With Broken Economy And Scarce Jobs, Ukraine's Displaced People Depend On Volunteers
KIEV, Ukraine -- A year agoLarissa Bilotserkovets, 61, stood in Donetsk with a Ukrainian flagwrapped around her shoulders. As people around her waved Russian flags and shouted Russia! she, standing alone, argued Ukraine should turn westward and enter the European Union.
But that did not happen. Donetsk and nearby Luhansk became instead self-proclaimed "People's Republics," led by pro-Russian rebels who want to turn eastern Ukraine the other way, toward Moscow. Their war with the Ukrainian government has killedmore than 6,000 people and displaced more than 1.5 million. Today Bilotserkovets is one of the latter, an internally displaced person. During the winter of 2013, she traveled to Kiev to participate in the demonstrations that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych: Today she's back in the capital as a displaced person who had to reinvent her life.
The separatists arrested her last year when she started inquiring about tanks and weapons appearing in her hometown of Makiivka. Released after falling ill in captivity, she moved to Kiev with help from volunteers with an aid organization. Internally displaced people (IDP) like her now number1.17 million, statistics from the Ministry of Social Policy indicate. Additionally, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugeesestimates more than 500,000 people left Ukraine for Russia and more than 80,000went to Belarus due to the conflict in the eastern Donbas region.
Many of those1.17 millionIDPs would not have been able to make ends meet without help from thousands of volunteers. In Kiev, the arrival of thousandsof displaced people has created a huge need for jobs, a major strain in an economy among the poorest in Europe.
When people first arrive in Kiev, they need everything, said Dmytro Klochko, a volunteer from the Order of Malta at an aid center on Frolivska Street in Kievs hip Podil neighborhood.
Volunteers from Kiev, Donetsk, Luhansk and even Spain sort donations that fill a drop-off room to the ceiling, including items ranging from food and hygiene supplies to clothing and dishware. The center's tent kitchen has been cooking 100 liters (30 gallons) of soup six days a week since November.
The volunteer initiative helps people for 45 days so they can get back on their feet, center coordinator Lesya Litvinova said, explaining it has assisted around 30,000 families. But 45 days are not always enough.
The main problems are housing and jobs, said Varvara Zhluktenko, a communications and outreach officer at the International Organization for Migrations Kiev office. The situation with finding jobs is not straightforward.
People from the Donbas region worked mainly in factories, mines and metallurgy,industries that donot exist at all in Ukraines capital. In Kiev, theres a need for people with IT skills, as well as sales, hotel and restaurant experience, saidIryna Koval, co-founder and coordinator of theFree People Employment Center,who has been working with volunteers across Ukraine to help people find jobs and acquire new skills. Things are a little better for displaced persons from Crimea, who frequently worked in the tourism industry.
In addition to a website where people can ask for help and post resumes, the Center offers courses, master classes, and training, all free of charge. Koval has recently launched a pilot program aimed at soldiers returning from war who will need to find jobs. To date, the center has helped more than 3,800 people find work or add to their skill sets.
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With Broken Economy And Scarce Jobs, Ukraine's Displaced People Depend On Volunteers