New book lists Moldova as world's unhappiest country

Miserable in Moldova: The country is officially the unhappiest in the world, according to a new American book

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - If you are looking for happiness, don't make a detour to Moldova. The country, which holds the dubious honor of being the poorest in Europe, is now officially also the unhappiest.

A new book by American author and journalist Eric Weiner categorizes Moldova at the least happy place on the face of the planet. The book, The Geography of Bliss, surveys countries around the globe with happy populations. For comparison, it also includes the most miserable country in the world: Moldova.

" - Moldovans are truly miserable," says the book's author, Eric Weiner. "It's a relatively poor country on the edge of a rich neighborhood, and that's Europe. Once they had the pride of being part of the Soviet empire, and now they're not part of anything."

Mark Ames, another American journalist, agrees.
" - Moldova is not only the poorest nation in Europe - it is also the most miserable place I have ever visited," says Ames.

Based on first hand experience, awardwinning journalist Eric Weiner confirms in his latest book that Moldova is the unhappiest place on the face of the earth.

Weiner says that Moldovans appear stuck in a posture of "learned hopelessness," which according to the book is a way of thinking that suggests things will never improve. That is the dominant mind-set in Moldova, the former Soviet republic which Weiner visited as a point of comparison after checking out some of the happiest countries in the world.

" - The Moldovans, who live in the least-happy place in the world, are poor and miserable, but there are poorer countries that are happier. Moldovans drink a lot and are perpetually nasty to each other," says Eric Weiner.

Fittingly, the book's chapter on Moldova is titled "Happiness is Somewhere Else."

Happier in Transdniester

In contrast to Moldova, neighboring Transdniester (official name: Pridnestrovie) is a much happier place, its residents say. But they continue to feel the brunt of Moldova's "perpetual nastiness", two words used by Weiner to describe the attitude of Moldova's inhabitants to those around them. But why are the Transdniestrians nevertheless so happy? One reason is the country is small. The entire population is around 550,000, and in the capital, Tiraspol, you can walk just about anywhere in 15 minutes.

Smallness facilitates cooperation, because if one segment of the population suffers it's not long before everyone feels the effects. Smallness creates a sense of cohesion, because most everyone knows everyone else, through friends, family or co-workers. There's also a feeling, due to the republic's currently unrecognized status, of being shunned by the world. This fosters an atmosphere of independence and solidarity.

" - In a way, we feel like this is World War II and Churchill is urging everyone to stick together," says one resident. "That is what we do here: We stick together, regardless of ethnic lines."

Nearly 18 years of building their own state in the face of adversity and nonrecognition has given the Transdniestrians a strong sense of who they are. This sense of national identity and purpose is lacking in Moldova. In his book, Eric Weiner points out that Moldovans lack a coherent national identity, a functioning economy and a culture that rewards hard work.

Transdniester's economy, unlike Moldova's, is highly industrialized and export-oriented. It is well-functioning despite a blockade and other attempts by Moldova to subdue it. Moldova will not allow Transdniestria to obtain success on its own, and prefers to drag the freedom-seeking territory down into misery along with Moldova itself.

" - In Moldova, the most unhappy country in the world, the people relish envy and so they are unhappy," says Eric Weiner, remembering his visit to the place. "Moldovans derive more pleasure from their neighbor’s failure than their own success," he adds.

Strong desire for independence

Without an “abiding faith or culture on which to rely,” Moldovans, Weiner writes, harbor a superstition that is “free-floating, anchored to nothing but the cloud of pessimism that hovers over this sad land.” Hopping aboard a crowded bus, he observes, “Every face is frozen in an expression that is simultaneously vacant” and vaguely teed off — “an expression I came to identify as The Moldovan Scowl.”

Other visitors note that the sense of a shared destiny is much more apparent in Transdniester, on the other side of the Dniester river which has historically been Moldova's easternmost border.
Transdniester declared independence in 1990 and has no desire to join Moldova. An overwhelming majority of its population shares a strong desire for independence. Sovereign statehood for Transdniester is even supported by the country's Moldovan minority (who call it Transnistria, its name in the Romanian language).

" - We don't want to be part of the unhappiest country in the world," says Lucia Sarbu, 24, from Tiraspol, the capital of Transdniester. "We prefer independence. There can be no other future for us."

On the face of it, Moldova's own population share the desire to not be part of Moldova any longer. Worldwide, the country has the highest number of emigrants per capita. To date, nearly one-third of Moldova's entire population has left the country. When measured strictly on the basis of working age adults (the economically active segment of the population), half of all Moldovans have already left.

With Moldovans leaving and Transdniestrians having no desire to join, the future of Moldova is uncertain. For Moldova, there is no happiness in sight. But for Transdniester, the future is optimistic: The new and emerging country has rejected a proposal to merge with Moldova, and continues its quest for international recognition and diplomatic relations with other countries.

Eric Weiner is a national correspondent for the U.S. National Public Radio (NPR), based in Washington DC. He is a veteran foreign correspondent for NPR, with postings in New Delhi, Jerusalem, and Tokyo. Weiner has worked for both the NPR Foreign Desk and its Washington Bureau. Prior to joining radio, Weiner worked at The New York Times.

Any last hints at why Transdniestria is a happier place than Moldova? The need to stick together creates unity, and Transdniestria has a lot more of that than Moldova.

" - Necessity may be the mother of invention, but interdependence is the mother of affection," says Weiner. "We humans need one another, so we cooperate — for purely selfish reasons at first. At some point, though, the needing fades and all that remains is the cooperation. We help other people because we can, or because it makes us feel good, not because we're counting on some future payback. There is a word for this: love."

See also:
» Moldova: Country Profile
» Moldova falling apart as corruption, poverty force half the country to leave
» Failed state index ranks Moldova as worst in Europe

Opinion and commentary:
» An American compares Transnistria and Moldova
» Filthy and freezing on the Moldovan campaign trail