Suspilne Crimea‘s YouTube channel has seen posting more news stories about young people moving to Ukraine from temporarily occupied Crimea, said Suspilne Crimea editor Inna Bodnar in an interview to Suspilne.
Inna Bondar explained that the reporting focuses on young people who were eight or nine years old at the time Crimea was occupied, and are now 19 or 20. They face a number of systemic issues that prompt them to look for ways out of the occupied peninsula.
“European universities will not accept them with Crimean school certificates because these documents are not [internationally] recognised. The boys may be drafted, but they do not want to join the Russian army, so they start looking for a way to leave and get to Ukraine,” Bodnar said.
However, she noted, throughout the years of occupation the state has not developed a mechanism for accepting and integrating these young people.
“Unfortunately, the entire return and integration system is unfinished. There is no clear mechanism that would give people an understanding of where they are going and what awaits them. So far, things mainly rely on volunteer initiatives,” the editor explained.
Inna Bodnar stressed that the role of the media in this situation is not just to tell personal stories, but also to raise awareness of the problem.
“As a news outlet, we can address various authorities, ask questions, push this topic, show that such a problem exists, look for examples and possible ways to resolve it,” she said.
Inna Bodnar also mentioned the mental health of young people who grew up under occupation as a separate issue.
As IMI reported, the prosecutor’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea submitted an indictment against the chair of the patriotic club Varyag, which promotes service in the Russian armed forces among children and teenagers in Crimea, to court. His actions are qualified as a violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1, Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).