Some of the Czech-origin resettlers chose Prague
At the beginning of March last year, the first group of Czech-origin resettlers arrived at Prague's Florence railway station, leaving the Ukrainian village of Chekhohrad (a Czech colony arose here back in 1869). According to "Radio Prague", many of them, including Nadezhda Samkova (maiden name), settled in western Czechia, in Tachov, where their relatives already lived. The family of Vadim Gnoilek, raising three children, settled in Milovice, with both parents finding jobs. What is the overall situation of the resettlers?
– The families who arrived a year ago have now almost completely integrated into Czech society. Everyone has moved from the hotel provided by the Ministry of Interior to apartments for permanent residence, and found jobs. Some moved to Prague, many settled in Tachov, where a large Ukrainian community lives, or in Beroun, 30 km from Prague. So they have adapted to local conditions. As of today, 80 relatively recently arrived Czech Ukrainians live in the hotel in Červená nad Vltavou. Gradually, they too are finding housing and work, – said Jarmila Lomozová, deputy director of the charity organisation Charita, which helps resettlers, in an interview with the Russian service of "Radio Prague".
– According to the charity, ethnic Czechs have also found their home in Plzeň or Slavkov u Brna. Do the arrivals mostly seek to join the local Ukrainian diaspora or rather settle on their own?
– Some seek to find work in places where they have acquaintances, friends, or even families. A similar situation arises, for example, in Tachov. However, since the primary goal is to find work, people adapt to circumstances and to where they find a job. Our society Charita receives job offers from direct employers, as well as offers of housing from municipalities across the country. If the offers suit the Ukrainians, they also resettle to places they had not previously associated with their plans. In Slavkov u Brna, in particular, two families resettled, whose members found jobs at a local company.
– Have any patterns emerged in the dynamics of offers from potential employers, are there any seasonal periods?
– It can be said that in this case, offers from employers primarily mirror the media's interest in the compatriot theme. Therefore, most offers came from March to May last year, when larger groups of ethnic Ukrainians were moving to the Czech Republic. And although the number of resettlers has declined now, we certainly still need cooperation with employers.
– Among the newcomers, there are many with higher professional qualifications: doctors, lawyers, researchers, tax consultants. Their education may remain unclaimed at least because they need time to learn the language and nostrify their diplomas, not to mention the current needs of the labour market. How big are the discrepancies between supply and demand?
– Our experience shows that job offers in agricultural production did not find a great response among resettlers. Representatives of the agricultural sector thought that villagers with experience in such work would move to the Czech Republic, but their assumptions were wrong. Most families are city dwellers, and they are now finding jobs, for example, in industrial production or warehouses. Among them there are also people with higher education. Much indeed depends on how quickly they can nostrify their diploma, and whether the particular speciality is in demand. A tax consultant, for example, faces difficulties because Czech tax law norms differ from Ukrainian ones. In such cases, one has to lower expectations from life. A great advantage in the labour market is knowledge of English. Compatriots who speak English have settled well in large Prague companies where knowledge of this language is required.
To increase chances of finding a job in one's speciality, it is very important to achieve a high level of Czech language proficiency, and Jarmila Lomozová believes that many will succeed over time. As one of the resettled compatriots, who works as a pharmacist in a pharmacy, i.e., a fairly highly qualified specialist by Czech standards, has managed to do. The head of the "Seven Rays" movement, Věra Doušová, who has been taking care of compatriots for twenty years, reported that during all this time, none of the ethnic Czechs of productive age had applied for unemployment benefits; they were all willing to accept any job until they overcame the language barrier.
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ukraine is currently registering hundreds of applications from ethnic Czechs to resettle to the Czech Republic. Therefore, according to representatives of Charita, the ranks of ethnic resettlers will be replenished during the year.