On the 02nd of May 2019, the Charity Centre for Refugees (CCR), partner of UNHCR and Bureau of Migration and Asylum, organized Easter celebration for its beneficiaries – the asylum seekers who live at the Temporary Accommodation Centre (TAC) and the invited to CCR’s office refugees leaving in Chisinau. Two Easter informative sessions were organized at TAC and Community Centre to inform on the local traditions and culture.
The round table at TAC was opened by the Director of TAC, Mr. Valeriu Stratila and the Director of CCR, Mr. Djavid Paknehad. Mostly of the asylum seekers, were present for the first time at such an event, as they come from prevalent Muslim countries (Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, etc.), but they showed a real interest in listening to the invited local Priest Gheorghe, who explained a lot about Easter holiday, its meaning, period and symbols. After the round table, the Priest put some questions about Easter at which they answered without problems, each one receiving Easter gifts. At TAC were present 47 persons, including 38 asylum seekers.
In the second part of the day, the main room of CCR was full with persons of concern (PoCs) from Afghanistan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Yemen, India, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, etc. The meeting was opened by Mr. Djavid Paknehad, and around one hour the Priest Constantin explained about Orthodox Easter celebration. Some of the PoCs had questions and everybody participated at a short quizzee regarding the Christian holiday. At the end, everybody got a small package with “pasca” (a traditional Moldovan Easter cake), and red eggs – both symbols of the Orthodox Easter in the Republic of Moldova. At CCR were present 88 persons, including 66 refugees.
The event passed in a harmonious way and CCR thanks the refugee community, TAC’s staff, and, especially, the Moldovan Metropolitan Church that supports every year CCR during Easter period.
Paknehad Șabnam-Cristina