What is at once heartbreaking about the place is the desperate state of its people. The Soviet pullout and years of civil strife have wreaked their punishment. Many people are unemployed. As if they have no place to carry their grievances but to the open air, they clog the roads and fields with no particular place to go. Children watch for foreign cars to panhandle for American dollars, women sell incidentals by the side of the road, families glean leftovers from a near-empty cornfield.
Petty crimes are rampant.
It's the kind of place where a man might end up dead in an argument over a bicycle. It is no surprise, then, that in Moldavia it is common practice for poor mothers to relinquish their children. It is often the only option left, since the government offers little assistance. Despite the bleakness of the surroundings, Chandler found that the children were cared for with tenderness and affection. There were separate sleeping and eating areas for every group of 20 or so children, with two caregivers, usually older women, looking after them.