GRODNO, 18 August (BelTA) – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will help Ukrainian children from the conflict zone to prepare for school, UNHCR Representative in Belarus Jean-Yves Bouchardy said as he distributed school supplies to families from Lugansk and Donetsk Oblasts in Grodno on 17 August, BelTA has learned.
The UNHCR Representative met with the Ukrainian families at the Grodno Oblast Office of the Belarusian Red Cross Society to inquire about their living conditions and what other kinds of assistance they need. “Today we assess the forced migration-related situation in Belarus as stable. Only four applicants have been registered since our last visit to the region in June. Apart from our regular work with aid beneficiaries in Grodno, we have plans to hold a meeting with representatives of a number of companies and the regional employers' association to discuss employment opportunities for forcibly displaced persons,” Jean-Yves Bouchardy said. He emphasized that the goal is to provide assistance to those families and persons who urgently need help. In general, in Belarus all the employment issues are effectively dealt with. Only 20 Ukrainians from the conflict zone applied for assistance with employment. “Those who want to find a job in Belarus eventually succeed. How much effort is required is quite another question. This is why we are working to establish contacts with employers to provide assistance to forcibly displaced persons,” the UNHCR Representative explained.
Jean-Yves Bouchardy also noted that the situation is stable in terms of the number of new forced arrivals. “Nothing indicates that the number will increase. I think the situation will remain the same,” he specified.
The UNHCR Representative expects to visit all regions of Belarus to provide school supplies to Ukrainian children before the beginning of the new school year.
