Children are taken from Ukrainians abroad: true or fake

Kremlin resources disseminated the statements of Volodymyr Rogov, a collaborator in the temporarily occupied part of the Zaporizhia region, about the “brazen taking of children from Ukrainian refugees due to appetite and strong emotional attachment to their parents.”

In general, the narrative that in European countries, for any reason, children are taken away from Ukrainian refugees is periodically spread by the Russian mass media.

Indeed, according to Iryna Suslova, representative of the children’s ombudsman of Ukraine, at least 240 Ukrainian children were removed from their families in EU countries.

However, the reason for such cases is the difference in legislation and lack of elaboration on the part of Ukraine, since refugees were not sufficiently informed about the legal and legal features of staying in certain countries.

“For example, these can be stories when a mother was forced to stay at work in Ukraine and sent a grandmother with her child to the evacuation. The grandmother does not have any power of attorney to represent interests and is not considered a relative of this child under European law. In this way, social services can involve the police and remove the child from the family,” explains a representative of the children’s ombudsman.

“The reason for contacting the Children’s Service may be a scream from a neighbor’s apartment, a long child’s cry, the presence of scratches or bruises on the child’s face,”— the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany explains.

Currently, the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine [Ukrainian Parliament] the situation and assists women and families who have faced the removal of children by European social services.

 

Expert opinion

We also spoke with Volodymyr Tsybulko, an expert at the Politika Analytical Center, about the reasons for taking children away from Ukrainian refugees:

“Russian special services from time to time launch psychological operations about the fact that children are taken from Ukrainian refugees in the European Union. Just en masse. Yes, indeed, there are such cases, and there is no need to look for the culprits exclusively in Europe. First, Europe lives by its legislation, by general rules for the entire European Union. However, there are peculiarities of national legislation, such as the fact that the guardian of a child cannot be people over the age of 65 in Italy and Germany. Many Ukrainian refugees and many children went abroad, especially in the first weeks of the war, accompanied by their closest relatives. Not necessarily the father, who could already be at war. Therefore, grandparents often took children with incomplete documents, powers of attorney, etc.

As far as I know, among several million refugees, there have been cases of removal of children from 240 families. This is also a blatant case, but it is not catastrophic. That is, in this sense, it is necessary to look for several reasons for these situations.

First of all, lack of knowledge of languages and at least the smallest basics of the country’s right of residence among refugees. It is clear that not all Ukrainian refugees quickly learn the peculiarities of their host countries. That is what Ukrainian consulates and embassies are for. Very often, refugees were in no hurry to register with consulates for their consulate to accompany and protect the rights of Ukrainian citizens on foreign territory.

Then there is another feature. This is already clear, but in the first weeks of crossing the border, when there was a lot of panic, the Ukrainian border services were not in a position to inform people about the peculiarities of the legal regime of the host countries. Moreover, people themselves did not yet know in which countries they would stop. That’s what the situation is.

What about this whole figure of 240 people? It must be remembered that even refugees from the occupied territory of Donbas, who accidentally find themselves in Europe, are reminded that they are citizens of Ukraine, and this is correct. That is, we cannot say that in all Ukrainian families, pro-Ukrainian families that have gone abroad, the internal atmosphere in the families is such that the rights of children are recognized, that children are treated very ethically and legally, in compliance with the law. We cannot say for sure about this. No. Therefore, we must react correctly to all the cases that occur, because when Russian propaganda disperses all these stories about the removal of children from their families and emphasizes that Ukrainians are considered garbage in Europe, then this is not true. Because Ukrainians are quiet, firstly, law-abiding, and secondly, Ukrainians in their mass accept the rules and laws of the country of residence.

Of course, Ukrainians, like all other nations, have both good and evil, criminals and heroes. The main thing is not to follow psychological operations, which are spread by Russian propaganda.”

 

Kyrylo Khmarsky, a sociologist and analyst, talks about the difference in the reactions of European and Ukrainian special services:

“The bottom line is that there is no very fundamental difference between the legislation of Ukraine and the EU, but regarding the strictness of implementation, here comes a surprise for residents of many countries of the former union.

Indeed, the protection of human rights and freedoms is one of the primary values defended in Europe. And the more civilized the country is, the tougher the laws and their enforcement. Unfortunately, many were not ready for this. In Europe, few people are interested in your situation if you violate the rights and freedoms of another person. But when it comes to a child, they will not delay. Left unattended – exposed to danger; gave the back of the head – a beating; shouted – unacceptable treatment of a child. Here’s what I’ve listed – violations that are violations in many countries, but let’s face it, for some, it will just be a list of common things.

Any migrants, be they refugees or anyone else, will be under very close scrutiny as they are a potential danger to any country. Therefore, there are not rare cases when seeing the unacceptable treatment of a child, the child is taken away (and the speed of the relevant structures there is not at all the same as in Ukraine), and the parents are deported as violators. That is, the child was saved, and unnecessary costs for payments were eliminated. Some may say it’s cruel, but in reality, it’s just Europe. Europe was at war all its life and a completely different mentality was formed there. Yes, we understand, refugees, and yes, war, but that does not give you the right to break the laws and live at the expense of the country you came to. Like this. Europe is very different from the paradise that Ukrainians were told about. In Europe, paradise is only for those who live according to the laws of this paradise.”

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Russian propaganda spreads the information that Ukrainian children in Europe are being taken away by special services. They exaggerate and distort information to discredit Ukrainians in the eyes of residents of EU countries.

 

Anya Ostymchuk