Displaced Persons Being Forced to Leave for Uncontrolled Territories – Restoring Donbas

17:28 / 17 Mar. 2016 / 1029

Uncontrolled territories of Donbas are being turned into a full-fledged reservation where displaced persons are intentionally pushed out to. Such is the opinion voiced by Olena Petryayeva, Head of “Restoring Donbas” Community Initiative, in her article “Donbas – Ghetto in the Centre of Europe”.

“Without actually avowing, the Government of Ukraine and its public officials have implicitly recognized the uncontrolled territories as a foreign land. They have created virtually an iron curtain and now are gradually pushing citizens who still continue to regard themselves fully as Ukrainians behind it”, – the articles states.

According to the Head of “Restoring Donbas” Community Initiative, the objective pursued by the Cabinet of Ministers in this case is saving budgetary funds for account of the internally displaced persons. “They plan to save up to UAH 12 billion per year on social benefits and pensions alone. The amount is considerable, and people will survive somehow”, – Petryayeva writes.

Not only in-migrants whose only fault is that they often crossed the contact line come under the cosh of the Ministry of Social Policy, but also those who for almost two years of the war lived in the same place and were regularly registered with social protection authorities.

“A family with multiple children from Donetsk province has been living in Kirovohrad for about two years. From January they were refused welfare benefit. In response to an official request the Department of Social Policy of Kirovohrad wrote that the reason for non-payment was the absence of the stamp of the migration service. At the same time, on 13 January 2016 the lawmaker established that the migration service no longer has such right”, – Head of “Restoring Donbas” continues.

In her opinion, the country’s leaders deliberately discriminate displaced persons. “Having done nothing for social adaptation of displaced persons, the state has deprived them of the last thing left – all welfare benefits fixed by the laws. In the point of fact, that is the start of discrimination of displaced persons on territorial grounds. The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law has recently presented a poll according to which 35% displaced persons reported of discrimination at applying for a job. The survey we made last summer showed that the majority of displaced persons were unable to adapt to a new place and plan to return back home. And many do return”, – the article says.

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