It cannot be said that they were welcomed with open arms. Striving not to become superfluous people, strangers in their own country, they try to defend their rights, remind the authorities of problems, draw attention to themselves. The organization 'Baltic Resettlers' operates in the region; it poses numerous acute questions to officials, answers to which are so important for migrants: work, housing, social assistance. Now, life in crisis conditions has been added to this list. Some families, having not found in the new place what they moved for—even if not from their native but from familiar places—leave.
The difficult situation in which compatriots, who responded to the call of the Russian authorities and moved to the westernmost region of the Russian Federation, find themselves was told to the publication 'Vremya Novostei' by the chairwoman of the organization 'Baltic Resettlers', a member of the local Public Chamber, Lyubov KLOKOVA.
– Lyubov Fedorovna, what problems do resettlers who risk coming to Kaliningrad face?
– The main problem is work, or rather, the lack of it. People thought that employment was guaranteed. Take the memo for migrants: it says that the authorities facilitate their employment. But what does 'facilitate' mean? They can say that the employment service is across the street, go there, and that would be facilitation. Previously, there was a list of enterprises where, as it was said, people would be waiting for jobs with decent salaries in worthy positions – 'Russkaya Pushnina', 'Avtotor', and others. But then such stories started happening more often: a person who came to Kaliningrad for a driver's position goes to apply for a job, and they tell him that such a vacancy does not exist. If he wants, they can hire him, for example, as a zootechnician – to take care of animals for 3,000 rubles a month. Or people come to a supermarket, want to work there, show their green certificates as participants of the state resettlement program. And they are told: you don't have permanent registration, we don't hire such people. And no one looks at their certificates. Some got jobs as teachers in rural schools. They supposedly are entitled to benefits, for example, for utility payments. But they get nothing. They are told: you are not a permanent resident of Kaliningrad Oblast. What does 'not permanent' mean? They came here precisely for permanent residence!
– How are resettlers doing with housing?
– Many rent living space. There is a strange situation at the Kaliningrad temporary residence center 'Severny'. Recently they introduced payment, and for some reason at commercial rates. They charge for everything, even for televisions. And those, by the way, are only in the office of the center's director and in the accounting department. Moreover, the payment is per capita, regardless of the resident's age – whether they are six months old or 50 years old. For a family, it amounts to about 6,000 rubles per month. And many are forced to leave this housing, renting something closer to Kaliningrad – essentially for the same money. Recently, migrants wrote letters to President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov, in which they told about all their problems.
– Local authorities don't listen, so you decided to turn to Moscow?
– They are afraid of us. And they don't want to listen. They say, there is a law, instructions. And that's it. Moreover, not only local authorities but also Moscow does not listen to us. Our problems are far from them, they don't understand us. I turned to the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, asked for support in creating a regional resource center. Imagine, a person lived long in Latvia, was an accountant. But he could not improve his qualifications because he did not know Latvian. He came here – new legislation, new requirements. How to learn all this? And we wanted to train resettlers, help them then get jobs. We even planned to make our own recruitment agency, oriented specifically for resettlers. But the project was never realized. And there are many such examples.
Some people from Estonia once contacted me, proposed to assemble Finnish houses in Kaliningrad Oblast – very quickly, literally in five days, and inexpensively, about $400 per meter. The only problem is needing a plot with utilities. I got excited, we could solve the housing problem of migrants! I went to the regional government, told them, and they said: 'Don't meddle in the construction business.' I'm not meddling, but people could live normally!
I proposed to hold a 'round table' on resettlers' problems, to involve authorities and business in dialogue. And not just talk: give us this and that. We have specific proposals on how to solve this or that complex problem. For several months, the issue was postponed, rescheduled. In the end, nothing happened!
– So, the implementation of the state program casts doubt on the sensible idea of calling compatriots back to their homeland?
– It's good that such a program exists, but it is raw. And such poor implementation, of course, ruins a good idea. When the tsarist government settled Siberia, they provided land in exchange for moving. Currently, a similar approach is used in Belgorod Oblast – part is given for free, and then for each hundred square meters you pay an additional 7,000 rubles. And within five years, the person must build something on that plot. So, they live on the land, revive the village. People are ready to go, create agricultural cooperatives, but in Kaliningrad Oblast, land is not given. Buy it at auction, they say.
– Recently, regional officials stated that several compatriots ran away without paying for their stay...
– 22 families have already left. The people were unable to settle. They have almost spent the money they brought along, and have nowhere to live and nothing to live on. Some have returned, others were planning to go to Krasnodar, Belgorod Region, or Kaluga. People did not get what they expected here. The specifics of the small, closed Kaliningrad Region are not taken into account in the resettlement program. From Kaluga, at least you can go to Moscow for work, but how do you get out of here? If people are invited and then not given jobs, it could lead to an explosion. Especially during a crisis, when many are losing their jobs and salaries are being devalued. It's hard enough for locals to survive, let alone newcomers. Many enterprises are closing down, there are plenty of unemployed, and soon the military will start downsizing. I understand that the 'machine' has been set in motion and cannot be stopped – migrants will keep coming. But at least stop inviting people during the crisis.
– Were there no conflicts between locals and newcomers?
– You know, sometimes people say to your face: 'You should have stayed where you were, why did you all come?' Although the entire Kaliningrad Region is made up of such 'newcomers' and people here are generally tolerant. But the situation is different now – the crisis makes it hard for everyone, some are in despair. Recently I met a participant in the state resettlement program. He went to apply at a store that sells building materials – next to it there is a production facility for foam blocks and foam concrete. He is a builder by profession, has a higher education, and wanted to be a warehouse keeper. They told him that with his experience he should look for a more serious job, and offered him nothing at all. 'What should I do, Lyuba? How can I go home, what should I feed my family? I have no money, should I hang myself?!' He was desperate, shouting. I felt scared and... ashamed.