Interview

Ruslan

Firstly, we didn't have access to information, to literature; the situation is like this. There are 30-31 children in a class whereas places only for 20. There is a gym but it is only for those in Seconderay School. Kids from the primary and gymnasium classes do not have access to it. Anyway the conditions in the gym are not so as they should be and our human rights are violated. We are obliged to speak Russian more than Romanian it the city. Romanian is only for school and for home, you know.
I.M. - What University will you go to?
R. - I'm not sure yet. I believe, to the Academy of Economic Studies in Kishinau.


Olga Sarbu, pupil

I spent my school time less nicely than children from other schools. Our school is divided in three buildings and they are not situated near each other; that is why we are now in the boarding school. There we have a gym, there some conditions there, but the children from the 5th-7th grades study in the forest farmstead where there are no conditions at all: they don't have gyms, or grounds, there is absolutely nothing, not even computers. We have had access, teachers helped us, informed us about olympiads, organized trips for us to Kishinau, to theatres:
I.M. - Where will you continue your education?
O.S. - In Kishinau, at the State University, Faculty of International Affairs.
R. - That school in town is a modern project, but they are not able to finish it for 10 years now; in this school the circumstances are less favorable for studying.
Pupil I - The greatest support we have comes from our teachers. They do everything in their power to make us understand the taught material, because it is rather difficult. We go on trips according to our possibilities; we have fun:
Pupil II- Our parents support us financially very much.
I.M. - Do you have a feeling as if being in a strange country?
R. - Yes, there is even customs, you go and you cannot enter or leave without an ID. Not long time ago we paid a fine of 50 leys at the customs.
Pupil II - Yes, sometimes you may be stopped when you speak Romanian in the street as well as they may ask you to present your ID:
Pupil I - I have paid a fine of 50 leys for not having the identity card on me. I was walking on the bridge and speaking Moldavian and they said it was nonsense what I was saying.
R. - Yes, there three official languages: Ukrainian, Romanian, and Russian. Meanwhile all the officials, the police, justice bodies speak only Russian, you cannot speak Ukrainian or Romanian at all.
Pupil I - They said you don't have the right to speak when walking in Moldavian; it is better to keep silent at all.
I.M. - You sustain it's sentimental you live in a country as weird as this one:
Pupil II - Yes, all the educational support is in Russian and if it happens to be in Romanian then it's written in Cyrillic alphabet. We don't have access to all the sources of information.
Pupil I - Russian schools have more access to information than we do.
I.M. - Don't you think it will be much more difficult for you in Kishinau if you are accepted at an institution?
R. - No, I don't. We have worked here for three years, those from Kishinau do not work s we do here. We come to school in the afternoon at 1 p.m. I don't know but is there a normal secondary school in Kishinau that has its lessons beginning with 1 p.m.? They all go to school in the morning. When you go to school at 1 pm you are already tired and you're not up to learning anything. But have worked hard and I think we will succeed without any problems. Some children from our school went to study even in Romania and they resist and deal with it quite well.