Quite recently, the Czech Parliament created a special commission that is working on a new law "On the Stay of Foreigners in the Territory of the Czech Republic." This commission also includes the International Organization for Migration (IOM) - one of the oldest public organizations in Europe.
"IOM has a long history. The organization was founded after the war in 1951 in Geneva. Gradually, not only members of the European Union joined it, but also other countries - for example, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. Therefore, now the International Organization for Migration unites about 200 countries. The Czech Republic became a member of this public organization in 1995. Two years later, the President of the Czech Republic signed an agreement on partial financing with the IOM headquarters," says Lucie Sladkova, director of IOM.
Despite the fact that the International Organization for Migration of the Czech Republic receives part of its funding directly from the state budget, it still manages to remain in the public sector and maintain its independence. For example, in criticizing the recently adopted law "On the Stay of Foreigners," which did not reflect the basic principles of free migration in the world: in the Czech Republic, visas for foreigners are still handled by the police, not the civil sector. IOM will be involved in changing this part of the law as part of the government commission.
The International Organization for Migration of the Czech Republic is not only engaged in creating laws. Its main goal is to study migration processes in the country. According to Lucie Sladkova, the main migration flow to the Czech Republic comes from Ukraine. What is this connected with?
"This is a very interesting question. I always say that if people worked at home the same way they do here, Ukraine would become a prosperous state. Unfortunately, at home they cannot find work and support their families. The so-called 'Ukrainian boom' boils down to the desire to find work. Why do they come specifically to the Czech Republic? I still cannot answer this question. Recent data from our organization's office in Kyiv indicates that people from the provinces, when they arrive in Kyiv, have the opportunity to find well-paid work there. Many houses are being built in Kyiv now, and they can earn even more money than in the Czech Republic."
These factors, as well as the fact that the police of the Czech Republic regularly check documents of foreigners in places where they most often work - at construction sites, hotels, etc., have led to a decrease in the flow of illegal migrants to the Czech Republic. If earlier IOM returned about one and a half thousand illegal foreigners a year to their homeland, now this figure has decreased threefold. However, Lucie Sladkova admits that not all illegal migrants, after receiving advice and assistance, want to go home. Some stay. "Of course, this happens. You know, to be honest, my main goal is to provide objective information. People should know that if they stay, there is a risk. In other words, sooner or later they will still be found, and living like that indefinitely is absurd. But they still try to get to Germany or Austria, border guards mostly catch them, send them to refugee camps... And it's a vicious circle. I can't read our clients' minds, but I can tell them what awaits them. The decision is theirs."
"Voluntary return" is a chance for an illegal migrant to return home unnoticed. The International Organization for Migration issues a short-term visa for the foreigner to leave the country and buys a return ticket. For those who decide to voluntarily return home with the help of IOM, the Czech police do not mark an entry ban for several years, and such a person has the opportunity to arrange all documents for legal stay abroad and then return again.
The International Organization for Migration does not just care about returning people to their homeland. In some countries, reintegration projects for returnees are being implemented. For example, in Georgia, special courses and consultations help people find work at home. "This is because those Georgians who enter the Czech Republic usually travel through it to the West. Moreover, before leaving, they usually sell all their property - houses, apartments, belongings. Often they are away from their homeland for so long that they do not imagine how to live and work in their own country," says Lucie Sladkova.
In Georgia, an immigration campaign is also being conducted - through the media and using leaflets, residents are informed about the specifics of an emigrant's life in the Czech Republic: for example, the need to take out health and social insurance, the laws related to the stay of foreigners in the Czech Republic, the cost of living in the country. "People who go to the Czech Republic do not know local laws. Therefore, if a person still intends to live and work abroad, he should base his decision on professional and qualified information."
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