From war and violence to Russia

Syrians and Coptic Egyptians are fleeing war and revolutions to Russia. However, on the spot they face many difficulties: they are extremely rarely given refugee status, and there are few special centers that can accept internally displaced persons. The only large refugee reception center is in the city of Ocher, in the Perm region. To get to Ocher, they need to go through a large number of bureaucratic procedures, which are not always successful. The non-profit human rights organization "Civic Assistance" provides assistance to forced immigrants. Member of the Civic Assistance Committee Elena Burtina told PublicPost about how refugees from Syria and Egypt find themselves in a Russian bureaucratic “trap.”

Elena Burtina, Deputy Chairman of the Civic Assistance Committee

In the Perm Territory there is practically the only large migration center in Russia. There are also in the Tver region, but for some reason they are not sending them there now, and two small ones in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, but they are already full. The center actually operates in the Perm region, in Ocher. That's where people go. These centers belong to the Federal Migration Service, not to us. We are an NGO.

— How many refugees from Syria are in Russia at the moment?

We cannot judge the real scale of the flow of refugees to Russia. Of course, the main flow of Syrian refugees goes to neighboring countries - primarily to Turkey and Lebanon, but a growing number also goes to Russia. For us, this flow began in August. An Arabic translator is in our office on Wednesday and Thursday, and every day we receive a new group of several people. Most of them have no shelter.

— Do they have documents?

Yes, because these are people who arrive by plane. It is difficult to enter Russia illegally from Syria - these are very rare cases. They are on a plane, with visas.

— What about refugee status?

Refugee status can only be granted by the Federal Migration Service. It should be given when people are persecuted in their own country: on religious grounds, on racial grounds, on the basis of political opinions, or on the basis of belonging to some social or ethnic group that is persecuted in that society. This is a fairly narrow definition. And many real refugees, for example, from Syria, are simply fleeing war - no one is persecuting them individually, and they do not fall under this status. It happens, of course, that a particular person is persecuted by government troops or the opposition - both sides in this conflict behave very cruelly... But even those most often do not receive refugee status.

If a person cannot qualify for refugee status or is denied it, it is nevertheless considered inhumane to return him to his country. As is the case now with Syria. The position of the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency), which they made back in February, is not to return the Syrians now. So that they can return later, as it says, “to a safe situation with dignity.” But nevertheless, we are denying them temporary asylum.

- What do they do then?

In principle, after this they should be deported. But the application is considered for 3 months, and then the refusal can be appealed. We will appeal them. During the appeal period, they are legally in the Russian Federation. They can only be expelled if the appeal results in a negative result. I am not yet aware of any cases of deportation of Syrians. This would be a very cruel decision. Maybe the Russian Federal Migration Service will somehow change its position and listen to the voice of the UN.

As for the Syrians. We had quite a large labor migration from Syria. Of those who contact us, many are Syrians who came to Russia to work, but now cannot return because of the war. That is, among them there are people who are more or less integrated into Russia. They have housing and income. Therefore, many Syrians are not in such a desperate situation as Egyptian Coptic Christians. They have no connections here at all, they get off the plane without knowing Russian, they have no friends who would accept them, accommodate them, or explain where to go. The situation with them is the most difficult. Moreover, if they come in winter with children and they simply have nowhere to hide. And, of course, they don’t have money for a hotel.

— You wrote on your Facebook page that they wait 3-4 weeks in Moscow before being sent to a refugee center. And in what conditions have they lived in Moscow all this time?

That's the point, no. Why are they in our office? Because they have nowhere else to live. If a person has nowhere to go, the decision to be sent to the center should be made in one day. And here’s the system we have: you first need to go to the migration service. If these are people who speak a language for which there is no translator in the migration service, then they are assigned a day of reception with a translator invited from a translation agency. This may take two weeks or even more. A person undergoes an interview, applies for refugee status, and during the interview he must say that he has nowhere to live, he must be sent to a center for accommodation. He submits an application to the Moscow Migration Service. But the application must then be forwarded to the Federal Migration Service. The FMS makes this decision within 2-3 weeks. And then, when the decision is made, he is sent down to the Moscow service and then informed to the refugees. And where people are all this time is no one’s business.

— How many people do you have in your office now?

There were two people, and then a family of 10 Copts was added. Muscovites took two from the family.

— And in the Perm region?

There are not many Syrians there yet. Most of all are Afghans and Africans.