{"id":18688,"date":"2024-03-23T08:36:27","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T08:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/?p=18688"},"modified":"2024-03-23T08:36:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-23T08:36:27","slug":"studying-in-a-phantom-state-the-moldovan-school-standing-up-to-russian-supremacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/?p=18688","title":{"rendered":"Studying in a phantom state: The Moldovan school standing up to Russian supremacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Moldovan children, born in a Russia-controlled territory, are forced to pass armed men daily in order to study in their native language. We visited their school.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a warm spring day in the town of Grigoriopol. A white Moldovan school, \u2018Number 1\u2019, stands between the forest and the river. Suddenly, armed men burst into the building and the Romanian language classroom. They shoot every letter of the Latin alphabet hanging above the chalkboard. They vandalise the Romanian-language books in the library and scatter documents in the director&#8217;s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s 1992, and the two-year Transnistria War in Moldova has ended. Several hundred people have died, leaving everyone hurt and in shock. How did it all happen? One of the \u201cexcuses\u201d was the alphabet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/news\/in-transnistria-much-ado-about-nothing\/\">In Transnistria, much ado about nothing<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/news\/economy-in-focus-moldova\/\">Economy in focus: Moldova<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/voices\/moldova-must-bolster-its-electoral-integrity-ahead-of-this-years-presidential-election\/\">Moldova must bolster its electoral integrity ahead of this year\u2019s presidential election<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of the Soviet Union, Moldovans were forced to write their Latin-derived Romanian language in Cyrillic. In 1989, as the Soviet Union began to crumble, the Moldovan authorities changed it back to Latin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Separatists, backed by the Russian army, started a bloody war a couple of years later. They gained control over the territory called Transnistria. It constitutes around 11 per cent of Moldova&#8217;s territory. Neighbours turned against neighbours. Villages clashed with villages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moldova didn&#8217;t have a proper army at that time. Grigoriopol was one of the towns that fell under the illegal regime in Transnistria, a strip of land between the river Dniester and Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unrecognised government banned the Latin alphabet in Transnistria. The pupils were now required to learn in Russian or a Cyrillic-scripted Romanian language. To this day, the students learn the Soviet version of the history.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents and the teachers protested. What future would their children have with such education? Eight Transnistrian Romanian-language schools resisted despite constant threats. One of them was Grigoriopol&#8217;s school, now named \u015etefan cel Mare secondary school. But because they lost their building, they moved into exile.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Moldovan government started busing school staff and students across the so-called border. The whole school was taken to a nearby village, Dorotcaia, some ten kilometers away from their homes. They pass armed guards every school day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/p8230547-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86661\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Svetlana Jitariuc<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, the border guards keep the children waiting, and sometimes, they ask for their documents. It has been insulting and humiliating, Svetlana Jitariuc, a music and Russian language teacher of over 40 years, tells me. \u201cBut the children never turned back!\u201d, she proudly adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transnistrian War always had two front lines: one on the streets and fields with guns and the other in the classrooms, led by teachers like Svetlana.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On one Sunday, Svetlana drove from her home in Transnistria to the capital of Moldova, Chi\u0219in\u0103u, to speak to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Svetlana brings a photo album with her. \u201cThis is the first day at school in exile,\u201d she says, as she points to a picture of a sunny day from the early 2000s. The students smiled and lined up. Svetlana has a white dress and a determined look. Her daughter stands in front of her in a blue dress and a white flower in her hair. Svetlana&#8217;s eyes tear up, remembering that day and how she explained to her daughter what freedom means.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/screenshot-2024-03-21-at-231702-1024x692.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86660\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>First day of school in exile. Photo by Svetlana Jitariuc<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTransnistria doesn&#8217;t exist legally,\u201d she tells me. \u201cIt&#8217;s a phantom republic.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her family has been threatened by it. A woman stopped her primary school-aged son in the 90s. She ripped his schoolbag open and broke his books. \u201cLet me see what you&#8217;re studying there!\u201d the lady grinned at the little boy. Someone threatened Svetlana they would place a bomb under her car.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet, she still lives in Transnistria and teaches in the Latin alphabet. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of doing something from your heart. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t have resisted,\u201d Svetlana says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A proud glimmer appears in her eyes: \u201cWe are stronger than them. Only those who are sure of themselves and know what they have and can offer are strong. We have the right to be free and to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Imprisoned because of language<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>We went to the village of Dorotcaia one afternoon and immediately recognised the school. Moldovan tricolored circles decorate the schoolyard. Soon, five buses\u2014four white and one red\u2014rolled in. Students jumped off, mumbling in Russian and Romanian. This building hosts two schools: the local villagers come in the mornings, and Grigoriopol pupils come in the afternoons.