Ukraine Now
Christmas Event
How celebrating together can be seen as a step towards local integration On the coming Christmas Holidays in Romania, we found the perfect occasion to celebrate together with the Ukrainian community. Brings the spirit of Christmas On 19th of December ARCA organized a cultural event at the intersection of multiple relevant events, both international and national, Ukrainian and Romanian. We met on this day with the occasion of International Migrants Day (18th of December), St. Nicholas Day in Ukraine (19th of December) and Christmas on 25th of December in both Romania and officially also in Ukraine since the legislative change took place in Ukraine in the middle of 2023. Since 2017, the date has been one of the official state holidays. Before that, Christmas was celebrated by many on January 7 by the Julian calendar. We made a public invitation to Ukrainian families, but places were limited. So mothers and children who called first were given priority to participate. The event gathered 111 participants. It was definitely a challenge for our team members to manage all people’s kind requests, while cramming in a reasonably sized office space. Drawing on the board was a leisure activity keeping children preoccupied and enthusiastic about the Christmas holidays, some moments to unleash their creative potential. Adults also assisted children with drawing, becoming not just a source of joy for children, but an opportunity for parents to guide children in their artistic expression. Gift sharing was also on our agenda Christmas presents for young children were prepared before, ready to be offered by Santa’s assistants to the little ones. The packages included fruits, sweets and snacks, as well as stationary in case they enjoyed drawing and coloring. This opportunity was used to provide assistance to other organizations, special presents for teens over the age of 15 were distributed also, Romanian Angel Appeal being the organization who offered them to ARCA to be assisted with one of their specific activities addressing youth. 82 children received gifts from our sponsors and spent time with pleasure in a cheerful atmosphere. FOR A SUCCESSFUL CELEBRATION CONSIDER AN AGENDA THAT INCLUDES WILLINGNESS COOPERATION TOGETHERNESS BENEVOLENCE PLAYING SHARING JOY HOME COOKED FOOD GATHERING US ALL AROUND THE TABLE CHRISTMAS TREE & CAROLS FRUITS & SWEETS FREE TALKS LAUGHTER RELAXATION As members of the civil society we consider that by working on creating a welcoming environment and offering the migrant community a shared space of values and traditions more possible steps can be taken towards local integration, thus building on the existing commonalities while addressing the existing gaps and differences. The wellbeing of people is vital for any efforts to be considered further as required by any new society in terms of language, culture, employment prospects and social integration. In the end, a good human relationship with the other triggers the best results in any of us. Happy New Year! The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Află mai mult
Interview – Insights on integration in Romania
Interview – Insights on integration in Romania Please tell us a little bit about yourself Anastasiia My name is Anastasiia. I’m from Odessa, Ukraine. I’m 38, married with a child. I like to travel and have visited a lot of interesting places. Like to watch people and learn new cultures. Worked at the Medical University for 15 years at the department of Foreign languages. I have a lot of relatives and friends. I’m an open-minded, communicative and responsible person. Have a lot of experience working with people and teaching. How did you arrive in Romania? Did you come alone or together with your family? I came to Romania in December 2022 with my husband, daughter and our dog. My daughter and I were in Ireland before, but decided to move closer to our homeland. My husband joined us. How were you greeted by the Romanian community? I had a good experience with Romanian volunteers that I met in May 2022, when I first came to Romania. First I crossed the border with Romania on a ferry. We were met by wonderful hearty people from the Red Cross who made shelter in Isakcha and greeted Ukrainians. They helped us to get to Bucharest where we had a flight to Dublin. When I rejected the Irish Protection and came to Romania in December it wasn’t easy to collect all the information and receive Temporary Protection here. We found different resources online with explanations of where to go and how to organize our documents. What difficulties did you encounter? First of all is a language barrier. I was sure that it wouldn’t be a problem to communicate in English, but lucky me, I often face people who don’t speak English, especially in day-to-day life. Second problem was accommodation. It was difficult to find a flat. We changed several places. Hopefully, we found a nice owner and have been renting a flat for a year. And the last difficulty is laws and procedures which are not usual sometimes and take too much time to solve. How was your integration process for you and your family? I easily found an educational hub for my daughter. Unfortunately she doesn’t receive a complete education in Romania. She doesn’t know Romanian well enough to study in local schools and we decided to continue her education online in Ukrainian school and offline here in the hub for socialization. She also plays basketball in a local team with Romanian children. And visits different clubs here. As for me, I found a job one month after my arrival in ARCA Romanian Forum for Refugees and Migrants in a position of translator. And now occupy the double position of a translator and database operator. How did ARCA support you particularly? I work in a good team. My colleagues are very supportive and always ready to help. We often eat together and share differences in our cultures. One of my colleagues, Mihaela, helped to find a place for my daughter in a basketball team. My daughter participates in different events which ARCA performs, not because she is my daughter, but as a beneficiary of ARCA’s Club. And we also received some financial help as well as other beneficiaries of ARCA. The most that I appreciate is that ARCA gives me the ability to help Ukrainians. We receive a lot of requests from our beneficiaries and try to solve their issues together. What did you find valuable in Romania? Romania looks like my Ukraine, similar culture, history, religion, traditions and weather. For me it’s valuable that I can watch movies in the cinema in English. Nature is valuable to me and I like to travel around Romania and visit its authentic cities. And I appreciate that Romania accepted so many Ukrainians, but I’m disappointed that the Government doesn’t fulfill its obligations regarding EU support programs. What are your plans for the future if returning to Ukraine would not be an option? Do you think about staying in Romania or going to another country? I was always a person who made plans and tried to achieve them. But our War in Ukraine taught me that everything could be damaged in one second. Now I don’t make plans in advance. I live in a flow. Until I have a job here I feel safe, because I know that I can pay my rent, bills, and food. Until circumstances don’t push me to the next step I won’t plan. My favorite quote is “I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go harmful. I’ll think about that tomorrow.” by Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Află mai mult
