At the end of 2014, the government of the Czech Republic announced the allocation of funds for the implementation of a special program for the resettlement of compatriots. To speed up the processing of necessary documents, temporary consular offices of the Czech Republic were even additionally opened in Ukraine.
With the beginning of 2015, the process started, and in March the Czech Republic welcomed a bus from Ukraine that brought the first group of ethnic Czechs. First of all, residents of settlements located near or directly in the zone of the military conflict set off. On April 1, at the hotel of the Czech Ministry of the Interior in the town of Červená nad Vltavou, the migrants were welcomed by the country's Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Interior Minister Milan Chovanec.
“First of all, we dealt with the regions of Ukraine where hostilities are taking place. Western Ukraine is calmer and there is no such serious pressure pushing people to immediate resettlement. Therefore, the second wave is planned for the end of this year and the beginning of next year,” said the head of the Ministry of the Interior at the time.
Resettling compatriots were promised temporary accommodation in a hotel, the opportunity to attend Czech language courses, help finding a job, and a one-time financial support of 50 thousand crowns (1,800 euros) per adult and 20 thousand crowns (727 euros) per child. In April, it seemed that the resettlement program was intended for all ethnic Czechs.
Six months later, things were different. Assistance and financial support are only available to residents of hot spots, while everyone else can move to the Czech Republic, but only by providing housing for themselves and their families, as well as financial means for their stay independently.
– It all started in the spring of 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and the first armed clashes began in eastern Ukraine, and the situation in the country became more and more complicated, – says a resident of Zhytomyr, a member of the local Czech community, Irina Levitskaya. <\/strong> – Military checkpoints appeared in Zhytomyr. People began to fear for their lives. Then 40 families from the society of Volhynian Czechs decided to ask for help from the Czech president, and a corresponding appeal was written. At first, there was no response to the appeal, although Czech television came to the city and filmed reports that reflected everything – both the checkpoints and the people in uniform.<\/em><\/p>
Mobilizations were happening more and more often, we were afraid for our husbands and sons, so in the fall of 2014 we turned to the Czech government with a request to help us move to the Czech Republic, as the situation was getting more and more complicated.
Our first victory was the adoption of the program to assist compatriots in returning to the Czech Republic. On December 8, 2014, the Czech government adopted this program, and we received the first letters by mail directly from Prague, which contained a request to write an autobiography and provide family data and so on.
Regarding the compatriot resettlement program, on the Czech government website you can find a message dated December 8, 2014, which says: “Assistance from the Czech state to compatriots who have declared a desire to obtain permanent residence can currently be provided on the basis of an individual application to those compatriots who prove their belonging to the category of socially or economically weak citizens. Czech compatriots who apply for assistance under the new program will be required to prove that their current economic situation prevents them from fulfilling the conditions of the so-called law on the stay of foreigners – for example, having sufficient funds for stay and residence.”
The wording of the message on the government website allows exactly this translation option.
– In the shortest possible time, we filled everything out, sent the questionnaires and began to wait for further steps, as was written to us in the official letter, – says Irina Levitskaya. – At that time, we began to obtain confirmation of membership in the Czech community, since many did not have these documents. My family, for example, needed to restore a lot of documents. Despite the costs and time, we did everything necessary. However, to our surprise, the first temporary consulate was opened not in Zhytomyr, where the largest community of Volhynian Czechs lives, but in Odessa. <\/em><\/p>
– In the first letters sent to you, was the essence of the program adopted by the Czech government explained? <\/strong><\/p>
– It was written that since we expressed a desire to move and for the purpose of providing assistance in this, we must provide certain data. <\/em><\/p>
– There was no detailed explanation? <\/strong><\/p>
– There was no detailed explanation. We received further instructions in May after the consulate in Odessa opened and the first group left. We received an email that said: “To make assistance with resettlement as effective as possible, it was decided to open a temporary consulate in Kyiv. In this office you can get detailed information about your resettlement.” Help with collecting documents and so on was also promised. But it was immediately stated what documents we must provide – criminal record certificates, passports, original documents, translations of these documents. The costs per person were enormous. However, our determination was great, and we managed.<\/em><\/p>
When we arrived in May at the temporary consulate, we were assured, we were asked – do we understand what a responsible step we are taking, that we are changing our country of residence. They advised us to think it over. But my family 100% decided that the Czech Republic at this point is a way out of the difficult situation that has developed in the country. We told everything as it is, without exaggerating anything. We are an average family, we have no special income and never did. We hoped to get into this program.
– And at that moment, did they explain to you, for example, that the program is intended for the category of compatriots whose lives are in danger?
– No, they didn't tell us that this program was for those whose lives are in danger. You can also judge by the temporary consulate in Odesa. People moved there not only from Donetsk or the eastern regions but also ordinary residents of Odesa. Based on this, we assumed that the same situation would be for our society of Volhynian Czechs. That's all.
But it turned out that a letter arrived stating that we do not live in a danger zone and are also economically and socially protected. Economically protected? In our time, when the euro exchange rate has increased 2.5 times and salaries have remained the same, considering employment opportunities? We are not economically protected.
Many families of ethnic Czechs from Zhytomyr and its surroundings, where the largest community of Volhynian Czechs in Ukraine lives, having believed in the possibility of speedy resettlement to their historical homeland, like Irina Levitskaya's family, began to thoroughly prepare for moving.
– I already notified the school that I am taking my child out because we are moving. I quit my job. The fact is, when we filled out the application for permanent residence, in the 'registration' field I was told to write the address of the hotel of the Czech Ministry of Interior in the city of Chervena-nad-Vltavoy. The first group of migrants lived there. Based on this, I was sure that if I was told to write this exact address, then 99% our hope was well-founded.
And there are people who sold property, sold their business, preparing for the move, so that they have money for a bus or plane. People need money, don't they?
Irina Levitskaya, like ten other families that our interlocutor knows about, were refused resettlement under the special government program, but they were offered, within 60 days—which by now have already expired—to apply for a residence permit in the Czech Republic in the usual manner.
– We have to provide funds for the initial period of stay. Even if we sell the apartment, that money will not be enough for a family of five. It turns out that all our letters and petitions went down the drain.
In September, the Volhynian Czechs who had been refused by the Czech Ministry of Interior sent another letter to the President of the Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman, hoping for help.
– We described the essence of our current problems, wrote that we have no funds or opportunities. For Ukraine, the required amount is unrealistic! I don't know who you have to work for to get that kind of money. So we wrote a letter and are now waiting for a response. We'll see what the reaction will be, – says Irina Levitskaya.
We, for our part, to clarify the criteria introduced into the program for resettlement of ethnic Czechs to their historical homeland and to try to understand the reasons for the refusals, addressed several questions to the Czech Ministry of Interior. Unfortunately, as of the time of publication of this material, the Czech Ministry of Interior had not provided a response.
Anton KAYMAKOV.
Radio Prague