Ten years ago, Ukraine saw the first people who were forced to flee the horrors of the hybrid war that Russia brought to our land. They took the most necessary things with them and moved to other cities and villages with the hope of returning. Some of them did, and some adapted to their new homes. The full-scale Russian aggression has significantly increased the number of internally displaced persons and raised the issue of their comprehensive support from both central and local authorities even more acutely, UNN writes.
There are currently 4.6 million officially registered internally displaced persons in Ukraine. About 3.5 million of them are those who were forced to become displaced after the full-scale Russian invasion. It is clear that this figure is not stable: some people have gone abroad, some have returned home. At the same time, there are people who are now forced to evacuate because of the fighting. But speaking in terms of numbers, the number of internally displaced people has decreased by 300,000 compared to last year.
Of course, the state has done a lot to support these people over the past ten years, but key problems still remain.
For example, according to a survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration in 2023, only about 40 percent of IDPs had permanent jobs. 90% of IDPs who are currently unemployed lost their jobs because of the war.
Another problem faced by internally displaced persons is housing conditions. According to the same IOM survey, 60% of these people live in rented premises, 21% live with friends or relatives, and 3% still stay in collective centers.
The lack of stable income, own or cheap rented housing, of course, negatively affects the adaptation of IDPs in the communities where they have settled. In addition, IDPs need to address issues of medical care, educational institutions for children, etc.
People try to solve these problems in different ways. In particular, they try to settle in big cities, where it is easier to find a well-paid job, even in their specialty.
According to one study, in 2023, the top five cities in terms of the number of registered internally displaced persons were Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa. These are large cities with developed industry and business.
But even in small towns, IDPs have every opportunity to adapt. And in many ways, this process depends on the support of local authorities.
In particular, almost 22 thousand internally displaced persons are currently registered in the Brovary community. More than two-thirds of them are men. They settled in Brovary after the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression. To ensure that these people do not feel like strangers, the IDP Council was established with the support of the Brovary City Council.
Currently, it is developing a comprehensive programthat will outline ways to address IDP issues in key areas.
This is, first and foremost, work. Many IDPs worked at large enterprises in the metallurgical, coal, and chemical industries. There are no such vacancies here, so retraining is needed. We want to negotiate with companies that are ready to hire IDPs and organize appropriate courses for them. Also, many people are ready to start their own business - we need to make it easier for them to access start-up capital. We also need to solve the problem of housing. We are well aware that everyone will not be given a free apartment. But we want to include in the program some benefits, long-term loans, etc
For the city authorities of Brovary, it is important that people who have left everything behind in the occupied and frontline territories, fleeing from Russian bullets, shells and missiles, do not feel abandoned.
We understand these people like no one else, because in the first days of the war, the Russian occupiers stood on the outskirts of our city, where fierce fighting was going on. Brovary residents also left and sought refuge in other regions of Ukraine or abroad. Therefore, the city council is doing everything possible to facilitate the adaptation of these people and their integration into our Brovary community. We develop various projects and programs so that people have jobs, housing, and access to social services
The IDPs certainly see this support from the city authorities.
We have excellent interaction and cooperation with the local authorities. They are currently helping us to find premises for hobby clubs and a dance studio. I have a meeting with the mayor, Igor Sapozhko. As far as I know, he has some ideas about housing for IDPs. I think this is a great help and support from the Brovary City Council
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