Linas Jegelevičius for the BNN
Lithuania has unleashed a huge effort aiming to integrate Ukrainian refugees here in their new home. But the generosity and the kindness they’re largely met with may, however, be not enough to swiftly bridge all the gaps and the differences, say, in education – on the practical level.
«In our gymnasium, we have 11 Ukrainian pupils who recently joined our school. Frankly speaking, some of them are in blue, which is understandable, as they’ve been through horrible things – witnessed the bombing and the slaughtering. Honestly, some of them came here with very little – I mean clothing and school utensils,» Leonas Šidlauskas, principle of Palangos Senoji Gimnazija, the gymnasium, told BNN.
To accommodate the displaced juveniles, the school has assigned both peer pupils and teachers to work personally with them.
«The Ukrainians attend classes, which are in Lithuanian, of course. Those helpers sit next to them interpreting. Not only during classes, but also outside the school, during the breaks. Importantly, the assigned aids show them around, thus helping them to get acquainted with the town and its life,” Šidlauskas said. «In doing so, the helpers use both the Russian and Lithuanian languages.»
Alleviating the adaptation, Palangos Senoji Gimnazija has also created conditions allowing the Ukrainian teenagers to study remotely.
«That way they go back to their usual environment, seeing some of their teachers and peers they left back in Ukraine. Some of the schools they attended there have been destroyed, so, understandably, the remote classes are taking place from other settings,» the principle said.
Some Ukrainians combine both the possibility of a remote learning and the in-class learning in the gymnasium.
The school has installed separate compartments in the school library and bought 15 earpieces – the Ukrainian schoolchildren are thus not annoyed by surrounding noise. Besides, the school has purchased six additional laptops for the Ukrainian refugee schoolchildren.
«But certainly, it will take time to integrate them fully, if they wish to stay here in the future,» Šidlauskas concluded.
The Palanga municipality has warned local inhabitants to show common sense and responsibility in accommodating Ukrainian refugees. Approximately 500 Ukrainian refugees have arrived at the resort town since the start of war. In the broader picture, of all 26 thousand Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania, half is children.
Vitalijus Mitrofanovas, mayor of the Akmenė district municipality, says that the municipality is well prepared to handle a new wave of Ukrainian refugees.
«After Russia invaded of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as Crimea in 2014, a certain influx of them was quite tangible in our municipality too. Just because the real estate was relevantly inexpensive then. Our experience is that, as a state, Lithuania, unfortunately, creates too many hurdles for Ukrainian refugees’ adaptation. Just one example of the kind: we have to reassess their preparedness (to live in Lithuania) after every year, when the term in, say, Germany is three years,» the mayor notes.
Being mindful of the situation, some Ukrainian families do not hurry to register their children in local schools. Of 60 Ukrainian children who along with their parents reached Akmenė after the war started in late February, only 40 did that.
«What they need most is proper accommodation and the language. After settling the two issues, the people start their own businesses, join the local workforce. This is what we saw here in 2014,» Mitrofanovas accentuated.
Kristijonas Bartoševičius, a member of Lithuanian parliament and a member of the parliamentary Committee of Education, admits that integration of Ukrainian refugees poses some grave challenges along the way.
«When speaking of the children, many of them came with very little on them and are suffering from very traumatic experiences. They need proper psychological assistance. Honestly speaking, some of them bristle against being placed in local Russian-language schools. We urgently need many Ukrainian-language teachers, allow the displaced Ukrainians educators to start to work here as soon as possible. And there are tons of other challenges,» the parliamentarian told BNN.
Yet, it would be very unfair to maintain that Lithuania does not go an extra mile in helping the refugees.
Reportedly, more than 800 Lithuanian companies have already offered around 8,000 jobs for Ukrainian refugees. The Lithuanian government has also simplified their employment procedures and is preparing to pay one-off settlement allowances.
Under the simplified procedures, Ukrainians do not need any permits from the Migration Department to apply for a job, so they can do it in the same timeframe as Lithuanians.
«Most of the enquiries are for unskilled jobs, but if employers offer skilled jobs, they are flexible and adapt to the clients we have at the moment,» Eglė Kazočiūnienė, a career consultant at the Employment Service, told Lithuanian media.
Rūta Vainienė, director of the Association of Trade Enterprises, says that local traders are «gladly» accept Ukrainian refugees, who, even unskilled, can successfully work either as hall workers or in production units where food is being prepared.
«These are positions where you can quickly integrate and start working successfully with little preparation,» she emphasised.
According to business representatives, the language barrier will not be a problem, as the industry has already adapted to Ukrainian and Belarusian workers.
Importantly, war refugees from Ukraine will be for two years exempted from the requirement to have a command of the Lithuanian language in certain jobs, such as teaching.
In addition, the government has approved amendments to the law, according to which highly skilled Ukrainian refugees, who have an open-ended employment contract and earn at least 1,750 euros before taxes, will receive a settlement allowance of almost 3,000 euros. For those earning less, the amount of the allowance would depend on the family status.
As there is a huge demand for workers on the Lithuanian labour market – almost 20,000 vacancies are being registered in Lithuania every month, the silver lining may shine quite brightly to many of the newcomers.
BNN ANALYSES | Effort to integrate Ukrainian refugees is huge, but facing serious challenges
