A barrier on the way to the European dream. Temporary shelter for illegal migrants opens in Chernihiv oblast

A hostel for 200 foreign migrants recently opened in the village of Rozsudiv in Chernihiv oblast, on the premises of a formal military unit. Migrants can stay there for up to six months even if they are not employed. There are plans to enlarge the hostel so that it can accommodate 500 seekers of a better life.

THESE MEN ARE DETERMINED TO FIND A JOB IN UKRAINE OR THE EU BECAUSE THEY ARE DOOMED TO POVERTY IN THEIR HOMELAND

It cost two million euros to set up the temporary shelter for illegal migrants in Rozsudiv. The conditions are as follows: if a migrant fails to find a permanent job in Ukraine within six months and does not vacate the hostel, he or she will be forced to leave this country.



“In the past six months we have allowed 10,000 foreigners to stay permanently in Ukraine, out of which 5,000 are those who have married a Ukrainian citizen and more than 4,000 who have been living on the territory of Ukraine for three years and have a full-time job,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Yurii Lutsenko at the opening ceremony. “One of the problems is false employment documents and illegal collaboration with law-enforcement officers to obtain a residence permit. Unfortunately, right now no one can eradicate this ‘tumor’ of corruption.”



Eighteen illegal migrants from African and Asian countries are living in the shelter in Rozsudiv. Some of them were seeking happiness in Ukraine, while others intended to make their way to Western Europe. The shelter has comfortable living quarters, recreation rooms, rooms for interpreters, and even a place to warm up food. There is a sports area in the backyard. The food served in the dining room is no worse than what is offered in college canteens.



“For today’s lunch we served borsch, meat with groats, and tomato juice. We are given 10 hryvnias a day for each migrant,” said Larysa, a dining room employee.



The migrants from India and Pakistan told us that life is not all that sweet for illegals.



“We traveled to Ukraine, hidden inside boxes, for about 17 hours. We had to sit all the way and couldn’t even budge. We paid 500 dollars for this ‘convenience’ and now we are in Ukraine. We came for work,” said Jatiner, a migrant from India, who hopes to find a job in computers in our country.



There seems to be a disproportionately large number of staff here in comparison to the small number of residents: about 170, including 30 uniformed officers. The migrants do not have to do any work. All they have to do is behave well.



“We do not ask them to do any work now. There is a daily routine that they have to observe. Naturally, they can volunteer to clean the shelter, but nobody is authorized to compel them. We are planning to get them employment in some enterprises, but there is no program to this effect,” said Tetiana Hryn, a documentation office inspector.



There is only one European Commission-funded temporary shelter for foreigners and people without citizenship in Ukraine. Under the Readmission Agreement, the European Union has already given 30 million euros to open similar institutions. There are plans to open a shelter for illegal migrants in Volyn oblast in the fall of this year and several in southern and eastern Ukraine next year.