OSCE camp brings children together from both sides of Nistru

Tudor, 9, is sneaking around the corner of the Nistru Holiday Camp with big bottles of water in his hands. Ana-Maria, 11, is preparing a counter-attack. As soon as the camp manager is out of sight, a wet and long-lasting battle begins. Watch out!

Twenty-one children from both sides of the Nistru River, which divides Moldova in two parts, have come together for the OSCE Children's Camp from 15 to 24 August in one of Moldova's most famous resorts, Vadul Lui Voda. Although Chisinau is less than an hour away from here, the air is fresher, the hills are greener and the watchdogs at the gate prefer to bark rather than move.

"The camp in Vadul Lui Voda is a great opportunity for the children to relax, have fun and at the same time get to know each other and develop understanding. The children are all from poor families, many with health and social problems, and we are happy to give them this chance," says Kenneth Pickles, Head of the Conflict Prevention Programme of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

The OSCE Mission to Moldova has supported the Vadul Lui Voda Children's Camp since 2008. It brings together children from both sides of the river, encouraging contacts among children. Several are frequent visitors and return to the camp every year. Edik, 14, is one of them.

Children from both sides of the River Nistru spent ten days at an OSCE summer camp in Vadul Lui Voda, Moldova, August 2010.

"I was here last year, but there are some newcomers as well. We spend a lot of time on the beach and riding the banana boats," he says, referring to the kind of ride that always ends with a number of children in life-vests bobbing happily in the Nistru River.

"We start every day with morning gymnastics before breakfast, otherwise the children would be tired the whole day," says Oxana Rybakova, camp supervisor for the last six years, as Katia, 8, waves her arms in circles to illustrate the trickier exercises.

Rybakova is a tuberculosis survivor herself and knows exactly what some of the children are facing at home, where family members are suffering from this disease. There are 21 individual stories explaining why each child has been chosen for the ten days of pure recreation with regular meals and a lot of time for sports and fun. At the OSCE Summer Camp it is up to each person to decide which activities to take part in. The most important thing is that everybody gets a little time off, and for some of the participants ten quiet days is exactly what is needed.

"Even though some of the kids are native Russian speakers and others Romanian speakers, they get along very well and share rooms with each other without any problems. It's quite amazing," says Rybakova.

The fact that you might unexpectedly get a litre of cold water poured over you when entering the camp has nothing to do with which side of the river you belong to - in this battle it's boys against girls. Some things never change.