Government is worried: do IDPs abuse generosity of the state? Do they spend money on night clubs or on urgent needs? Human rights activist Aleksandra Dvoretskaya told about “worries” and “anxiety” of the Cabinet of Ministers…

August 19. Session of Cabinet of Ministers. Kvitashvili tells about big number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kharkiv, Zaporozhie and Dnepropetrovsk regions. He asks to consider this with financing and provision of vaccinations: payed attention to the BCG and vaccine against diphtheria…

Rainin complements him (the head of Kharkiv Regional State Administtration): “The capacity of IDPs are not taken into account in approving the volume of medical subventions. It’s very serious for Kharkiv region, because I repeat once again for 187 thousands for medical maintenance of this people have been already allocated 50 millions UAH. That’s it’s difficult enough for us and we have such an offer, if it’s possible to take into account medical subventions in those regions, where number of migrants is very big”.

Amazing conclusions makes Prime-Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk from this. I allow to myself to bring the full text of speeches on the session:

Yatsenyuk:“We need Pavlо Valerievichu (Rozenko, Minister of Social Policy ed.) to make one more serious work together.

We need to find out how two digits join each other: officially registered migrants, which are 1,4 million of people, living on a territory of Ukraine and actual quantity on IDPs, that live. Are they 1,4 million or more or less? So, I mean we actually need to make verification and confirmation of those people who registered like IDPs and they really live on relevant territories and don’t live in Luhansk or Donetsk, remove on controlled territory to get benefits, subsidies, pensions. Moreover also they get financial aid from Government, because it is 884 UAH (~35$) for every unemployed person per month and then come back.

Rainin: “We made such an analysis in Kharkiv region, we need it even in the operational environment. I can say that by today we see moreover 300 thousands of IDPs in Kharkiv region (officially 187 thousands ed.), but some of them have their own resources and haven’t applied or made a registration, really living in our region”.

Rozenko:“We have such an order of the government, which provides method of determination of such persons, who had registered, but don’t live on controlled by Ukraine territories. We have opportunities with State Migration Service to make necessary revisions of actual place of living of this people. So, that’s why we have a big difference in real and document digits”.

Yatsenyuk:“We will make the separate session, because when we began to give pensions from “Oschadbank” I’ve already get information, very interesting data. For example, card for getting pension is served at 2-3 o’clock am in entertainment facilities. Pensioners go to clubs, cafe and restaurants at night/ So, interesting facts appeared.

So, we need to make a big session after the verification of persons who really need social aid, we need to define the number of this people and also the number of people who abuse state aid for other purposes”.

Article could be stopped at this fragment by Gogol scene, but let’s look on all that was said from the point of view of internally displaced person.

Opinion of the volunteer

Lesya Litvinova, the coordinator of one of the biggest volunteer initiatives “Frolovskaya 9/11” wrote on her page in Facebook:

“Yatsenyuk deeply concerned that there is not too much money is allocated to immigrants by the state. And really those who extended pensions and children’s benefits are on Ukrainian territories. Maybe they abusing the generosity of the state. According to all of this he ordered to Rozenko to recount all IDPs and if something wrong to deprive them bounties. Rosenko reported that it’s possible to do with help of  organs of internal affairs.

Olya came from Makeevka a year ago. Her older son is 14 years old, middle sons are 7,4,3 and youngest daughter is 9 months. Her husband brought her and left. They haven’t asked for something more than necessary things. They didn’t live in Kyiv for long, we moved them to Poltava, because of more cheap housing rent. It’s critically hard for them, because with such a number of children he can’t find a work on the telephone (another one with a lot of kids is unreal). Do you know what saved them? The pension of her father. He came, formed it and went back to look for house. It happened, because nobody will provide them with another housing and these walls in Makeevka it’s the everything that they have.

So, you can find a “million” of such abusings of the generosity of the state”.

The government is trying to show all its best, telling about help to victims of conflict, on meetings with international donors. Ministry of Social Policy has been writing program for socialization and integration of migrants for 1,5 year and the same time was spent on technical task for creation of base of registration of IDPs. The law about IDPs still doesn’t work. Cabinet of Ministers doesn’t accept necessary Orders for its realization. They don’t have time. They only have time to watch for pensioners and migrants.

Dangerous “Oschadbank”

In spite of a fact that there is no limits in issuing the financial compensation in sum of 442 UAH (~ 20$) per month during first 6 months of migration, Arseniy Petrovich consciously distort, speaking that migrants use the aid for other purposes. There is no need to confirm use of this 442 UAH and such term, used in the order like “for living”, is very wide.

Prime Minister confesses that State Bank “Oschadbank” discloses banking secrecy in spite of  the contract, telling about when and where card of the pensioner was used, also he says that they will do the same with migrants.

Accepted not so long ago changes in Resolution #505 about compensations say that payments for migrants will be made only with “Oschadbank”. The reason sounded by the government is taking care of citizens to get all their money. Now we understand that all of this was done to watch for migrants and punish them for incorrect using of money, which are entitled for them according to the law.

IDPs must be patient

If you’re a migrant you must suffer. You don’t have a right on normal life. You don’t have a right to go to cafe or bar, you don’t have a right to buy things and clothes in expensive shops. You must live like a pauper. If you’re a pensioner from ATO the same thing. Prime Minister identified not only place, where you can spend your money, he also set a time to do it — only in the afternoon. Otherwise, “law enforcements” will come and “check”.

Maybe it’s better to Cabinet of Ministers to confirm a list of second-hand, flea markets and bazaars, where people, internally left Donetsk and Luhansk regions can spend their money? Also there is the necessity to confirm time for Prime not to doubt that you suffer enough.

What’s next?

Day by day  The Government of Ukraine more and more with every new initiative discriminates people, suffered in a conflict. Queues in Social Support Service with permanent proving to “woman from 80’s” that you’re not a separatist, access system, humiliating inspections of  Migration Service, one more queue in the state bank. Now checking where and for what migrant spends his 442 UAH will add to all of other procedures. Migrants have less chances to influent on acceptions of decisions, because they even deprived to take part in local elections. We advice to those, who formed payments in “Oshadbank” to remove all at once at an ATM and to keep all under the pillow. Maybe Yatsenyuk does not deem that you are a little bit happy.

Alexandra Dvoretskaya, the coordinator of legal areas of “Vostok-SOS” for informator.lg.ua