“Our Westerner”: The Role of Romanian-naturalized Youth in Reconfiguring Moldavian Transnational Families

Abstract

In this paper, I shall present the itinerary of young people in the process of becoming “Romanian” and the roles these “Westerners” play in restructuring the lives of Moldavian transnational families. The paper also focuses on the role played by young Moldavian people in their families of origin, which are largely developed and anchored in a traditional society, yet connected to a socialist mentality (Leccardi C, Feixa C, Introduction. Youth in transition(s). In: Leccardi C, Feixa C, Kovacheva S, Reiter H, Sekulic T (eds) 1989 – young people and social change after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg, pp 5–13, 2012), throughout the process of reorganizing the lives of Moldavian transnational families. At the same time, the study will show how these young people represent the driving force in the process of reacquiring Romanian citizenship by Moldavian citizens. The research is based on the qualitative analysis of data obtained through live audio and video interviews with transnational family members and key people from three communities from the Republic of Moldova: two rural (Cornești, Funduri Vechi) and one urban (Chișinau). The selected cases illustrate the patterns of migration tracks of young Moldavians who have acquired Romanian citizenship and, at the same time, how their routes have influenced the structure, relations and practices of their families of origin. One of the conclusions of the analysis highlights the existence of different patterns concerning the way in which Moldavian citizens relate to this double citizenship; this is also reflected in their way of ‘doing family’ (Morgan DHJ, Rethinking family practices. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2011). In turn, the paper will give voice to family members living both in Romania and in Moldova.