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| Mahliyo was urged by other sex workers to give up her baby |
Many babies born to Central Asian immigrants are left in Moscow. 150 newborn babies have been left in the last five months alone. Memonsho Memonshoev and Madina Yuldasheva run a program called Dargil Nanik, which means "Find me mama" in English. They help mothers to make the choice to keep their babies. Most mothers start out by leaving their families, then come to Russia and get pregnant along the way. They have no place to live except the place where they are, which usually is a crowded area shared with many people. Illegitimate children are not usually welcome to the culture the women have left, so they can't return. The only choice it seems is to leave their babies. So they do.
I think it is terrible that the women leave their babies. I mean I see their position, but I don't see how you could leave them. I think the Find me mama program is a good idea, and it has helped a lot of people. The whole situation is terrible, not helped by the fact they can't speak Russian. The moms then don't understand the laws pertaining to orphanages. There is a law that says after six months in an orphanage, a mother has no parental claim over their children. I hope the problem gets solved soon, because I would hate to see abandoned children.
