Moldova: Students visit young detainees
UNICEF
Five high-school
journalists from the Youth Media Centre in Chisinau visited
young detainees at the Reformatory Colony in
Lipcani in Spring 2004. It was the first time
that teenagers who had nothing to do with the
justice system and had committed no crime had
entered a Moldovan jail for minors.
The Reformatory Colony in Lipcani town is the only prison
in the Republic of Moldova for boys aged between
14 and 18 years old that are charged with obstructing
the law. At present, there are 185 young men
between 14 nd 21 years of age imprisoned here.
They are here for theft, robbery, rape,
and even murder. Depending on the gravity of
their crime, each and every one of the boys
has to remain in prison for up to ten years.
Life at the Colony is not easy,
the boys say, but it is much better than at
the pre-trial detention facility. "Here we have
got fresh air, we can see the sun and play football
from time to time." Many come from vulnerable
and extremely poor families. They have been
expelled from their schools, society, and even
from their own families.
Maxim is 17 years old and he
comes from the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. He
wasn't even 10 when he became an orphan. His
father left their family when Maxim was just
a little boy. Then his mother died of tuberculosis.
He lived alone and, from time to time, visited
one of his aunts. Because Maxim didn't have
money for food, he used to steal different things
and then sell them. He only went to school when
he got bored of the street life. For his
first offence, he was released on bail:
"No one told me that for any
small offence I could get back in court and
that, the second time, my penalty would be even
more severe", says Maxim.
On the contrary, a lot of people
told him he couldn't be imprisoned because he's
a child. Maxim has been in the Reeducation Centre
of Lipcani for two years now. In another two
years he will be free, but no one is waiting
for him on the outside. He says he will leave
for Russia to find his father, look him
in the eye and ask for some help. Maxim
dreams of having children and being able of
providing them a decent life...
In the Republic of Moldova
there is no specialized juvenile justice system
to meet the special needs of children
suspected or accused of obstructing the law.
Their cases are examined alongside grown-up
cases, and the procedure can last for months,
or even years. As a result, even if they are
guilty of something, their rights -- as
children -- are being denied. The reform
of the juvenile justice system is still in its
early days.
UNICEF Moldova and the Government
of the Republic of Moldova, in cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, launched the project
"Reforming the Juvenile Justice System in the
Republic of Moldova" in 2004.
After this visit to the colony
in Lipcani, the young journalists from the Youth
Media Centre, together with UNICEF Moldova,
decided to raise public awareness on juvenile
justice issues. And they will inform young detainees
about their rights and obligations, about their
health risks, life and freedom, and other essentials.
In this way the boys will be more prepared for
their return into the society that waits
for them on the day that they are free.
CHISINAU, June 2004
This article first appeared on the UNICEF Magic website
For more information:
Violeta Cojocaru, Communication Officer, UNICEF Moldova
Tel: (+ 373 22) 22 0034
e-mail: vcojocaru@unicef.org
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