Darya Gerasymchuk, the presidential adviser on children's rights and children's rehabilitation, said that there was a list of institutions for which the government was currently trying to organize humanitarian corridors. However, there is no confirmation of humanitarian corridors yet.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war in Ukraine 264 institutions of various subordination, where children stayed around the clock, were completely or partially evacuated from dangerous zones. But this is not even half of the institutions from which children need to be taken to safety. About the problems faced by evacuated families, what happened to boarding schools, and why it was not possible to evacuate all children, In an interview with ZN.UA, Darya Gerasymchuk, Adviser to the President on Children's Rights and Children's Rehabilitation . Alla Kotlyar talked to her.
“We analyzed data on 702 institutions of various subordination (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Social Policy, non-state ownership), in which children were present around the clock. According to the latest information provided a week ago at a meeting of the Coordination Headquarters, 264 of these institutions have carried out partial or complete evacuations. Within Ukraine, 83 institutions were evacuated: 42 – the Ministry of Education and Science, 13 – the Ministry of Health, 26 – the Ministry of Social Policy and 2 – non-state ownership. Abroad – 181 institutions: 97 – MES, 8 – Ministry of Health, 63 – Ministry of Social Policy and 13 – non-state ownership. In total, more than 6,000 children were evacuated from 24-hour facilities. A little more than two thousand of them – in Ukraine. These figures are increasing daily. That is, a large number of institutions were evacuated, “Gerasymchuk said.
According to her, the monitoring of institutions that have been relocated to other regions of Ukraine is carried out by the ministries under their jurisdiction. According to the latest data, the needs of all institutions are practically met. Sometimes you need some seasonal clothes. But almost instantly it is closed by the charity.
“There are some problems in providing children with gadgets. The Ministry of Education monitors all institutions in Ukraine for the possibility of connecting children to distance education. All children displaced in Ukraine are as safe as possible, “she added.
However, she noted that, unfortunately, there is a certain list of institutions that cannot be named for security reasons which the Ukrainian government is now trying to organize humanitarian corridors, and to take out children, some of whom have complex, complex diseases.
“These are institutions located in the temporarily occupied territories. There is a connection with the management of the institutions. There is an understanding that there is no humanitarian catastrophe yet, but the children are definitely in great danger and need to be taken out. Unfortunately, there is no agreement on humanitarian corridors yet, “the commissioner said.
Read also: The occupiers are preparing a disinformation attack using deported children and parents from Mariupol
According to the ombudsman Ludmila Denisova, during more than two months of full-scale war, more than 2,000 Ukrainian orphans and children deprived of parental care were deported to Russia by the occupiers.
At the same time, when asked why it happened that these institutions found themselves in such a situation, Gerasymchuk said that “it is impossible to say that there is any one problem.”
She explained that part of the reason is the reluctance of some parents to leave. -teachers of foster families and DBST. Some were afraid to leave the house, some relatives needed special care. Someone was in no hurry, hoping that the trouble would pass, because it was quiet. But sometimes, as the commissioner pointed out, the situation changes instantly.
“Somewhere, maybe we didn't finish it. Somewhere, the military-civilian administrations responsible for the evacuation and the decision to relocate the facility were convinced that all was well and that the facility was safe. Some employees of these institutions were not ready to accompany the children. The cases are different everywhere, and they are completely individual, “Gerasymchuk said.
She added that the children's services worked with such educators. And such cases, according to the commissioner, are not widespread. And this is not the case when educators specifically sabotaged the evacuation.
“But, for example, it is believed that the family form of education is still a family. There were isolated cases when foster parents could not leave for some reason and children were evacuated together with some institutions or organized groups. Meanwhile, moving in itself (whether in Ukraine or abroad) is a great psychological trauma for a child. This is not a vacation trip, and it lasts long enough, “Gerasimchuk said, adding that cases where children remain in dangerous places, often a reason for manipulation by the enemy, remain.
Read also: Madonna will transfer part of the money from the sale of the NFT-collection to help children from Ukraine
Note that at the beginning of the war, boarding schools of the Ministry of Education again sent children home. Yes, as it was at the beginning of quarantine two years ago. Gerasymchuk explained this by saying that when children have parents who are not deprived of parental rights, they are parental children.
“For example, a child studied in a special school. She must be with her family during martial law. Another thing is that there are cases when the child was in the process of depriving parents of parental rights. For example, about the poor participation of parents in raising a child. There are children who were in institutional care because the family had difficult life circumstances. Children who could have returned to their families have been returned, “Gerasymchuk explained.
However, there is a group in the Ministry of Education and Science that monitors the condition of these children. The commissioner noted that the government was trained in quarantine when all children were sent to their parents, and there were some problems. At the Coordination Headquarters, this issue is also under control – where are the children, in what condition. If there are any problematic issues, they are resolved. This issue has been raised many times during the war.
It was reported that more than 650 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of full-scale armed aggression in Russia . According to official juvenile prosecutors, 229 children were killed and more than 421 injured.
