Almost 954,000 Romanian children deprived of the presence of at least one parent until the age of 18, because of them leaving abroad to work
Hard living conditions determine at least a quarter of the children in Romania to grow up deprived of the presence of at least one parent, who goes abroad to work. Among these, more than 170,000 have been deprived of the presence of both parents, as shown by a study coordinated by Save the Children and debated, in Brussels, during an event organized by the representatives of the association and by MEP Victor Negrescu.
This is the direct result of the freedom of movement on the European labour market and an effect of the desire to earn more. Gabriela Alexandrescu, president of Save the Children in Romania, in 61.5% of the cases, the father is the one leaving, in 20.5% it is the mother, and in 18% both parents have been away from their children. MEP Victor Negrescu sais that this situation affects millions of children in Eastern Europe, given that the working force is directed towards the West, where salaries are higher. Bulgarian MEP Peter Vitanov says that, in Bulgaria, almost 240,000 children are in this situation, the worst situation being around Rhodopes Mountains, where 60% of the children have at least one parent gone away to work.
51 more Romanian citizens in Gaza will be able to cross into Egypt through Rafah border crossing point
51 more Romanians in Gaza, as well as their family members, will be able to cross into Egypt today through Rafah border crossing point, according to the minister of foreign affairs. Mobile consular teams from the Crisis Cell from the Rapid Reaction Unit from the minister will offer the necessary support at the border crossing point and the specific support to reach Cairo, from where they will be flown to Romania. The Crisis Cell, through the diplomatic missions in Cairo and Tel Aviv, continues its dialogue with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities to finalize the evacuation operations for other Romanian citizens and their families who have asked for help and are still in Gaza.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talked, in a conference, about women’s role in Romania’s development
Women are poorly represented in the Romanian Parliament – less than five members – although they make more than half of the country’s population, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. In a video intervention during a conference about the role women have in Romania’s development, the chief of the executive also said that equal pay for equal work should represent the norm and that nobody should chose between being a parent and having a career.
Ursula von der Leyen: When I studied medicine and became a doctor, half of my colleagues were women, but how do you balance work and family nobody knew. There was this expectation that when you became a mother you had to leave your career to take care of the child, and those who chose the career were not promoted. Now, however, there have been much progress. Women in leading positions are not exceptions anymore, but it’s still not the norm. Everyday we see how much we still have to work to reach equality. We should take for granted that mothers and fathers can have a carrier. Equal pay for equal work should be a normality. To be a parent must not be considered an impediment but a qualification for leading roles.
Alexandra Ionita, RADOR
