Interview

Teacher 1
We will never finish the reparation. They will again thwart us and we won't pull it through. Let's start it and they will not be able to stop us. The money has been earmarked for the school, what else do they want?

The principal
The law of preserving has taken on one side, has given on the other and it is a miracle that we can still pay for the water and other services, but if you don't pay for them, the authorities close the school and there is no way you can work. And how are you supposed to get the license, if nobody signs it. Even if we have a rent contract, neither the demiologic station, nor the firemen would sign the receive document, because the building is in fact not repaired and it is far too small for 700 children.

Alexandru Gorgan
You know that Smirnov has been missing for a long period. Some people say that has rested, , other that he has followed a medical treatment, but I know something else, that in Moscow he has been proposed to leave from here having a certain offer in Russia. Putin has told him that this way he will naturally disappear. It is really the way he has been directly and toughly told. He is convinced to leave, because Putin, who has western, European visions doesn't need this situation. The matter of Transnistria has been discussed with the president of the USA. It has become international and some people say that Cubreacov appeared as a result of this discussion. So, these are pretty complicated things that become international, but can't be seen at the surface. Today these are some attempts of letting people know that it is starting to end. Russians don't need that! Not all of them, I speak about Putin and others that have more western, European visions, after all they are being accused by Europe, by the West of not fighting the separatism, the terrorism and of supporting Transnistria.

Teacher 2
This is a story, they have stricken their roots and you there's nothing that can help us to pull them out. Only being together with those from Chisinau, only uniting we can resist, but only with the help of international bodies. The Russia itself won't solve a thing, because it has other interests. Russia is forced to accept what it is being told by Europe. We should not really hope that the actual government will help us. But we have to hold on; we don't have other solution, do we?
Teacher 2
Yes, look at us, we are holding on for already 10 years, we are being patient, patient, patient: and still nothing changes!
A.G. - if there is another solution, let's do it, but there is no other solution! We must be more active in the internationalization too. That step from May 31st when all those from Tiraspol became softer is a proof that something is definitely going on, we don't know it, but something is going on. Being a native I personally care about what happens in Transnistria, and because I have been for a while in that high state medium I can't be indifferent. I can't detach myself from what's happening as long as people are being flouted. We must knock for help at the door and of our Romanian brothers and at other doors.
The principal
But you know, something is starting to change for better. Even the fact that we celebrated the anniversary of 10 years a year later; we, the administration together with the parents thought about it carefully. We should have celebrated on September 1st, but we did it on the 31st in order to attract the attention, to show that we exist. And when we did so, those from the international organizations really softened. Mr. Gorgan told us that we should address Romania, we did that: we went to the Parliament, we went to the Senate, and we went to the president. We informed them about all these problems. And they told us one thing: we want to help you with all our heart and body, but the government of the Republic of Moldova tells us that this is interfering with the home affairs of the country. There would be another way through the non-governmental organizations, we've tried, but the results can't be seen immediately. But still our existence depends on the fight we are ready to perform. If we give up, nobody is going to come and help us. The political situation is changing.

