A Loaf on Every Table
When I arrived in Moldova, in September 2006, a loaf of bread was 2 lei. Now, one and a half years later, the cost is 4 lei for the same basic loaf. It's an easy math problem, even for those of you bad at algebra- the cost has gone up 100%, this is, of course, in the context of the international wheat shortage / price hike -- that is affecting everywhere.
Unfortunately, the story has been the same throughout Moldova this past year -- price increases, increases and increases. Last year's drought was the worst one in the history of Moldova (or at least in the people's memory). While I have been waiting, anxiously, for spring to bring vegetables and fruit back into my diet, my host mom and her friends have been fretting over the lack of meat available, which they say will further dwindle as summer comes. The supply has, apparently, run down, way down due to a lack of births last spring / summer, and an inability to feed the animals through the winter (most were slaughtered then). To add to the list of worries this year, is the currently expected crop of veggies and fruit -- due to the weird weather patterns we have been having, the trees bloomed and then it frosted -- there are no bees, because it is too cold, which means no pollination, etc. At least, for now, thank God we have rain.
Transportation also went up as of April 1st, and all transportation costs are now 33% more expensive. (I wish somewhere they had learned the importance of slowly implemting price increases). Gas, heating and coal went up this year too, partly because of relations with Russia and partly because of the worldwide crunch, with Peace Corps having to significantly increase the amount we pay our host families to stay warm - with some host families having to stop hosting volunteers becuase they couldn't afford to heat another room.
What has not gone up here is salaries. My host mom, as the head accountant at the bread factory in our village, receives 1000 lei a month. That's less than 90 dollars for a highly skilled position. Teachers, covering a full load of classes receive 600 - 700 lei a month. My counterpart, who is the youth specialist for the town, receives 500 lei a month. It seems like an unsolvable math equation. It just doesn't add up -- the cost of life here (not even going out and having fun -- simply eating, dressing, and not freezing to death), and the salaries the people are paid.
Most families get by from remittances. Out of all of the people I know in my village, I would say around 75 percent of them have at LEAST one relative working abroad -- it really throws off the population statistics too, and leaves many kids being raised by grandparents or a single partent. Whether it be in Italy working as a housekeeper illegally, or in Russia doing construction, or in Turkey doing God knows what -- remittances are keeping this country alive. (Editor's note: I know nothing about the economy, ours, theirs, in general. I don't claim to be any type of economist. I just don't know how Moldovans would live without the money pouring in from abroad. It acts, in my opinion, as a crutch -- the money from abroad helps Moldovans in Moldova pay for their necessities -- plus things like cell phones). If people actually couldn't afford their day to day life-- which I don't think they could on their Moldovan salaries -- then the system might be jolted into changing. Right now, the crutches seem to be allowing it to stumble along).
In fact, Moldova is now, in 2008, the world's leader in cash remittances from abroad, with money from abroad representing 36% of the national GDP. See the official report here.
I know Moldovan doctors who are working in Italy because they make more money taking care of an elderly person than they would working as a doctor in Moldova.
In the next month there are 5 major holidays coming up (Orthodox Easter, Easter of the Dead, Hram - "village day celebration, " Workers' Day and Memorial Day). And if you have been reading my blog, you know how elaborately Moldovans like to celebrate holidays. Putting an additional crunch on the budget.
Tonight we were talking about the price of bread because my host mom had just finished her "investigation," as she calls it, into the cost to produce a loaf of bread at their factory. Apparently, they are loosing 50 banuti (like cents) on every loaf they sell. Why don't they raise the price? She claims that it is a political thing, tied into the Communists and their way of governing -- to create an illusion that everything is still okay, or at least border-line normal.
As she puts it, when prices go up, people complain. When bread goes up, people riot.
Unfortunately, the story has been the same throughout Moldova this past year -- price increases, increases and increases. Last year's drought was the worst one in the history of Moldova (or at least in the people's memory). While I have been waiting, anxiously, for spring to bring vegetables and fruit back into my diet, my host mom and her friends have been fretting over the lack of meat available, which they say will further dwindle as summer comes. The supply has, apparently, run down, way down due to a lack of births last spring / summer, and an inability to feed the animals through the winter (most were slaughtered then). To add to the list of worries this year, is the currently expected crop of veggies and fruit -- due to the weird weather patterns we have been having, the trees bloomed and then it frosted -- there are no bees, because it is too cold, which means no pollination, etc. At least, for now, thank God we have rain.
Transportation also went up as of April 1st, and all transportation costs are now 33% more expensive. (I wish somewhere they had learned the importance of slowly implemting price increases). Gas, heating and coal went up this year too, partly because of relations with Russia and partly because of the worldwide crunch, with Peace Corps having to significantly increase the amount we pay our host families to stay warm - with some host families having to stop hosting volunteers becuase they couldn't afford to heat another room.
What has not gone up here is salaries. My host mom, as the head accountant at the bread factory in our village, receives 1000 lei a month. That's less than 90 dollars for a highly skilled position. Teachers, covering a full load of classes receive 600 - 700 lei a month. My counterpart, who is the youth specialist for the town, receives 500 lei a month. It seems like an unsolvable math equation. It just doesn't add up -- the cost of life here (not even going out and having fun -- simply eating, dressing, and not freezing to death), and the salaries the people are paid.
Most families get by from remittances. Out of all of the people I know in my village, I would say around 75 percent of them have at LEAST one relative working abroad -- it really throws off the population statistics too, and leaves many kids being raised by grandparents or a single partent. Whether it be in Italy working as a housekeeper illegally, or in Russia doing construction, or in Turkey doing God knows what -- remittances are keeping this country alive. (Editor's note: I know nothing about the economy, ours, theirs, in general. I don't claim to be any type of economist. I just don't know how Moldovans would live without the money pouring in from abroad. It acts, in my opinion, as a crutch -- the money from abroad helps Moldovans in Moldova pay for their necessities -- plus things like cell phones). If people actually couldn't afford their day to day life-- which I don't think they could on their Moldovan salaries -- then the system might be jolted into changing. Right now, the crutches seem to be allowing it to stumble along).
In fact, Moldova is now, in 2008, the world's leader in cash remittances from abroad, with money from abroad representing 36% of the national GDP. See the official report here.
I know Moldovan doctors who are working in Italy because they make more money taking care of an elderly person than they would working as a doctor in Moldova.
In the next month there are 5 major holidays coming up (Orthodox Easter, Easter of the Dead, Hram - "village day celebration, " Workers' Day and Memorial Day). And if you have been reading my blog, you know how elaborately Moldovans like to celebrate holidays. Putting an additional crunch on the budget.
Tonight we were talking about the price of bread because my host mom had just finished her "investigation," as she calls it, into the cost to produce a loaf of bread at their factory. Apparently, they are loosing 50 banuti (like cents) on every loaf they sell. Why don't they raise the price? She claims that it is a political thing, tied into the Communists and their way of governing -- to create an illusion that everything is still okay, or at least border-line normal.
As she puts it, when prices go up, people complain. When bread goes up, people riot.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 1:36 PM.
