While Mother Works Abroad, Grandmother Tries To Fill Her Shoes

Maria Barbanou is raising two of her granddaughters while their mother works as a housekeeper in Italy to try to support their family. Their situation is increasingly common in Moldova, Europe's poorest country, where unemployment and low wages have driven hundreds of thousands to seek work abroad. As a result, a generation of young Moldovans is growing up with their parents far from home. RFE/RL's Irina Gotisan visited the small town of Buda to meet some of these "economic orphans" and their caregiver.