Moldova currently hosts 123,729 Ukrainian refugees, a number that has been growing, although the majority of those crossing the border are heading to other countries, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
"About 43% are children, 38% are adult women and approximately 18% are elderly men," UNHCR Moldova's communications manager, Mónica Vázquez, told the Spanish news agency EFE.
According to the manager, this number represents "almost 4% of the population of Moldova", so the figure is "significant", as is its impact on one of the poorest countries in Europe.
"The big difference is the proximity of Moldova at all levels, from the government to civil society. What the Moldovans have done is extraordinary. Despite the challenges, they have not hesitated to open their doors" to refugees from the neighboring country, she assured.
Although almost three years have passed since the start of the war, the number of refugees has not decreased, but has instead “increased slowly but steadily”.
Half of the Ukrainian refugees come from the Odessa region, and the rest from Mykolaiv, Vinnitsia and even the capital, Kiev.
“The vast majority live in private homes, with friends or through family contacts. Others rent,” she explained.
Only a minority of refugees live in state shelters and receive support from the United Nations.
“This is a more vulnerable population. They cannot access the job market. They are people with chronic illnesses and also have large families,” she pointed out.
One of the main problems for displaced people is the difficulty in finding work, largely because they do not know the Romance language, although Russian is also spoken in Moldova.
There are no vacancies in Moldova for highly qualified and professional refugees, so they have to “reorient their skills”.
These Ukrainians currently have temporary protection status, which allows them to live legally in Moldova and have access to education, healthcare and employment.
According to Vázquez, two-thirds of the refugees want to stay in Moldova “for now” and only intend to return “when the conditions are met and it is safe to return home”.
For this reason, UNHCR has recently noted “a change and Ukrainians are now more willing to integrate and work” in the host country.
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