Noi culturi, noi antropologii - Humanitas

cided to conduct Ecoweek sessions in English, she explained
that many students look for opportunities to practice their
English, that she wanted to involve foreign experts (one
guest presenter was American, another German), and that
she herself, a native Russian speaker, was more comfortable
speaking English than Romanian. When I asked her if she
worried that the requirement to speak English would exclude
some potential participants, she dismissed this, saying
that if Moldovan students are not fluent in English by the
time they graduate from high school, they are lazy.
This focus on the importance of English is also linked
to the split between old and young in the environmental
community and Moldovan society at large, and the rising
international awareness of young people. Since the end of
communism, the country’s borders have opened significantly,
and young generations of Moldovans have increasingly
travelled abroad for work and study. Although some
acquaintances told me that they felt trapped in Moldova, especially
due to visa rules that make it difficult to legally work
or even travel in Western Europe and North America, many
of the young people I talked to were nonetheless eagerly
searching for opportunities elsewhere. Within the environmental
community, even those who wanted to improve life
in Moldova, such as Violeta and Ioana, sought education and
expertise outside of the country. This international awareness
among young people has led to a divide between their
generations and older Moldovans, many (though certainly
not all) of whom would like for their children and grandchildren
to stay in Moldova. Thus while the „old guard“ of
environmentalists seems to feel stuck working through official
networks and complaining about political incompetence,
young environmentalists are seeking novel ways to make
international connections and make a difference outside of
official channels.
Finally, a decentered framework may also be useful
in exploring how environmentalism in Moldova occupies
a place on the margins of a larger environmental movement.
One student joked to me that Moldova is European
only in a geographical sense, illustrating that while many
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