The government, deputies and candidates for deputies don’t need them even for PR – they are out of trend. They don’t burn tires or throw deputies into dumpsters. Their weapon is thin pickets with self-made posters and their protection is civil organizations and volunteers. They are not worriers but victims of undeclared war. Victims are counted after battles. War made them relocate and now they are forced to survive. But they aren’t given any chance.
Hypocrisy of the authorities towards internally displaced persons goes off scale. Over 300 thousand people happened to be left to waste in front of approaching humanitarian disaster. Another hope for legislative recognition of their status and assurance of elementary rights ended with complete ignoring and dim perspectives. The last session of Verkhovna Rada of the 7th calling that was attended by the President of Ukraine Peter Poroshenko and the Prime-minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk haven’t even introduced a bill draft “On ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons” No.4490а-1 for consideration.
In fact, claims about insistency and priority of passage of migrants’ law will remain on conscience of top officials of the state – Peter Poroshenko. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whose administration sabotages the creation of State Service for Migrants, also “didn’t blow out his brains” after this session. Authors of the law No.4490а-1: Deputies Valeriy Patskan (“UDAR” party), Irina Gerashchenko (“UDAR” party), Maria Ionova (“UDAR” party), Irina Lutsenko (“Batkivshina” party), Bogdan Benyuk (“Svoboda” party) Aleksey Kayda (“Svoboda” party), who have failed hopes of thousand migrants, plan to be reelected. None of them cared enough to come out to the regular pickets of migrants in front of the parliament walls and kept coy silence during the session.
“It’s been half a year without the law for the internally displaced persons and we have been trying to adopt this law. Unfortunately, we have been trying to achieve adoption of the very law No. 4490а-1 since August. First of all, it was directly prepared by public representatives, journalists, human right activists and by those organizations who deal with immigrants. There are real procedures prescribed there that could work right after its adoption” – says Olga Skripnik, of the Centre for civic education “Alimenda“.
Apprehensions of social activists aren’t groundless. Without the law a migrant is nothing. He has no rights, no medical security, shelter, social or humanitarian aid and in circumstances of coming winter it may cause the same casualties as during war actions. “Of course, there is big risk that Rada will not adopt the law before winter begins, then migrants will be left without the law for another next months and winter will come. No one knows what migrants will do in unheated premises. People will be left to waste. It’s going to be a serious humanitarian crises” – warns Olga Skripnik.
Soon Verkhovna Rada of the 7th call will become a history. New-old deputies will come. There will be next urgent drafts of law. But migrants will stay. And the whole complicated way will have to be started again: “It’s going to be possible only in a new parliament, only after elections, therefore we will have to start everything from the very beginning because everything will be annulled and we will have to take all that way that we have been going through for 3 months one more time. By the way this draft law already received support from the Council of Europe” – summarizes Olga Skripnik.
Traditionally, Ukrainian realities need victims, after which a lot of “saviors” from authorities and deputies crying on the TV will appear along with allocations of funds and the ones who will long to grasp them. Maybe soon, together with participants in military operations, children of war will appear – children of undeclared war.
Inquiry
Law No. 4490a-1 “On ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons”:
– enables migrants to receive the temporary publicly-funded housing for 6 months;
– makes allowance for migrants to receive a parcel of land and social housing on an equality with local residents and also preferential terms for lending of housing;
– enables registration of residence free and under simplified procedure;
– ensures the possibility of finishing labor relations and registering for employment center under simplified procedure (even if work record book is absent);
– ensures the possibility to receive social payments and retiring pensions in actual residence;
– ensures the right for continuation of education, including public funded;
– ensures places in preschools and schools;
– foresees the creation of common registration base for immigrants and receiving “migrant’s certificate” within one day;
– ensures the simplified procedure of registry operations for businessmen.
