Domestic Violence Candlelight Vigil

This past Saturday, December 9th, two NGOs (non-governmental organizations) based in Chisinau held a public event to raise awareness of domestic violence, ending at nightfall with a candlelight vigil. As the new coordinator of a PC "Domestic Violence Group" made up of interested PCVs and local volunteers, I had been assisting one of the NGOs, Winrock International, in the planning of this event. Held in one of Chisinau's parks in the center of the city, our group of volunteers succeeded in attracting many interested passers-by, and by the end of the event they distributed 200 "stop violence" balloons, 180 candles, and pinned on numerous purple anti-violence ribbons. Pamphlets on domestic violence and human trafficking were distributed, and videos on both of these subjects were played for a large audience that had gathered at the event. (The connection between victims of domestic violence and victims of human trafficking is increasingly being identified in Moldova.)

Throughout the preparation of this event I found myself wondering what my role should be or what I could contribute, but interestingly -- and in agreement with my other observations on working in Moldova these past 14 months -- it seemed that the most valuable role I could play was that of a motivator and idea-generator. Something I've come to understand since living in Moldova this past year is the way the culture I grew up in shaped the way I approach situations, specifically, the very American understanding I have of advertising and marketing without ever having taken a class on either of these topics. What am I referring to? Okay, think back to your childhood. Did you ever have a lemonade stand? "Market" yourself to neighbors for handyman services, lawn mowing or car washing? Sell candy to raise money for school? Exactly. The concepts that we learn as American children by virtue of a culture that uses marketing in many aspects of life seem to be very new to the people I have worked with in Moldova. We Americans are also, in general, huge optimists, believing that anything can (and should) be improved, that change is good. This is not a belief common to Moldova.

Out of worries that I am going to step on toes or state the obvious, I have frequently held back from making suggestions, only to later find out that my partners have not, in fact, thought of these things yet. I by no means am saying that the people I work with don't have the capacity to come up with these ideas or to be creative, but rather that they have not received the sort of cultural "training" which promotes this type of thinking. Now, returning to the vigil and my idea-generating role, I made three contributions to the organization of this event that I'm really proud of. The first was my suggestion that we have a jar for donations to Chisinau's domestic violence shelter on one of the tables during the event. The second was that we use some of the candles that had been purchased for the event to spell out "No violence" ("Nu violentei") in large letters on the ground near the event. (This generated a huge amount of public interest in our event, as a large crowd gathered around to watch us as we laid out the letters and then lit the candles.) My third suggestion -- or, rather, demand -- was that one of the local volunteers get on the microphone as people gathered for the vigil to announce that there was a jar for donations which would be used to buy needed items for children living at the domestic violence shelter. The volunteers balked and squirmed at this suggestion, and told me that people wouldn't give money, but I told them to get on the mike, be very enthusiastic ("your one lei can help make a child smile this holiday!") and sell them on donating. Finally, after repeated requests, a volunteer made the announcement...and promptly a long line of people formed to donations to the jar.

The point of this blog entry is not to say how great I am -- I think any other American volunteer would have likely made the same suggestions in my place. (Though I am of course happy that my contributions helped draw attention to a cause that is very important to me, and helped raise nearly 400 lei [about 30 dollars] for needy children) Rather, it is to share my observations on how culture shapes us and the way we approach problems. Whatever negative things I may say about my experience living and working as a PCV, I think it has been extremely valuable in terms of opening up my eyes to the world and helping me better understand my own country.