Leaving Moldova for a better life

The queue to leave: Moldovans wait outside the Russian embassy

Moldovans are voting to elect a new parliament. Among its urgent tasks will be to improve standards of living - or face a continuing population exodus. The BBC's Steve Rosenberg has been to a typical village - Bashkaliya - to find out why people are leaving.

Ten years after gaining its independence, Moldova has been declared the poorest country in Europe.

Many people have not received a wage in months - if they have a job at all.

Auntie: Looking over her shoulder

Unable to feed their families, Moldovans are prepared to go to extreme lengths to find better-paid work overseas, leaving many villages almost deserted.

On a tiny street in the village of Bashkaliya, an excited crowd has gathered round. They have come to consult a woman they call "the Auntie".

Illegal business

Auntie is clearly not from these parts. She is sporting a rather expensive-looking coat and clutching a little black handbag.

If we didn't have the chance to work abroad, we'd be begging on the streets

Maria, Moldovan villager

In fact, she is a Moldovan travel agent, who uses all her cunning and connections to send people abroad to work.

It is a highly illegal business. No wonder she keeps peering over her shoulder.

But here in Bashkaliya, Auntie is a local hero. She has helped half the village find jobs overseas.

Ivan, for example, went to Greece to work as an olive picker.

Maria: Just back from Greece

With the money he earned, he was able to buy some sheep and geese, along with a new plot of land.

His wife Maria is just back from Italy, where she has been working as a nanny.

"If we didn't have the chance to work abroad, we'd be begging on the streets," Maria told me.

"You just couldn't survive on what you'd earn in Moldova."

Security threat

And it is not just the villages that people are leaving.

Ivan: Earned money as an olive picker

In the capital, Kishinev, there is a constant crush of people outside the Russian embassy.

Many Moldovans are applying for Russian citizenship in the hope of securing employment elsewhere in Europe. Yaroslav is among those queuing up.

"With a Moldovan passport it is a problem, because nobody knows our state, " he said.

"With a Russian passport it is easy to receive a visa, to gain entrance to many countries of the world."

With so many people leaving, the alarm bells are ringing.

Moldova's Security Ministry has warned that the mass exodus is a direct threat to the country's national security.

There is concern, too, that some Moldovans, unable to find work once abroad, are being recruited by criminal gangs.

Better life

We have to do our best in order to have economic growth in order to make life a little bit easier

Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis

Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis concedes that at the heart of the problem lies the country's crumbling economy.

"There is a big proportion of the population who earn a small amount of money. There is a problem with employment," he said.

"It's understandable why part of the population is trying to leave Moldova, but it's not good for us, and we understand we have to change the situation.

"We have to do our best in order to have economic growth in order to make life a little bit easier."

Back in Bashkaliya, Auntie is still touting for business and getting plenty of orders.

There are many here who are prepared to run up huge debts and borrow hundreds of dollars to pay for her services, all in the hope of getting a visa and securing a well-paid job abroad.

As far as they are concerned, Auntie is offering them something which the state has failed to provide - the chance of a better life.