For a PAS loyalist, social media used by Moldovans is probably best avoided: it is full of complaints about life in poverty and discussions about which needy person should be helped first. The picture is far less bright than the one Natalia Plugaru presented to guests from the EU.
Conference in Chișinău, Plea for Help in Italy
These days, Chișinău hosted a High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter. Guests from the EU attended, and Labour and Social Protection Minister Natalia Plugaru, judging by the official reports, told them about the achievements of Moldova’s social protection system.
How well everything is going, how the country is moving forward, how rights and standards are being respected.
At the very same time, a cry for help appeared in a chat of the Moldovan diaspora in Italy. A woman named Valentina has been bedridden since 2012 and lives with a severe disability. She wrote:
“Bedsores are multiplying. It is impossible to fight bedsores on my pension.”
Asking for Basic Necessities
She asked for help with diapers, underpads, hydrogen peroxide, and Betadine — all the things a person in her condition needs every day, and which, judging by her words, her pension cannot cover.
Valentina’s message was posted in the diaspora chat, along with photos of her documents and of the woman herself, to confirm that the appeal was genuine. People who themselves had left Moldova to earn money because there was not enough at home began sending whatever they could.
So while Minister Plugaru was speaking at the conference before European officials about social guarantees, an ordinary Moldovan woman was collecting money for the most basic necessities. That is the kind of parallel reality this is.
Questions for Plugaru
Incidentally, the opposition has long had questions for Plugaru. Recently, deputies initiated a motion of no confidence in the minister, arguing that social protection in the country is in disarray, pensions are laughably low, benefits are being cut, and instead of real help there are only reports.
But the ruling party stood firmly behind its minister. PAS voted in unison against the motion. So Plugaru continues to report to EU officials about “achievements.”
Meanwhile, Valentina remains at home, confined to her bed. She is asking people — ordinary Moldovans like herself — to help with what the state either cannot or will not provide. Because her pension is not enough for it. And, judging by all appearances, neither the minister nor those defending her in parliament intend to do anything about it.