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the others, a 12th-grader, Daniel Taran, enters the classroom. He sits in the first row in math class. Someone has drawn hearts and stars on the board. The kids brought flowers to their teacher, Ana. It was the women&#8217;s day recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/screenshot-2024-03-21-at-232908-1024x588.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86662\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Daniel Taran wants to study medicine in Romania<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>The green-walled classroom is modest but welcoming. Posters with calculations hang on the walls. Daniel says that his friends in Grigoriopol go to Transnistrian schools and study different histories, but they don\u2019t speak about that. \u201cI&#8217;m passive, more of a spectator.\u201d Daniel plans to go to a Romanian university to study medicine. He is more fascinated by the human body.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleonora Cercavschi, the school&#8217;s director, has a calm, determined walk. She stands straight when the students humbly mutter \u201cGood day!\u201d to her in the hallway. When she speaks about her school, her voice has a tired tone. She has been leading this \u201cschool in exile,\u201d as she calls it, for two decades. She thought she would be back in their old school by now. Instead, her own children, who went to the same school, have grown up, moved out, and moved on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c[The Transnistrian authorities] tried to threaten me, make me quit,\u201d she tells us. Eleonora was imprisoned for two weeks because she insisted on leading a school in Moldova\u2019s national language, Romanian, in the occupied territory of Transnistrian. Foreign organisations and the Moldovan government intervened, and a temporary solution was proposed: transportation across the \u201cso-called\u201d border.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/screenshot-2024-03-23-at-102317-1024x544.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86663\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The school director, Eleonora Cercavschi, was imprisoned because she insisted on teaching in the Romanian language<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student numbers are growing<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>On our way out, a teacher, Tatiana is getting into a car with her daughter. She chose this school for her daughter to ensure she had a future. \u201cI want her to speak her mother tongue freely,\u201d she says. \u201cIt&#8217;s her country!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where do you live, we ask.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She gulps nervously and answers: \u201cTransnistria, as they say.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And why do you keep living there?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause it\u2019s my home and I want to speak Romanian in my home.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An increasing number of parents feel the same way. Two decades ago, there were 140 students at Stefan Cel Mare school. Now, the number has doubled.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/classroom5-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-86664\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The legal battle&nbsp;<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Moldovan human rights lawyer Ion Manole from the NGO Promo-LEX represented 170 parents, students, and teachers at the European Human Rights Court in 2004. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After eight years of legal battles, the court ruled that the Russian Federation was responsible for denying the Moldovan students their right to education and would have to pay five million euros to the victims. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twelve years later, Russia still hasn&#8217;t paid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccording to the European court, Russia created this division in Transnistria and continues to support it,\u201d Manole explained. \u201cWhen one government continues to financially, diplomatically, politically, and militarily support another, they influence the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Transnistrian authorities were not accountable because they were not legally recognised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTransnistria became a paradise for different schemes,\u201d says Manole, who nevertheless says that he believes that Russia will pay for everything, &#8220;one day.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was co-written by <strong>Tiina Kaukvere<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Unlike many news and information platforms,&nbsp;<em>Emerging Europe<\/em>&nbsp;is free to read, and always will be.&nbsp;There is no paywall here.&nbsp;We are independent,&nbsp;not affiliated with nor representing any political party or business&nbsp;organisation.&nbsp;We want the very best for emerging Europe, nothing more, nothing less. Your support will help us continue to spread the word about this amazing region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You can contribute&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/emergingeurope.krtra.com\/t\/NlQnFuOA2C9c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. Thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/emergingeurope.krtra.com\/t\/NlQnFuOA2C9c\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/emerging-europe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/copy-of-add-a-heading.png\" alt=\"emerging europe support independent journalism\" class=\"wp-image-50811\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color is-style-wide\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moldovan children, born in a Russia-controlled territory, are forced to pass armed men daily in order to study in their native language. We visited their school.\u00a0<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7089,6612,7092,7094,6320,7088,7090,348,7091,237,7093,6603,6613,6606],"class_list":["post-18688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-dorotcaia","tag-education","tag-education-in-moldova","tag-eleonora-cercavschi","tag-featured","tag-grigoriopol","tag-ion-manole","tag-moldova","tag-pro-lex","tag-romania","tag-romanian-language-education-in-transnistria","tag-russia","tag-society","tag-transnistria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reinvantage-dev.eonserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}