(1/3) “The situation was horrible. The Soviet Union had just...

(1/3)  “The situation was horrible.  The Soviet Union had just collapsed.  Nobody was able to adapt except for the criminals.  You’d see people you loved begging on the streets for food.  Everyone around me had one dream: to leave Moldova.  But not me.  It seemed like a foolish idea.  I thought: ‘Why go someplace where there’s nobody waiting for you?’  It seemed too risky.  So I stayed.  I got a degree.  I worked as an economist in the Ministry of Statistics and Prices.  I bought my own apartment.  And I felt safe.  I knew how to manage my life and solve any problem.  But suddenly I had this very strong feeling that my life was finished.  I’d reached the limits of my world.  I’d never experience anything new.  I’d never be surprised again.  But I was still young at the time.  I was thirty-five.  I was strong and not afraid of anything.  I told myself: ‘I can do this.  I have just enough energy to live one more life.’  So I decided to change my life completely.  But that isn’t the reason I finally left Moldova.  I’m embarrassed to even tell you.  Because I’m better than this, but I left because I met a man.  He was visiting from Paris.  He seemed very nice.  He was handsome.  He looked like a university professor.  He looked like someone I could trust.”
(Paris, France)