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About Me And 'Left Behind' Project
My name is Carmine Flamminio and I'm a photo-reporter. Being always interested in immigration, I'd never thought of telling it from this angle, of the children left behind.
'Left Behind' is a long-term photo reportage within the Republic of Moldova. The first victims of migration are children. In Eastern Europe half of those who emigrate are women who, in most cases, leave their children at home, entrusting them, at best, to grandparents, or to elderly neighbors, or at worst, and too often, just abandoning them to fend for themselves.
The situation in Moldova makes me question what the real difference is between the developed and undeveloped worlds. Moldova is located only two hours by plane from the heart of Europe and yet it seems to be light years away.
Why Moldova
I chose the Republic of Moldova because, other than it being one of the poorest nations in Europe, it has a shocking level of emigration, some illegally and without visas, so returning home is at best arduous. But if young Moldovans want any kind of future at all for their children they have to go abroad to work. Moldova is the poorest, the most destitute country in the European continent. Ever since the end of the Soviet Union, It's seen a truly immense exodus of young people. Desolate villages wait for their loved ones to return, they've left the countryside in the hands of children and the elderly. Many children live with their grandparents, but others live completely alone.
The average monthly pay of a teacher in Moldova is about $150. In Italy, a good bricklayer will earn that sum in two days' work. A caregiver will send home over $1,000 a month. Sadly faced with such inequality, many choose to give up what we might consider a normal family life to give hope for a better life to their children. However, in the meantime, Moldova and its abandoned children seem to be caught in an inescapably downward spiral.
In economic terms, migrant remittance, or sending money home, helps to strengthen the financial inflow of a developing country, but it also increases the number of social orphans, children who might count themselves lucky to see their parents but once a year.
The plight of these children is difficult to imagine. Many will never overcome the psychological trauma caused by separation from their parents. Numerous cases of suicide do nothing but highlight how serious the situation is.
According to the Information and Documentation Center on Child Rights in Moldova, the number of children without parental care is growing steadily. In 2006, there were 94,000 children who had at least one emigrant parent, while in 2009, the number had reached 135,000.
WHY I NEED YOUR SUPPORT
'Left Behind' intends to document and give voice to the suffering of these children. By long trips across different regions of Moldova, I will continue my photographic work to tell of the daily lives of both the children left behind and the parents who have emigrated abroad, mainly to Italy. I intend to follow these children in the future during their adolescence. But I have also met many young people who have already reached that age without their parents. They are a separate chapter; yet part of the same story, as are the elderly who often live in unimaginable conditions alone in villages.
The project has only just started and may never end. But my plans now involve collecting other testimonies in different regions of Moldova such as the separatist Trans-Dniester which unilaterally declared independence from Moldova in 1990.
That said I have been publishing each single trip in my blog (leftbehindmoldova.wordpress.com) and on my personal website (www.flamminio.it) and when the project is complete, I will publish a book and produce web documentaries to publicize their adversity.
My IndieGOGO proposal is to cover approximately one-half of my project budget. These are some expenditures (but not limited to)
- Travel
- Accomodation
- Interpreter
- Website
- Car Rental
Other Ways You Can Help
Please visit my website (www.flamminio.it) and support me promoting this project by Indiegogo sharing tools!
If you want to know more about my project, read the interview on BBC here or read the article on Popoli Magazine here
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Carmine FlamminioPhotographer