A part of the Roma elderly people in the Republic of Moldova live at the poverty line. These face serious financial problems, health problems and lack of assistance on the part of the state. The poverty problem is directly connected with the fact that the social benefits do not exceed 600 lei. The issue was discussed in a roundtable meeting staged by the National Roma Center and the Interethnic Relations Bureau.
The Center’s head Nicolae Radita has told IPN that a part of the Roma elderly people do not receive another assistance on the part of the state and have to cope on the social pension. “They face health problems, but the doctors do not visit them at home. Many of them are confined to bed as they are over 70,” stated Nicolae Radita.
Many of the Roma elderly people are left alone and are not visited by social assistants or other local functionaries. “There are cases when the elderly people stay in the house alone and hungry and nobody takes food to them,” said the Center’s head. These people need assistance to heat their homes in winter and money to pay the bills. “This situation is similar to a holocaust of the present, faced by these elderly people,” stated Nicolae Radita.
Contacted by IPN, sources in the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family said that for the elderly people of Roma ethnicity, no separate social policies are thought up. These are covered by the general policies referring to the elderly people and pensioners.