Ukraine Now
Ukraine Now – Transffering skills în an emergency context During 5 to 8 September ARCA has participated in a 4 days training event held within the Erasmus project “Ukraine Now”. We participate on this training together with representatives of the partner NGOs’ Mareena Slovakia, OCC Spain and OCC Greece. During the whole week we have had discussions. On the situation of Ukrainian refugees in Romania. On impacts for ARCA and casework on how ARCA’s educational projects adapted. And also on what adaptations need to be done further. The same was presented by our colleagues from Slovakia, Mareena. We have also learned more about the activities of OCC Spain and Greece and visited the office of OCC Spain. Moreover, we discussed the updates on the raising awareness campaign we are undergoing within the project, as well as worked on designing an action plan towards the new adaptations considered within each organization. Ukraine now is one of our projects through which we try to make life easier for migrants and refugees from Ukraine. We consider that Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war deserve a softer fate. They also deserve a chance to integrate into European society. As a result, we decided to lend them a helping hand and for that we had to thank our Erasmus+ partner for the kindness of supporting our cause. This project is co-funded by the European Union. Under grant agreement 2022-1-ES02-KA220-YOU-000086377.
Află mai mult
Necessary steps in integration
NECESSARY STEPS IN INTEGRATION Brief overview of good practices on post-pandemic education and employment for humanitarian migrants to facilitate integration Once arrived in a new country, either forcefully or voluntarily, any human being needs to go through the process of integration. While the new society would make their services available to progressively assimilate them. Learning the language is the most important step for any newcomer into Romanian society. Having a common language is a prerequisite for further integration prospects, particularly for humanitarian migrants who have not chosen to leave their home country due to their own will. As a result of the pandemic period most organizations have adapted their services to the online environment. Therefore we have also developed online courses both for Romanian and English languages. Incertitudinea zilei de mâine – factor demotivant If we can take into account the situation humanitarian migrants face such as the uncertainty of the short to long term perspectives of their future considering the geopolitical context, the loss and hardships of leaving home and the pressure to adapt to the new society with different language, social and cultural requirements, putting life on hold can not be an option for too long. One of the most difficult things observed in practice is how to adapt faster to the new situation in which humanitarian migrants find themselves in leaving fear, non-acceptance or denial of reality aside and to better understand how to support them on this path, by involving them also in the process. Creating a new scenario where the current situation can be used as a fuel for the future adds up to the need to consider the best ways in which education can be of use to humanitarian migrants. As the Romanian class can be of little or no interest for someone who considers its time in Romania is limited, English classes can be a way for learning a language of common use in Europe and its benefit stays longer regardless of the geopolitical situation herein. Other topics of interest related to education can be workshops and training on human rights, children’s rights, parenting, conflict resolution etc. The online environment does come with advantages and disadvantages extended accessibility less time and costs related to reaching classes flexibility of the programme (days and hours) multimedia resources available (visuals are a plus for learning) the need to have a good connection to the internet and access to the new technology (a prerequisite for online classes) minimum technological skills for learning optimization the need for self-discipline and less interaction with peers As each individual is unique we consider adjusting our services for both online and offline learning sessions in order to better address the needs of the people, highlighting the importance of the existing opportunities and focusing more on constructive perspectives for short to long term. Economic inclusion implies cooperation and communication. Financial resources represent an essential component in reaching self-sustainability and redeveloping the ability to support the loved ones. Having a secure livelihood and good health is the basis on which the other aspects of integration can be built. This process could be extremely strenuous. Especially if there is war trauma involved, family members to support, no savings available and limited knowledge or resources about the steps to be taken in achieving economic independence in the new country. This is where support measures, when correctly implemented, strengthen one’s power to move forward. Continuous coordination between human beings demonstrates the principle of interdependence and can be extremely beneficial to jumpstart the newcomer’s future. Such coordination requires some key steps to be followed: 1. Raising awareness brings up ATTENTION on the importance of the PROBLEM; 2. Creating the link between the main actors such as AUTHORITY – PRIVATE SECTOR – BENEFICIARY; 3. Willingness of the person to integrate – support structures can be successful in achieving their purpose only when humanitarian migrants make the effort to grow and overcome challenges; 4. Maintaining and developing the RELATION created; 5. Building up further opportunities. There are certain gaps in a society’s structure that can only be filled through common vision, trust and efforts from all sides involved in order for any human being, no matter their nationality, to have their dignity restored. The current article is part of a series of communication materials with the overall objective to increase awareness around migration-related issues through #constructive narratives. The project #UkraineNow is co-financed by the European Union through Erasmus+. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Află mai mult
