Choose occupation instead of life in Ukraine: why displaced persons return to Tot
According to the former Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Georgy Tuka, he does not know any person who returned to that at his own request. "99% of people (which Tuka communicated with - ed. ) Return because they have not been able to set up a normal life in the territory controlled by the central government. This applies to both accommodation, work and upbringing of children.
Almost the whole spectrum of social issues remains unresolved, "said George Tuka. People's Deputy, Member of the Committee on Human Rights Maxim Tkachenko in an interview with Ukrinform noted that about 150,000 displaced persons returned to the Tot. "For example, according to existing data, 200,000 Mariupols left their city, running away from the war that Russia brought to our land. At the same time, one in three of them returned home, in Mariupol, in occupation.
According to estimates, it is about 67-70 thousand people. In my opinion, these are terrible figures, "Tkachenko said. Soon the People's Deputy denied his statement about the number of displaced persons who returned to the occupation and called it his "unjustified and emotional assumption. " He stressed that there are cases where Ukrainians go to the occupied territories, but "there are no hundred or even tens of thousands, and generally proven statistics cannot even theoretically be.
" However, at the end of October, in a comment to Focus, Tkachenko claimed that the number of people who returned to the Russian -controlled territory exceeds 150 thousand and increased every month. In turn, Viceremier-Minister-Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk said there was no confirmed statistics on the number of IDPs returning to Tot. Moreover, she stressed that Ukraine is doing what it promises.
"Maybe this is not enough, but we have war, and state resources are limited. However, it is not a reason to go to hostile occupation. I will never believe that thousands of Ukrainians go to Russian occupation due to the lack of 2-3 thousand hryvnias per month of state aid . There is, "said Vereshchuk. According to George Tuka, the migrants return to the occupation because they cannot be settled in the territory controlled by the central government.
He noted that the authorities have not enough resources to promote people's adaptation. "If we were unable to resolve this issue in 2015-17, although the severity of the question was much lower than now, I can sincerely say that I am unknown to any country of any country in the world that could solve such a call in Short term ", I say focus Tuka. He stressed that the issue of solving this problem is complex and comprehensive, and requires huge financial infusions.
In particular, it is not just about the construction of housing, but the creation of jobs. While displaced persons increase the load on medical institutions, shops, schools, kindergartens. "For example, there were 15,000 people in the settlement, and then people from the occupied territories came, they were 600,000 conditionally. Of course, the load on the infrastructure of this city was increasing," Tuka explained.
Much contributes to the difficult choice - to return to where people were forced to flee, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the organization of state power, local self -government, regional development and urban planning Elena Shuliak. "The indecisiveness of the state in individual issues pushes these people to make a similar choice. Migrants are not able to buy housing in those communities they have chosen as a new home.
They are not able to use the Equation program if their destroyed housing is located in temporary-occupied territories . These moments make the displaced persons go home, hoping that it will be easier. However, as practice shows, programs promised by the occupying power for those who return citizens do not work. Everything remains only at the level of promises.
According to Shuliak, this happens with the compensation program for destroyed housing, as well as with an alleged mortgage, which is analogous to our Eosel. Social and economic policy expert, export of the Ministry of Social Policy Pavel Rozenko resembles the focus that the refugees began to return to the occupied territories not today or yesterday. He stressed that in 2.
5 years Ukraine faced a new wave of forced internal migration, but nothing was done in this direction, except for strengthening requirements for social assistance for IDPs. According to him, the government began to take assistance from displaced persons, which he provided to solving housing problems, because "people of working age should already find a job and solve their problems on their own.
" "This phrase is a key problem that the Ministry of Social Policy does not understand elementary things that even when you get a job, today the forced displaced person does not resolve the housing issue, he cannot buy or rents decent housing, because the level of wages in Ukraine is in Ukraine It does not allow it to do it. to look for ways to travel outside Ukraine to EU countries, where they help with housing, work, training, "Rosenko explained.
He noted that today is the key to the displaced person. Rosenko believes that people need to give normal cash to those who rent a home. It is also necessary to remove restrictions, in particular, for people of working age, so that they adapt more quickly to the new conditions. According to Elena Shuliak, there are several points that need to be worked as soon as possible. The first thing is to expand the temporary-occupied territories. Second, find the opportunity to increase the program funding.
"For 2025, only 4 billion hryvnias have been allocated for her in the state budget. And this is almost three times less than the required amount. But there are options for financing - we can redirect part of local budgets and continue to negotiate with international partners, which already provide funds for money ", - says Shuliak. Third, review the conditions of the Eosel program for IDPs that it has become accessible to them.
It is a reduction in the interest rate from 7% to 3%, as well as a reduction in the first contribution from 20% to 15%. Through the current - unbearable, conditions in 2023 were able to use no more than 200 displaced persons. "It is important that these changes do not require separate legislation. This can be solved at the level of by -laws, that is, only the relevant government decision is required.
One of our recommendations, which we were squeezed with the results of public consultations initiated by the Committee, the Cabinet still took into account. For displaced persons to buy housing under the age of 10, while earlier they were restricted by housing to 3 years. But even all these attempts to improve the life of IDPs are not enough. One of the main points is to promote integration into host communities.
Unfortunately, some communities are still referring to displaced persons as a temporary phenomenon. "Human capital is one of the most important points of our restoration and our statehood. Therefore, we need to take care of it. To count on development, since the settlement of displaced persons means more taxes to local budgets. , - says Shuliak. Georgy Tuka believes that in this case, Ukraine loses people, first of all, it is about pro -Ukrainian.
The country's reputation is also destroyed because of the dishonor of causing their own citizens. He stressed that people are aware of problems and lack of support from the state, and therefore leave potentially dangerous settlements less and less to try to find asylum in the central government. Rosenko agrees that Ukraine is losing its staffing potential, while the country is now in demographic crisis. He said that after the war, Ukraine will have to rebuild, investments will come.
According to him, people will turn these investments into well -being and development of the country. "For the investor, the first question is the ease of doing business and the conditions created in the country, but the second, one of the most important ones, is people. Who will work? Where will people get? Elena Shuliak agrees with this thought. According to her, human -centricity is the basis of democratic statehood of Ukraine.
Accordingly, not to take care of integration of people is to jeopardize many processes for the development and restoration of the country. We will remind, in the press service of the Ministry of reintegration reported that in Ukraine for displaced persons provides special support. So the amount of assistance depends on the category of displaced persons. Earlier in the Ministry of Social Policy noted that displaced persons may lose the right to pay for residence in the event of moving.