Orphans in boarding schools of grey zone in Donbas suffer from periodic shelling

The orphans and the children deprived of parental care under the guardianship of the state return to the boarding schools in the towns of Shchastia and Horske, Donetsk region.

This was reported by Olena Temchenko, expert of the Department for the National Preventive Mechanism Implementation of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The children have started to return to the specialized boarding schools, for example, in Shchastia and Novoaydar, since this academic year. In total, about 200 orphans stay in the ATO area,” the Human Rights Information Centre correspondent quotes Olena Temchenko as saying.

The boarding schools in Shchastia and Horske have the appropriate conditions for studying: the classroom equipment, using the latest techniques, professional teachers and educators. However, both schools are located in the areas where it is impossible to completely guarantee the safety of children.

For example, the Horske regional comprehensive boarding school is located behind the Ukrainian checkpoints in the grey zone. Out of 133 children, ten have guardians and seven are under the guardianship of the state. The other children have parents but need special care due to developmental disorders.

February 11, 28 windows were smashed in the dormitory as a result of intensive shelling. The children were hidden in the basement, serving as the shelter, and later transferred to Severodonetsk. In March, the children were returned to the institution.

The regional comprehensive sanatorium boarding school in Shchastia is located in the demarcation area. It is a home to 149 children with lung diseases. During the attacks, which are quite often, according to the staff, the children are evacuated to Novoaydar and Krimenne, but later they are returned to the school.

“We cannot make parents take children from the dangerous areas, but it is the crime to risk the lives of the orphans, whom the state bears responsibility for, pursuant to the Article 52 of the Constitution of Ukraine. Unfortunately, we saw the same situation during the visit to Chusovyariv special boarding school No.8 and Novozhelanne special boarding school No.39 in late September,” Olena Temchenko noted.

“I understand the staff, who says they are their children. They worry about these children. The life of these children is at risk until the combat operations are carried out in this territory,” she added.

The representative of the Ukraine’s Ombudsperson noted that now more than 200 children stayed in the boarding schools in the uncontrolled territory. The negotiations on their return to the government-controlled territory are futile.