time depends on their interests: “I like sports,
I have practiced them since I was little, I also like to paint and to spend my
free time with my friends, to have fun” (III_C_1).
The length of children’s free time is supervised by the caregiver: “We
play as much as my grandmother allows me. If I am not back on time, she
does not allow me anymore to go and play. We like to play the “Hot Potato”
game, or rubber-band jumping and to skip the rope, and during summer
we walk in the park every Sunday. I play only with the girls as we don’t like
to play with boys because they’re bad and they fool around, we better play
without them” (III_C_10).
It can be observed that the time children with migrant parents spend to
play is insufficient because of their new responsibilities that appeared as a
consequence of their parents’ migration. The organization of children’s free
time has gaps leading to children being deprived of activities that would
correspond to their needs and interests. There are no specially equipped
spaces that would promote leisure activities, spaces that would be adjusted
to children’s age and there are no field specialists.
• Support networks
Support networks for children whose parents are abroad are represented
by their family members and specialists of different institutions. Some respondents
said their family members are their source of support: “I tell everything
to my mom, well… not everything, but most of my problems. There
are children who tell their friend’s problems, but I do not think it is right
because friends are not forever there. Everybody can show you that he or
she is a good friend but in the end everybody will betray you” (FG_C_3_rural);
“I share everything with my brother, he understands me and I understand
him. He already went through this and that’s why he understands me”
(FG_C_3_rural).
Sometimes children refuse to trust anyone and prefer to write their
thoughts in order to satisfy their need for communication on one hand,
and the need to be understood and to keep confidentiality on the other
hand: “It’s like I fear that they will not understand me and this is why I prefer
writing. It happened that somebody read my diary and since then I write
and burn the pages immediately” (FG_C_2_rural).
People interviewed during this study were asked for categories of specialists
as part of their professional support network where children left be-
76