Refugees from Slavyansk were not needed in Russia
Moscow – Kyiv, May 29 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) – “The humanitarian corridor from Slavyansk is still not open. Hundreds of desperate families, under shelling and bombing, are waiting for them to be able to leave this hell for Russia. But they are not ready to accept people in Russia not in words, but in reality – to help with work, documents, residence permits,” writes MK.
Subscribe to the news “Navigator - Kiev” в Facebook or In contact with
“We don’t even have warm winter clothes with us, we have no money, no work permit, or even temporary registration. My daughter and I, she is an economist by training, are ready to go even as cleaners, but who will take us?”
Elena Gordobaeva is Russian and became a Ukrainian citizen twenty years ago. My husband, an officer, served in Slavyansk, and they stayed there. And now she, along with her youngest daughter and granddaughter, fled from the war. MK correspondent Ekaterina Sazhneva found this family in her hometown of Kotovsk, which is lost in the forests of the Tambov region. Elena got out of Slavyansk almost by accident, in early April, when the events in Donbass were just beginning: the woman simply decided to visit her parents, not believing that she could return home it won't work.
Previously, Elena helped her elderly parents living in Kotovsk. And today Elena’s family is fed by those same 80-year-old pensioners, whose total income is about ten thousand rubles - but now this is the only money the family can count on. “My husband was able to somehow get a job in Moscow, otherwise we would have simply stretched out our legs from hunger,” worries 27-year-old Irina, rocking little Vlada in her arms.
By June, Elena’s family had no means of subsistence left. “We call the hotlines, but they can’t help either. We started to arrange for at least temporary residence. The migration service did not make any concessions to us, since there is still no law to recognize us as refugees or internally displaced persons. So they say: “What kind of refugees are you? To the general queue! For a set of documents, Ukrainian passports must be translated into Russian - this is 500 rubles per passport. Moreover, there is a state duty of 1000 rubles per person, and there is also the hassle of running through the authorities. But there are no positive results - wait, that’s all.”
Little Vlada is now being enrolled in kindergarten. Since the girl does not have a Russian insurance policy, some doctors - and you need to see a pediatrician, a surgeon, a dentist, and even a pediatric gynecologist - demand money. And with a baby in her arms, Irina cannot even get a job temporarily and illegally.
“According to the 2014 law, we have the right to stay in Russia for 90 days,” says Elena. – Then leave – spend 90 days in Ukraine and only then enter back again. That is, live here no more than 180 days a year. Otherwise we will be outlaws. These rules were adopted at the beginning of this year, when there was no war. Now what should we do? The situation has changed. That is, if we do not have at least some reason to stay here, then in July we must return to Ukraine. But how and where?
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.