For a long period of time I have dealt with farming pigs. I’ve worked in the construction industry in Moscow; I earned some money and returned to Moldova with the intention of opening a pig farm. For a while, my business was successful. Last year, however, the weather was hot and I faced a lot of problems. I requested a bank loan but I was refused, on account that I’ve earned the money invested in my business in Moscow. Moreover, I was told that pig farms cannot be financed.”

Alex, a pupil of the sixth form, refused to talk to us until we assured him that we were democrats and anti-communists. “I am a democrat,” the boy said in a loud and clear voice. He also mentioned that he had a dog trained to bite communists. “Its name is Mirana. It can’t stand the smell of communism in the courtyard.”

Corruption is learnt at an early age

Among the citizens that came to meet with reporters of Ziarul de Gardă there were also parents dissatisfied with the way pupils were graded for graduation exams. “It is an offence when a 12^th form pupil, who cannot even say two words in Romanian gets the same mark as a pupil that speaks Romanian in a proper and coherent manner,” M.N. said. We then asked her opinion about the reason for this. “Because everything is bought,” the woman replied. “I feel bad about the fact that children starting in school learn that everything can be bought. We want to raise a generation that has no idea what corruption is, but we will not succeed. Why? A child knows that he came to this world because his parents had the money to bribe the doctors; he went to nursery because his educators have been paid bribes and so on.”

A teacher of Russian, Nelea Radzevschi, assured us that there is no corruption in education

“I live in Soroca, but I go to work in Cosauti everyday and there is no corruption in our village. I am a Russian language teacher and my salary is not too big because I have just a few classes. We work the way we can. Our salary is too low, especially given the fact that I take the minibus to work everyday and I must pay 400 lei tax on my salary each month. It’s hard, but I don’t take any bribes.” Nelea Radzevschi told us that she has never asked for a bribe from any of her pupils. “That is why I cannot afford paying for my boy’s studies,” the teacher told us. What can I do, if I have no possibility to send him to study… I have no money.” People in Soroca assured us that if you are not corrupt, it is very hard to find a good job or get a scholarship.

Igor Sandu has a studio for wood processing in Soroca. “I faced corruption, but I managed to deal with it by decreasing the family budget. Now, people leave me alone because the studio is too small and it’s not worth wasting money on.”

A bribe the size of a bag

Unlike Sandu, Victor Purice was not so lucky. He claims that ever since he has been living in Soroca, he keeps fighting corruption. “This phenomenon affects me and my family. This happens because of my business. The mayor’s office clerks are involved in all this and I’ve addressed the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office to solve my problem but I have not yet received an answer. I am being asked to pay a bribe in order to get the authorisation for a building constructed six years ago. I have all the necessary documents for it, except the architect’s decision. For this document I was asked to pay $10,000. I don’t want to pay a bribe. I’ve even organised a law suit to end this attempt of trying to illegally extort money from me, but my case hasn’t been solved for half a year. I have worked in Russia to earn the money I’ve invested in my business. We wanted to do something for the children and the country, but it is impossible.”

Many inhabitants living on the bank of the Nistru River earn their living from the small traffic that takes place at the border with Ukraine. However, even this kind of activities cannot be held without corruption. Varvara R. sells at the market goods which she brings from Ukraine. “The Moldovan customs officers ask us every time to pay a bribe in order to be permitted to cross the border. We cannot refuse them, because we may have problems. They could confiscate our goods. We must pay to cross the border. They ask us for money according to the size of the bag. For one bag we have to pay 300 lei.”

When hearing we are a national newspaper, Tatiana Manzat wanted to address an open question to all Moldova’s judges: “how does the law work in Moldova, if criminals that kill innocent people cruelly are free?” the woman asked. “On December 25 2007, three young men killed Iura Smentanca. They tortured him and beat him till he died; he left behind a widow with two girls. The killers were sentenced to only three suspended years. I don’t know what kind of justice we have in our country. I want the legislation to really exist in the Republic of Moldova. If you have killed a man, you must take responsibility for your actions. Unfortunately, killers live in freedom because they have a lot of euros.”

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