May the young return” “

There is a diaspora of approximately a million Romanians who have emigrated to seek work, especially in Italy, Austria, Israel, Ireland and Spain. Many of them spend several years in the host country before returning home. This emigration creates both opportunities and problems, as explained to SIR by Monsignor PETRU GHERGHEL , bishop of Iasi, a diocese of 260,000 Catholics (out of a total population of 5 million, the majority Orthodox). Some 30,000 of them have already gone; “we have no young people left in the diocese. Baptisms are progressively declining, because there are no more births”. According to a UNICEF survey cited by Ghergel, 41% of Romanian children wish to live in Western Europe or in the USA. Born to emigrate? Why are so many Romanians making this difficult choice? “Emigration from Romania began after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Initially there was the mirage of the West and large numbers left to seek work abroad. In the meantime the situation has calmed down; Romanians have understood there are many problems also outside their country. Our Catholics leave only to return. The positive aspect is that they bring home with them many riches and gifts: we have a need for contact with the West, because we were a closed country. It’s a way of growing, developing, acquiring other lifestyles and expressing life”. The problems include women who emigrate leaving their children at home… “Women leave out of necessity and to find a job. This is a negative aspect. Our society was used to a family of traditional type, with very strong religious foundations. Now, as a result of emigration, years of irregularity and difficulties of communicating with our own loved ones, the link between parents and children has been broken. Children have been left with their grandparents, with the result that their education has been lacking. Poor education is generating other problems inside the country. We try to help them but it’s not easy”. But above all it’s the young who are emigrating… “Yes many young people have left, but we are hopeful that sooner or later they will return, because they have a home in Romania. They tend to work from three to five years abroad and then return. In some countries, especially in Italy, they feel accepted, also as a result of similarities in language, culture and religion. After the collapse of Communism, everything changed in Romania and the possibilities of earning a living are very limited. The financial crisis and insecurity are great. The young have no prospects, so they decide to emigrate to another country where they encounter many difficulties and have to make many sacrifices. We are therefore trying to send priests to help them maintain links with their families and cope with all the problems of emigration”. How do Romanians emigrate? “Most emigrate using illegal channels, with tourist visas, then they find work and stay where they are. But many are repatriated. We are trying to redress this problem by asking all the authorities to offer legal channels for leaving the country with regular work permits, because there is a need for manpower in the West and Romanians are willing to work well, even if they don’t receive the necessary social assistance. Many even renounce their profession in order to take jobs at a lower level”. Romania, together with Bulgaria, will enter the EU on 1st January 2007. What will change with entry into Europe? “With entry into Europe there will be a greater chance of legalizing the presence of Romanians abroad. Even now we have the chance of freely circulating in the EU for three months. It was predicted that there would be an enormous increase in emigration as a result, but that hasn’t happened. On the contrary, many have the chance of leaving the country, discover that the situation abroad is not easy and so return to Romania. Those who return have understood that they can do the same in our own country. That is something that gives me satisfaction. Being free human beings, they can choose to begin working in their own country. Besides, the chance of going abroad, working there for a few years and then returning to Romania brings positive benefits: people learn to be enterprising; they change their way of thinking; they send back a lot of money; and this brings economic benefits. The economy is growing also thanks to emigration. But a high price is being paid for all this: a great deal of suffering and sacrifice”.