Teacher 3
I understood that they don't intend to look for any solution to our problem; we have simply tried all the possible choices. We could have obtained the 40th kindergarten, thing that we had worked for but they didn't let us. But still they see o certain force in us, they see that they cannot change our conceptions, and they think about other ways of doing that. This matter troubles me a lot, because what do the Transnistrian authorities do? Only through lies! What they say is right, but if you try to open your mouth they say, "that's it, you are making things worse". And there is something more that I have noticed: in April we were invited at the Ministry of Education and the School 19 from Bender, the school from Rabnita, the Boarding School were also there. I was surprised a lot that they are seeking all the ways of destroying us and they expressed clearly enough that it is not acceptable that the Boarding School that is situated on the territory of Transnistria admits children from both Moldova Tiraspol, who gives them the recommendation to come to this place? Urgent measures should be taken!" So this is a step of destroying School 19, because they are united, they have something in common. We are next on the list and the method is very simple: wherever we go they say that the School 20 from Tiraspol never produced any documents and if they do they are not drawn up properly". And we had a lot of troubles with these documents. You go to one place and you are told one thing, you go to another place and you are told another thing. And they still say that the license of the School 19 is not good. These are all lies, because School 19 deals with the same problems. It is obvious that we have to maintain our position and I think there is no one in our staff who would make us changes it. But you know when reporters came from FLUX; I personally didn't want to issue any statement, to give any interview, because everything remains only on the paper. I am disappointed and I have lost my hope! I trust only our own forces and the meeting we had on the 31st, when Mr. Han was saying that we insisted on obtaining the kindergarten 40, because it is convenient from many points of view: it is close to the School 22 and our children are from the territory, but as Mr. Han said they insisted on giving us the kindergarten 34. If we motivated that it is too far, they said that it was not that bad, because they had considered the fact that the children can take the trolleybus and they had calculated the time and they had reached to the conclusion that 500 m is not that far and if parents really want it is not that complicated. When he studied in Czech, he had to change three buses and needed 2 hours for that. I wanted to interfere, but they didn't let me. Let him get on the trolleybus, you are left without clothes and anything. The trolleybuses are coming from 15 to 15 minutes and they are so agglomerated that if you try to get on it and go to school, you are crushed. Finally it is not that big the problem of getting somehow to school. The biggest problem is the School 22, which is very close, because there the conditions are artificial; there they have no normal attitude towards these children. They conditions are poor and are created on purpose in order to fool the people. The children can't even read and the level of teaching is also very poor. After some 5 years there will be no Moldavian school at all.
A.G. - Do you know what Russians from here say? That Moldavians tire too fast. They mean during a fight. It is true but only for a short time.

Teacher 2
I think that the government of Moldova is tired to fight Transnistria for 10 years! It simply gave up!
A.G. - That's not it! Watch Israel, if it is a strong state it fights. Moldova has neither the possibilities nor the desire of accomplishing its purposes. Moldova can't do it.

Teacher 3
We have only 7 schools and we don't have so many graduates as they say that we have filled the world with our graduates. When our children go to Chisinau they are abandoned everywhere and they find themselves in the cruelest conditions. At graduation exam they are already given certificates that they are students at this University.
The principal
We have discussed the problem of the Cyrillic writing in schools. We have asked that 10 % of the Transnistrian schools to be stated and named in the official document as schools with teaching in Romanian. And they promised that it would happen.

Teacher 3
Let's see what happened last year: the majority of children from the republic, all having grades of 5 transferred to schools from Romania but only one of our students became a student of he lyceum.
The principal
They have only 10s in our country, but it is very hard to receive a 10. Later they found another solution. As we had classes in every corner of the city, they started restriction and not expansion. We moved to this building and they intend to remove us from here too. As it is said: Moscow is big, but you can't give back.

Teacher 2
I come from Garagasi every day and I take my children with me all the time because the study in different halves of the day, so they stay here from 7 until 3 o'clock. Now both of my children are sick, because they weren't eating from 7 and how long do you think a parent can hold on to his position?

Teacher 1
It is really very hard. When speaking about sight problems, the first place in the town belongs to us. The children have a medical record. I noticed that my kid is not reading properly when we passed the medical investigation it was 0,4 can you imagine? How long can this last? After all you start to be tired of all of this. You think about your kid, about other's kids, but our children are dear to us too.

The principal
I totally agree, but we must endure a little in the situation that has occurred. If we start saying that we are tired, we simple give up. It's true we have been slightly supported by the authorities from Chisinau, I repeat slightly! Only through international organizations! Only through this we can survive!

A.G. - Mr. Principal, being present is one thing, but it has to be wanted by the government of the Republic of Moldova too. During all the seminars we attended they admit that there are problems but the government of the Republic of Moldova has never officially appealed to any international organization for solving the problem. When they are convinced and want to solve it, they will. If they look with one eye at Moscow and with another eye at I don't know what, they will not work this out. You can receive help if you seek help. If you don't want any help you won't get it. They wanted to solve the problem in Yugoslavia? They did it.

The principal
During all the sessions I attended all the deputies of the city Committee were thrusting at me with their fists. We have been through so much; we have survived only through words. According to Transnistrian laws, laws that are recognized by no one, we have rights to the existence of schools with teaching in our native language. Even according to their laws we have these rights. But how for many times I have been called at the prosecutor:

A.G. - it is clear that you are little bit subjective. Not all of the people understood these things; there is a whole new situation today. How many people have told me that they are both Russians and they have 2 children that study in your school. It is your accomplishment it is true, they fear the harvest that you are going to have.

