This morning as official photographer for the ABA, I attended the international conference for "Justice without Corruption" held at the Ministry of Justice. Dan, as regional director for the ABA, was a participant. We arrived early. The conference room was lovely with morning sun coming in the east window. The room was decorated in soft sage greens. The image of Lady Justice, blindfolded, covered the wall behind the main speakers' table.
I stood at the back with the rest of the press, both TV and print--a first for me.
The most important speakers, (left to right: Head of Action against Crime Department of the Council of Europe, Head of the EU delegation to Moldova, Chairman of the Parliament, Minister of Justice, US Ambassador), opened the conference with speeches. The big guys spoke and then left leaving the rest of the attendees to make their presentations, argue their points, and put their objections on record.
Here is Dan in one of his animated positions making his arguments about how to find and stem corruption.
Lately, we noticed several billboards with the word "Coruptia" (Corruption) and a telephone number to call to report corruption.
Finding and proving corruption in a country that does not have checking accounts and where most transactions are cash will be difficult. Many employers direct deposit employee's earnings to the employee's bank account. As soon as the credit hits the bank, most employees use their debit card to completely withdraw the funds. I read that only about 4% of Moldovans keep their money in banks. I just exchanged Moldovan Lei to buy Euros to pay our rent. The cashier did not ask for any form of ID. Our rent must be paid in cash. Following a money trail is very difficult in a cash economy.
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