Tensions Rage in Eastern Europe
These protests in Ukraine coincided with our Study Abroad group’s departure from Moldova, and it was hard not to reflect on the parallels between the two countries. The tension between reform and movement to join the European Union with an older generation’s nostalgia for Soviet times, when there was at least some protection against poverty and a guaranty of a basic standard of living, is felt within families and across the population. Russia exerts pressure away from reform, and there is cause to question the independence of media outlets. “Democracy is a fragile thing”, said a member of the Liberal Democratic Youth Movement in Moldova. And I am beginning to understand…