The principal
They used our schools and they obtained political money on the backs of our schools, of our fight, but they surely forgot about us. I think they have committed a crime by doing this and that is why I appealed to Mesager and they couldn't find a man to shoot. I have been told to shoot this myself and send them the tape and maybe they would show our celebration. So the principal of the School 20 should trouble himself with how to send the information when they are the ones when need it.

A.G. - Starting with '95 I was appointed as a presidential security counselor. One day I was called by a person who told me that there was a man who had been president of the kolkhoz for 60 years in Grigoriopol and that it would be nice if the government of the Republic of Moldova would thank him somehow. And I went to Snegur and said to him: "Mr. President, I propose to decorate this person with something". "But who will go hand him this decoration?" I say, "I will". And I really took it, I went to him, I met with him, I insisted, I came, and I found a way. And he shed tears of pain and of joy. They handed him in Tiraspol the medal of the Soviet Union but he said, "I have got three more of these". But I handed him the Order of the Republic.
When 10 years passed from the day when the law concerning the functioning of languages, decorations was given to teachers from Todercani and to no teacher from Transnistria

Teacher 3
The principal reached the age of 50. Why wasn't he decorated?

Teacher 1
The teachers are staying in queues for apartments. We do not have that right and we don't even have the dream of getting an apartment one day. We have one room in a hostel, we live there with 2-3 children and they are taking you out of there too, but we pay enormous sums of about 200leis only for the communal services. So what is our future?

The principal
So our children, Moldavian's children live in hostels. We are still young, but our lives go on and there will be a time when we retire and who will pay you the retired pay then? Will the young pay it to you? There are certain advantageous conditions, but we do not benefit of them.

A.G. - The solution is that we influence the situation in order to have at the head of our state people that would be besides us with their hearts and souls. Because we are teachers we should enlighten people's minds in order to help them take the right decision and only then the Parliament would also find the solution for the teachers by sanctioning a normal law for them, for the children... there is no other solution.
Sooner or later these two banks will unite. Today we can't solve the problem of making the school from Transnistria to be recognized. It means that the last and the only solution are to be united, to support each other and not to create any conflict among the members of the staff and among students. If it is necessary, we will rise together with our parents and children in front of the school and we'll stay there as long as it takes. There is no other solution to this problem.

Teacher 3
I'm bothered by the fact that we do not have children. We do everything we can and we have results, almost all of our graduates are students. Those who graduated are already having problems with the employment. My daughter who is a student at the University of Medicine from Chisinau, told me: "mom, I won't be able to come for the third practice in Tiraspol, because these from the university say that the practice performed in Tiraspol and other cities but the district centers isn't accepted. So everything is somehow blocked here. As long as we do not work the problem appears: they don't come with the heart and that enthusiasm that start alerting me. Parents do not want their children to study here.

Teacher 4
Parents wait for the problem to be solved and then they give their children to school.

Teacher 3
They never consider the fact that children need 40 minutes to get to our school from another corner of the town and at 7:30 they already sit at their desk. In my classroom the 2nd, the 7th and the 8th grades have lessons and you can only imagine the desks they sit at. Their feet hurt, they suffer from scoliosis, and it is very difficult. We have no 10 minutes break, all our breaks are of 5 minutes, the lessons last 35 minutes and God knows how I've spent thinking about the way of placing 35 classes in 11 classrooms, about the way of making the schedule of the teacher so that he would work in both the second and the third shift and so that there wouldn't be any gaps. When the weather is nice it is realizable, but when it rains and when the first shift isn't over yet, but the second shift has already arrived the atmosphere is awful. And parents also fear for their children's health and it is very difficult. That is why we knock at everybody's door that is why we want to accomplish something. Me for example, I have nothing against about moving with the elder students to that kindergarten, and t let the younger ones stay here. Having two buildings in two different corners of the town would be the perfect solution. But there are people with big hearts and I think we will have two first grade classes and at least here we will do whatever we can

Teacher 1
The kid knows one thing: if one promises something, that person has to respect his promise.
There is also the problem of enterprises. Our staff was made up of 19 chiefs. The number of Moldavian professionals has decreased because of the problem with the school. If the problem with the school will be solved, the problems with the other enterprises will be solved too.

The principal
It is quite interesting that we have been put all together: the prison from Bender, the School 19, the School 20, and the boarding School...