According to official statistics, 73,868 children in Romania have parents who work abroad or come from single-parent families. However, unofficially, their number is much higher. According to the latest research conducted by Save the Children, for the majority of parents who left – 79% – there is no prospect of taking their children with them, and 41% do not even intend to return to Romania permanently. Organization of Romania.

The phenomenon of children staying in the country while their parents work abroad is large-scale and defining for Romania after December: according to official statistics alone, there are 73,868 children whose parents have gone to work abroad (National Authority for the Protection of Children Rights and Adoption, September 2022), of which 21,276 are completely deprived of parental care, both parents have left abroad or come from families where there is no single parent.

The intention to take the child abroad with the deceased parent(s) appears only in the case of 7% of the children in the sample conducted by Save the Children Romania. For most cases – 79% – there is no such prospect.

Save the Children Romania tells the stories of some children without parents to understand the psychosocial consequences and problems these children feel they have to face.

Maria, a little girl who always waits for summer

Maria is 10 years old, and she has been waiting for summer ever since the teachers of Save the Children Romania have known her. Not because it is a holiday, but because then he manages to spend more time with his father, who is away for work abroad.

Maria has lived with her paternal grandparents since childhood, because both parents decided to go abroad to earn money, which became a difficult test for both the parents and the child.

The job my father got abroad is stable but extremely demanding, and there is hardly any time to return to Romania. The distance strained everyone’s patience, but did not weaken the girl’s love and devotion to her father. Maria sings, plays the piano and waits for summer.

Darius, patient child

Darius is in the second grade. If you ask him to say something about himself, he describes himself as a patient child full of longing for his father. Moreover, when he grows up, Darius says that he wants to be like his father, strong, tall, know many things, but if he goes abroad, he will go with his boy…

The child’s father works abroad seasonally, and periods of father’s absence change the child’s behavior, she becomes sadder, talks about her father more often, she does not want to do what she enjoys doing when the father is not working. home. Communication with the absent father is maintained constantly by phone, and when possible I can top up phone cards, also on WhatsApp.

Ana, the kid who no longer rides a bike

Anya liked to ride a bicycle. She was taught by her mother, who praised her courage. Until the day my mother had to go to work abroad, Ana and my mother rode bicycles every Sunday. Then they talked a lot and mom was only for Anya.

Now the mother went to a country in the north of Europe, and Ana stayed with her mother’s sister. They often see each other in the phone room, but they can’t ride their bikes there together. Ana feels that she has lost her courage. At the Save the Children Romania center, Ana prefers team play and communicates a lot with other children.

A child with grandparents

Dinu has lived with his grandparents since childhood and knows well what it means to live without parents. Both parents went to work abroad.

Although he understands the reason for his parents’ departure and sees that since they left, the financial problems are not so difficult, he still has a hard time, he still misses him, he still feels different, different. He is a child with grandparents and no parents.

“When my mother left the first time, she cried and I thought she had left me”

“When my mom leaves, I just feel like I’m not alive anymore. My mom left when I was 6 and my brother was 2. When she left for the first time, she cried and I thought she had abandoned me, but then my grandmother explained to me that she left for all of us, for the better.

Whenever my mother goes away, I stay with my grandparents, my brother and my father. My father is also going to go this year, so I don’t know how I’ll react, but I think I’ll cry.”

These are the words of a 12-year-old girl who participates in psychoeducational activities organized by Save the Children.

Data from a survey conducted by Salvați Copiii Romania in December 2021 on a sample of individuals who have left under their care 855 children whose parents went to work abroad, beneficiaries of the organization’s programs, show that:

• The intention to take the child abroad together with the deceased parent(s) is only in the case of 7% of the children in the sample. In most cases (79%) there is no such perspective, the difference is in situations where the parents have not yet made a decision on this matter.
• The data shows that many parents who left do not even intend to return permanently to Romania (41%), while 38% have such an intention and in other cases have not yet decided.
• Among the factors that could contribute to the decision on the final return to the country, the labor market (job, working conditions) is most often mentioned – 39%, followed by the improvement of the health care system (24%) and the improvement of the general social climate/political life ( 20%).