The disappeared youth-30 years later reality 17 December at 16:09

"The people are despairing. People are gone. Villages with only old people and children are spreading."

It was Romania in Eastern Europe that heard the word. Just 30 years ago, in December 1989, the country that had begun democratization after defeating the dictatorship by President Chowshek is said to be in a critical situation. What is going on? We interviewed the site.
(Vienna Branch Hiroto Awazu)

Old man and child village

Botiza village, about 400 km north of the capital Bucharest. The first thing I noticed when I arrived was that I only saw the elderly and children. This village where once the coal industry and forestry were prosperous, gradually rusted after the mine was shut down 12 years ago, and many active young people left the village one after another because they worked in western European countries. It is called.

While old houses were lined up, I noticed that new houses were built in some places. When you ask local people, it is said that it is a “Migrant Palace” built by people who went to work abroad. It turns out that the village's economy is highly dependent on these external incomes.

Maria Petreush (50) family living in this village is also a typical “migrant family”. My husband is absent from working in Italy to harvest apples. It is said that four daughters in their 20s often leave their homes to engage in farming in Germany.

Mr. Petreuch "I bought all the furniture with migrant money. The bathroom was renovated."

When I visited, her second daughter, Maria, had just returned from Germany. It is said that when it was a lot, it earned nearly 3,000 euros a month and about 350,000 yen in Japanese yen, leaving a 10-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son at home and returning to Germany soon.

Maria, the second daughter “All the young people leave the country. There is no work in the village.

Romania, which began on the path of democratization 30 years ago, dreamed of freedom and prosperity and realized its long-cherished EU membership in 2007. However, as a member country, movement within the EU and freedom of work are guaranteed, so young people are increasingly coming to western countries with higher salary levels.

30 years after the revolution, what has been brought about by the dream of joining the EU? I was shocked by the words of Petreush.

Mr. Petreusch “Some young people will disappear from this village. I thought that when Romania joined the EU, I thought my life would be better. I have no idea what will happen next. "

The doctor was robbed to the west

Another problem in Romania.

It is the “brain drain” of people with specialized knowledge. The problem turned out to be particularly serious in the medical setting.

Heading to the largest hospital in Bucharest, the capital, Florin Kilcresc, the head of the operation responded.

Dr. Kirkresk “In a hospital in Romania, only half of the doctors are needed for patients. Who should treat the Romanian nationals? Western countries are robbed of doctors raised by Romania one after another. I went "

According to Dr. Kirkresk, in Romania, young doctors who go out to England, France, Germany, etc. are unending. There are cases where these countries can earn more than 10 times, and it seems that the main reason is to improve their career as a doctor.

The government felt a sense of crisis and took measures to raise the salary of doctors drastically, but there are still estimates that 6 doctors are going out to the west per day, and the brain drained. There is no prospect of pausing.

Invisible walls of east and west

How much has Romania's population declined in the last 30 years since the end of the Cold War? The population in 1989 was approximately 23 million. However, it is now down to 19 million. In fact, there are indications that more young people are leaving the country.

The NGO representative Elena Karistol, who has been investigating the problem, points out that not only economic problems but also corruption problems in Romanian society have spurred the worsening situation behind the outflow of the population. .

NGO Karistol, “If you look at the percentage of the population, the outflow is incredibly large, and it is the same pace as the conflicting countries such as Syria. There is also a figure that 30% of the working population is outside the country. `` People tend to flow out of the country due to complex circumstances such as protracted corruption and lack of social systems. ''

However, this situation is not limited to Romania.

According to a study by the Vienna Institute for Demographic Studies, Dr. Thomas Sobotka, the birth rate of each family in Eastern European countries in response to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the drastic change in the economic environment at the end of the Cold War Decreased. Furthermore, it is said that the membership of the EU has led the eastern youth to move to the west where the political situation is stable and the economy is prosperous. As a result, Romania's population has dropped by 15% in nearly 30 years. Similarly in Bulgaria in Eastern Europe, it is down 19%.

If you proceed at this pace, it is a situation that even the survival of the country is in danger.

On the other hand, in the EU as a whole, the population increased by 9%. If you look at the map of Europe, which shows the changes in population over the last 30 years, the difference between East and West is obvious.

It looks as if there is a “new wall” that separates the east and west.

Signs of change

There are also signs of change in these Eastern European countries. In Romania, political turmoil continued for a long time, but after the presidential election in November, etc., a government was born with the catch phrase “Let's get back to a decent Romania”, and has begun to combat corruption and corruption. It is said that anti-corruption has been gaining momentum among the public.

NGO Karistol, “During the half-century of the Cold War, under the dictatorship, the people of Eastern Europe lived a trauma-like life exposed to fear and poverty. The delay is that we haven't recovered yet, certainly Romania is moving forward, but there are a lot of obstacles, like a car moving with a handbrake. .

However, in the last few years, the idea that many people should not stay this way has spread, such as participating in anti-corruption demonstrations. People are starting to learn that we have to solve this problem at our own responsibility. ''

Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the wall of economic disparity that has not been filled up has been seen again. Will the population flow further and the nation will fall into a crisis of survival, or will it be possible to build an attractive society where young people will return to the country? Eastern European countries are facing new challenges.

Hiroto Awazu Joined in 2002 Yokohama Bureau Tehran Branch Washington Branch, etc. Currently in charge of Central and Eastern Europe and the United Nations, nuclear issues at Vienna Branch