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15 April 2002 By John Sparrow in Budapest The illegal immigrants slipping through the country on the long and hazardous journey from Asia and Africa to Europe, have caused the media to characterize Lithuania as a back door to the West. It is a familiar tale in Central Europe and, as the flow of migrants swells, so does intolerance towards them. Many are economic migrants and public attitudes are hardening, encouraging Western governments to pass ever more stringent legislation to repel a perceived invasion. The migrants in turn enlist the services of smugglers and the traffic in illegal humans grows further. Behind the controversy this fuels lies a story of people in need, people facing deprivations, cultural isolation, insecurity and prejudice, children stressed by dislocation. Which is why the Lithuanian Red Cross (LRC) has been an active player in the development of its country's asylum system, protecting the rights of asylum seekers and providing them with social assistance. Red Cross lawyers counsel and represent them. Red Cross welfare staff work to integrate them. Red Cross public information campaigns counter xenophobia and prejudice, and Red Cross Youth programmes foster the social integration of children. