Belarus has lifted age and quantitative restrictions on the travel of Belarusian children to Germany for health purposes. The corresponding intergovernmental agreement between Belarus and Germany was approved by President Alexander Lukashenko.
The President of Belarus approved changes to the intergovernmental agreement on the conditions for the rehabilitation of minor citizens of the Republic of Belarus, concluded with the Federal Republic of Germany in February 2009. Now Belarusian children under 18 years of age (previously - up to 14 years old) can travel to Germany for health care an unlimited number of times (previously - no more than three times).
The essence of the changes
The document received the go-ahead from Alexander Lukashenko with a slight delay. The main health season for Belarusian children - summer - is already over. But better late than never, says Gennady Grushevoy, head of the Belarusian Charitable Foundation for the Children of Chernobyl. In his opinion, the Belarusian side now has a legal opportunity to send children for recovery “to the most hospitable and reliable country in terms of the quality of partnership for all Chernobyl programs.”
Grusheva recalls that Germany was the first country that, back in 1990, launched a large-scale campaign to improve the health of Belarusian children affected by the Chernobyl accident. Now children under 18 years of age will be able to improve their health at the expense of the German side (previously, children under 14 years of age were allowed to travel). The three-time travel restriction has also been lifted.
"An inhumane decree"
Gennady Grushevoy at the international congress "The World after Chernobyl"
Just recently it seemed that the long-term Belarusian-German cooperation in the field of children's health would be put to rest. All health programs for Belarusian children abroad were suspended due to the refusal of 16-year-old Tatyana Kozyro to return home from the United States. The incident happened in August 2008.
This was followed by presidential decree number 555, which limited the travel of children abroad to those countries that had signed special intergovernmental agreements with Belarus. Gennady Grushevoy calls the presidential decree “inhumane.”
According to Grushevoy, the document became a demonstration of state distrust of thousands of citizens and hundreds of charitable organizations in Germany, which, as the head of the fund emphasizes, “never allowed themselves to violate either Belarusian or international legislation.”
Thanks to the help of the German side only through the Children of Chernobyl Foundation, reminds Gennady Grushevoy, more than 100 thousand Belarusian children were able to relax and improve their health in Germany.
To Europe for health
The fact that such trips are simply necessary for Belarusian children is confirmed by the results of medical research. According to the Belrad Institute of Radiation Safety, the level of radionuclides in the body of children after returning from Germany is several times lower than before.
Gomel resident Ekaterina, however, knows about this even without medical calculations. The woman says that her son has been suffering from a chronic respiratory disease since birth. Health trips significantly strengthen the child’s immunity, which allows him to forget about the problem for a while, says Ekaterina. The environmental situation in Belarus is not the best, the woman is convinced, so such trips are simply necessary for children.
A quarter of the territory of Belarus was affected by the Chernobyl accident
Proximity effect
According to the head of the Children of Chernobyl Foundation, Gennady Grushevoy, the effect of such trips is measured not only by medical aspects. After all, every child, as the head of the foundation puts it, is two parents, it is grandparents, it is a German family accepting a little Belarusian. “To calculate the impact of such trips on the growth of mutual understanding between our countries, the number of children who have improved their health must be multiplied by at least six or seven,” Gennady Grushevoy is sure.
Over almost 20 years of Belarusian-German humanitarian cooperation in the field of children's health, approximately a million Belarusians and Germans began to perceive each other as close people, which has significantly brought our countries closer together, the head of the Children of Chernobyl Foundation is convinced.
The ill-conceived policy of the Belarusian authorities damaged these relations. The number of invitations from the German side, according to Gennady Grushevoy, has decreased by more than a third over the year. Many public initiatives have suspended cooperation with the Belarusian side due to the uncertainty of the situation. Whether it will be able to reach its previous scale is a big question.
Context
Archive
"The name of this star is Chernobyl"
This is the name of Ales Adamovich’s book, which was collected and prepared for publication by his daughter Natalya. The presentation of the book on April 10 was attended by people who knew the writer well and were like-minded people. (04/11/2007)
After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, funds began to appear in Belarus that took children abroad for recovery: little Belarusians lived in families in Italy, Spain, England, Germany, France and even the USA. We asked Minsk residents, who first came to Western Europe in the 90s, to tell us about their trips.
DASHA
24 years old, copywriter
The first time I went to France for health improvement was at the age of 9, the second time at 10, and the third at 15. The first two times it was one family, and then, at 15, it was another.
I am from Minsk, but we also had many children affected by Chernobyl. I had some diseases - I don’t really remember what, but I remember, for example, an examination during which our radiation levels were measured on large chairs. Upon our return, we were also examined: as far as I remember, there were good indicators - we arrived “healthier.” And our parents said that it was more difficult to control us.
The first time I went with another girl to a family who lived on the Loire. They took a vacation during our arrival and took care of us: they took us to the Tour de France, to the castles of the Loire - they showed us, bought something, there were always some guests. Overall it was an incredible experience. I attended a French gymnasium, so at the age of 9 I already understood almost everything and could explain myself without any problems. And the family treated us very warmly, as if we were their children - that is, they took great care of us, tried to understand, but at the same time explained if we did something wrong.
This was my first conscious trip abroad, because before that I had only been to Bulgaria when I was 5 years old. And it was all very impressive! When I first saw their house, I didn’t believe at all that I would live there. In fact, many people had this experience: it seemed like they were in a fairy tale - everything was so beautiful, well-groomed and not like ours! And when they showed us the room where we would live (there were huge porcelain dolls that their children collected), I generally had a feeling of the unreality of what was happening.
I rather experienced culture shock upon my return - it was 1999, everything was so gray. We rode the bus past some regional towns, and I remember that I cried. And I didn’t understand why we drove for two days, and everything around was no longer the same: gray houses, people walking around and getting angry. Everyone, not just me, was very nervous about the shops, because over the course of a month we had somehow become very accustomed to the fact that you come, say hello and people talk to you. And then everyone tried to politely talk to our saleswomen, say hello and goodbye.
Just before leaving, we had a nice cultural moment: we went to the store to buy food for the pack - and they packed us huge backpacks with food. And our hostess began to tell the saleswoman that we were from Belarus. She was very happy, began to question us, ran somewhere and brought the baubles that she weaves - as a memory of France, so that we would come again. And we were very impressed, especially by the fact that the line behind us listened to all this with interest and no one made a fuss.
There were a lot of things in France that I tried for the first time: for example, cheese. Every time after lunch, a special box was opened with a huge amount of a wide variety of cheese: there were cheeses with white mold and blue mold. Of course it was a delight. The large shops were also impressive - it was incomprehensible how it could be that there was a whole town of shops. Well, they explained a lot to us: they say, here we buy food, there are now discounts, and everything like that. We were very surprised that we were seeing all this for the first time.
The shops and things, of course, were impressive, but my shock was caused by the fact that people somehow treat each other differently, dress differently, perceive their image, that they smile. That is, I was more impressed by the relationship - for example, that they kiss when they meet. That is, 10 friends gather and everyone greets each other like that - and us too. By the way, I don’t remember such close contact in Minsk. We probably only started hugging when we met at university, and before that bodily contact was somehow not accepted. I haven't even seen my parents behave this way with their friends or anyone in town do this - except when people haven't seen each other for several years. It was all very impressive.
PAUL
33 years old, actor and musician
The first time I visited my family in Germany was in 1992. I remember this fragmentarily, but there was a family of dentists, they lived near Hamburg and were really rich dudes. They took us everywhere - entertained us, gave me clothes and all kinds of chewing gum. When I went there, I already knew that the Germans were punctual and meticulous guys, but I was still amazed that they forced me to go to bed at 8 pm: it was summer, it was light, but they had such a schedule.
I also remember that the translators in the program were a couple of Kazakhs who had already lived in Germany for 10 years, but they, of course, had a Soviet mentality: one day we were walking down the street, and there was an old bicycle lying there - this was in the order of things for them , the bike became obsolete and they sent it to a landfill. And this woman translator says: “Let’s take him, my heart is bleeding.” In the same way, I was surprised that when these Germans’ car became outdated - and there were five of them in the family - they simply took it to a landfill, and that’s it. Of course it was amazing.
But they had some kind of economy with food: tasty things that I liked, they forbade me to eat. For example, you could eat one Kinder chocolate bar per week. I don’t know, maybe they were worried about my teeth? But when my teeth were treated there, I didn’t even understand it. I was brought to beautiful place, they sat me down to watch a cartoon and said: “Open your mouth.” Well, I sat through the entire cartoon with open mouth- it didn’t hurt. And at the end they say - here's ice cream for you. Well, I think: “Cool, I watched the cartoon, and they gave me ice cream, but when are we going to get our teeth treated?” But it turns out that’s all.
Then, when I was 12 and 13, I went to visit family in the south of Italy. They lived in a big house - the whole family: with grandparents, brothers and sisters. The house was simply swarming with people, and I was amazed that they lived like this, very noisy. We had dinner - it was food and talk. And over dinner there could have been a scandal, almost a fight. But loving it all.
I wasn’t really interested in shops back then - yes, of course, you come, and everything there is so modern, European. But I was more amazed by the sea. Maybe at that time the shops and chocolate bars really impressed me, but then it was erased from my memory, but the eternal things, the sea and the mountains, remained. And football really shocked me - after Italy I almost became a football player, I came and immediately signed up for the “Labor Reserves” section. It's very contagious there - everyone plays football. In the evenings they block off the square, set up gates and play - this is called “calcio”. Well, I became a fan, although before Italy I had no relationship with football.
When I was going there, I remember crying, because if you leave the house for a month, there will be no dad, no sister, what nonsense is that? And when I left Italy, I also cried. I wanted to stay there - you get used to it quickly. Of course, after Italy everything seemed miserable, but that’s how it was. When you see well-dressed, well-smelling people, then you come here, and here it’s the 90s. Well, but I came in new clothes, brought chewing gum, chocolates, stickers of football players - they tried to be friends with me, asked questions. And then I seriously got part of my yard hooked on football.
These trips to family were my only trips abroad. The next time I got there was already 22 years old. And I think that if not childhood experience, it would be tough - I would probably be depressed. Because we then went to Riga with the theater, and for many of the guys it was the first time, and it really was a shock. And I already seem to be prepared.
LENYA
28 years old, laborer(spoke to us from the USA)
My mother worked in the district executive committee and managed all these trips normally, so I went to Germany for the first time when I was 7 years old. I don’t remember anything at all about this trip, only that I was the youngest there and they gave me “Raffaello” either for good behavior or for some kind of creativity.
Then, when I was 8 years old, in one summer I went first to Italy and then to Spain. My first memory of Italy: I wake up in the morning and my family is sitting around me and says to me: “Doccia! Doccia! I think: damn, what a daughter, are they taking me for a girl? My hair was quite long and I looked like a girl, so I sat there and thought they were confused, I was actually a boy. Then it turned out that doccia is “shower” in Italian. And they were the ones who tried to persuade me to take a shower all morning.
I had a real shock then: it turned out that their eldest son had mental retardation. At the age of 8, for the first week I couldn’t even determine whether it was a girl or a boy - he looked strange, behaved strangely - and, of course, I had never seen such people before that moment. For about a week I couldn’t understand how to communicate with him, but then I began to speak Italian, the family explained everything to me. I also began to communicate with him absolutely normally, like with the other children. And this whole topic, which is now developing in Belarus in relation to people with disabilities, what our society is trying to teach - it turns out that I learned this at the age of 8 thanks to Italy.
In both Italy and Spain, both owners, as we called them then, were artists. The Italian actually worked at a metallurgical plant and painted landscapes - I sat all the time and watched what he painted. But the Spaniard painted some completely wild surreal paintings: for example, playing football with human skulls - in short, things that were quite scary for a child’s brain. The Spanish family lived in a hotel that belonged to them. It was such a non-functioning hotel with a restaurant in a small town: people only came there to the bar - and then very rarely. And this whole hotel was hung with his paintings, and the Spaniard himself even taught me to draw. They probably laid some foundations for artistic education in me.
But in general, Spain was associated with the wildest sadness for me, because I lived alone with old people in a huge empty hotel, hung with scary pictures. Yes, just like in horror movies. They had a boy working there who sometimes came to work. And in these happy days I played football with a boy in the hotel courtyard with a deflated basketball. The rest of the time I sat in the utility room, where there was a typewriter - and this was, of course, a dream for a Belarusian child - and typed out lists of football games from old sports newspapers. I spent a month like that. They fed me boiled beans and for some reason they also gave me a bag of beans with me - and they spent a long time explaining how to cook them correctly.
But I went to Italy with my family 8 times - every summer from 8 to 16 years old. And it was great, I learned Italian and still speak it. This probably ruined my life, instilled in me a love of travel, and now I can’t sit still - instead of buying a car and getting married, I travel back and forth around the world.
We didn’t do anything special in Italy: we had breakfast, went to the sea, had lunch, slept, went to the sea, had dinner and went to bed again. Nothing happened, but I had fun. And, of course, you could show off to your classmates when you returned tanned! And one time I came back with my hair dyed blue, - it was fashionable there. Then, in the fourth grade, I pierced my ear - also in Italy. I was the first boy in school with a broken ear, so at the very first lesson the teacher took me to the principal. But, since I was an excellent student, I got away with it. Now, as I tell you, I understand that because of the trips, you really became some kind of more progressive guy, more daring, or something.
I didn’t have any encounters with consumer society: the family I lived in somehow didn’t give a damn about all this bullshit - they didn’t take me to supermarkets and didn’t give me bags of toys. Although, of course, the children who traveled like this were for some reason convinced that since these Italians and Spaniards invited us there, they were obliged to give us gifts or give us money, and they lamented: they say, there are few gifts, for some more! And there was also a theme - I don’t know if it was true - that families who take children like this get a tax cut. So there were all sorts of stories: they invite me to reduce taxes, they take advantage of me. Yes, local disgrace, of course, but it happened.
Photo: website, archive of heroes.
In Belarus, the rules for children traveling abroad for health care have changed. It is no secret that one of the main reasons for making changes to the decree of the head of state regulating these issues was the facts of non-return of minor Belarusians from abroad. Is it really over now?
Background
2006 10-year-old pupil of Vileysky orphanage Vika Moroz went on vacation to Italy in the summer. The local family with whom the girl lived did not return the child on time, hiding her in a monastery for 20 days. After the court's decision, Vika Moroz was sent home.
This story had a great resonance in both Belarus and Italy. For some time, there were no problems with the rest of Belarusian children. And now - a new incident. 2008 On August 5, 16-year-old Tatyana Kozyro, together with a group of Belarusian children, was supposed to fly to Minsk from San Francisco (she was in Petaluma, California, on a medical recovery and lived with an American family). However, she did not arrive at the airport by the appointed time. Later it became known that the girl submitted documents to the immigration service to extend her visitor visa and remains in the United States to await the authorities’ decision.
The response of the Belarusian authorities
The Belarusian authorities could not remain indifferent to such facts. In fact, we send our children abroad for a while with the best intentions, but they don’t send them back! And this is against the backdrop of numerous reports of deaths of Russian children in foster families...
As a result, this summer it was decided to temporarily curtail the health programs for our children in the United States. In order to exclude such cases in the future, the Belarusian side proposed concluding an intergovernmental agreement with the United States on the conditions for the rehabilitation of minor citizens of the Republic of Belarus in the States.
And even earlier, on January 10, 2008, the Agreement between the governments of Belarus and Italy on the conditions for health improvement based on foreign gratuitous assistance for Belarusian children in Italy came into force. During this period, as the portal correspondent was told in the Department for Humanitarian Activities of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, not a single complaint was received from the legal representatives of Belarusian children who were recovering in this country.
And finally, adjustments were made to the process of organizing the health care of our children abroad. What are they?
Health improvement according to new rules
At the highest level in Belarus, a decision was made on the conclusion by our country of international agreements with foreign countries, on whose territory Belarusian children are undergoing rehabilitation, containing the conditions for the mandatory return of children to their homeland. These documents will ensure the provision of guarantees from the competent authorities of the host country for the safe stay of minor Belarusian citizens on the territory of a foreign state, as well as the unconditional return of children to the republic after the expiration of their stay for rehabilitation.
The Department for Humanitarian Activities of the Office of the President of the Republic of Belarus, commenting on the new presidential decree, notes that before the conclusion of these international treaties, it is proposed to send children abroad for health improvement as part of special organized groups if the sending organization has contractual relations with foreign organizations. “This is due, first of all, to the fact that this category of children has medical contraindications confirmed by relevant documents for being sent for health improvement abroad as part of general organized groups and needs health-improving holidays like no one else. According to established practice, 40.3% of special groups are children with cancer in remission, 15% have blood diseases, etc. Such groups travel abroad with mandatory accompaniment medical workers", the agency's interlocutors explained.
The decree also established restrictions on the age of the child and the number of times he or she travels to one country. Thus, sending children for health improvement abroad is carried out no more than three times in the same foreign country. Moreover, children aged 7-18 years can travel to countries with which Belarus entered into international treaties before October 1, 2008, and only children aged 7 to 14 years can travel to countries with which treaties were signed after this date. These restrictions did not affect only Italy, since the agreement between the governments of the two countries, described above, was concluded before October 1, 2008.
When will the health of children resume?
The Department for Humanitarian Activities of the Office of the President of Belarus reports that “at present, draft international treaties providing for guarantees from the competent authorities of a foreign state to ensure the safe stay of children for recovery in this state and their timely return to the Republic of Belarus have been sent for consideration to host countries for the improvement of children from the Republic of Belarus."
It is unknown when these agreements will be concluded. For example, even before the signing of the October decree, the Department held a working meeting with the chairman of the English charity organization “Life Line for the Children of Chernobyl” V. Mizzi and members of the organization’s board of trustees. Every year, at the invitation of the English organization, families from Foggy Albion accept over 1,500 of our children living in contaminated areas, children from large, single-parent, socially disadvantaged families, orphans, and disabled children. The draft treaty was sent to England back in August. They are still “studying” him there.
Thus, the question of the timing of the resumption of children’s health abroad (excluding Italy, of course) is still marked with an ellipsis.
Who is sent abroad for recovery?
Children from the age of 7 years (in exceptional cases - from 6 years old, and children kept in children's boarding institutions of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection - from 4 years old) to 18 years old can travel abroad for health improvement. Children who suffered from the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, disabled children, orphans, children from large, low-income and single-parent families are given preference for inclusion in the group.
Children are sent for health improvement abroad as part of general or special organized groups. If a child has medical contraindications for participation in general organized groups, then he is sent as part of special groups. The legislation establishes some medical contraindications for sending people abroad for treatment.
To send a child for medical treatment abroad, the organization must have the following documents:
- passport with permit entry;
- notarized consent of the legal representative (parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) for the child to travel abroad for health improvement;
- medical report (certificate) on the child’s health status;
- certificates or lists from the place of study of children;
- written consent of the head of the educational institution to send students for recreation abroad during the school year.
Last year, in 23 foreign countries, due to foreign gratuitous assistance under humanitarian cooperation programs with foreign non-governmental organizations, over 38,000 Belarusian children underwent health improvement. The most hospitable countries were Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and the USA. Taking into account new changes in this area, I would like to hope that in the future these numbers will not decrease and that all children will return home on time. Healthy and without an unpleasant aftertaste in the soul.
Remember how you were children and went to camp during the holidays - for a shift, or even for the whole summer. Now your children have grown enough to travel independently, and the opportunity has arisen to send them on vacation abroad. Children's camps abroad have obvious advantages. Firstly, it is communication with peers from other countries and a great way to improve knowledge foreign language. Secondly, these are good living conditions and an extremely rich recreation program. Children gain strength after the school year, get acquainted with the culture of other countries and participate in interesting activities.
However, not only sea air has a beneficial effect on the child’s body. Children have a great time relaxing in the lap of nature, at the foot of the mountains. That's why they are so popular in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
When choosing a language camp, you can focus on the country where the language of interest is the official one. For example, English is good to study in the UK, German - in Germany. Many countries have strong language schools, and children's camps invite experienced native-speaking teachers to work with children. Thus, Malta and Finland hold leading positions in teaching English. Therefore, when choosing a holiday destination, we recommend that you also pay attention to the duration of the journey, as well as additional opportunities for health improvement.
If you would like during summer holiday the child has realized his creative abilities, try to find a thematic camp abroad or choose a change of suitable theme. Events can be designed for adventure lovers, young actors, artists and musicians, fans of active games, and children interested in science. Children who are seriously involved in sports will have a good time at a sports camp.
Making inquiries, preparing questions for the camp
Even when sending a child to grandma in another city, parents worry whether everything will be fine. What can we say about a child’s independent trip to another country? Complete information about your holiday destination will help you find peace of mind. You can obtain the necessary information from the camp administration or from a travel agency that has been cooperating with the children's summer camp for several years. It is also useful to study the children's camp website, look at photos, look at the forum or in the guest book. On such sites you can find the daily routine, program of events, sample menu, a list of things that a child will need on vacation, and other useful information.
We offer a sample list of questions that should be answered before your child travels.
1. How long has the camp been open?
2. How is the transfer organized?
3. What are the living conditions for children? How long ago was the renovation done?
4. What kind of power supply is provided? Is it possible to follow a diet if necessary?
5. How is the territory protected? Are caregivers around children at night?
6. How is medical care organized? Is there a doctor in the camp?
7. Is there a place for children to swim (private beach on the seashore, lake, pool)?
8. Which teachers are invited to work in the children's school? language camp? What initial level of training are the classes designed for? How long will it take to learn the language each day? Will the child receive a certificate at the end of the shift? Will there be an opportunity to practice using a foreign language outside of class?
9. Are there staff at the camp who speak the child’s native language?
10. How long is the shift? In summer camps, shifts can last 2, 3, 4 weeks. Note that in many European countries June is study time. And if you want your child to communicate more with foreigners, choose July - August shifts.
11. What activities are included in the recreation program? The programs of foreign camps are often very unusual: there you can learn horse riding or self-defense techniques, immerse yourself in the intricacies of cooking, master playing the guitar, try your hand at programming, and finally find out exactly what barbecue is.
12. Will the child need money for additional expenses? We are not necessarily talking about cafes or souvenirs. Sometimes the camp program includes excursions, which are paid separately.
13. How is the child’s connection with home ensured?
What documents are needed for the camp?
Has the choice been made? All that remains is to purchase a ticket to the camp, tickets and prepare documents for the child’s trip abroad.
The main documents for traveling to another country are a passport (the child’s travel document for traveling abroad), a notarized parental permission for the child to travel abroad, and medical insurance. The list of documents, depending on the country of residence, may be expanded.
It is worth mentioning separately about insurance. If a child has any health problems, this must be specified in the insurance policy. You will also most likely need to obtain a visa, Schengen or national.
Is it worth collecting all the papers yourself? If you started preparing for the trip long before the start of your vacation, you can slowly collect all the documents. If time is short, you can entrust the paperwork to a travel agency. At first glance, there is a lot of work ahead. But imagine how your child returns from camp, rested, full of new impressions and a desire to learn. It's worth your effort.
