Editorial and assignments: Sights and sound of Chisinau

Adored and envied city 

I now remember with great love the city walks I used to take together with my parents. To visit friends, to attend a parade, to go to the store for a new paid of shoes. I remember how much I enjoyed seeing a black Volga on the streets. In school and among boys from the block, we used to say that whoever sees more than one Volga on the street in one day, he will get good grades the following day. By the age of 13, I used to count all Volgas on the street. 

Once the pride and the envy of USSR, after Moldova’s independence, this city seems to be stuck in a deep “sleep”. It does not produce and does not promise anything. Birthrate decreases dramatically. Thousands of Moldovans every month leave, some of them legally, others less legal, for Canada and EU countries. Those who stay here live essentially on money they get from abroad. 

A December day has nothing special to show comparing to other months of the year. The Christmas lights and the crowds in stores, with prices three times higher than in EU, make the only difference.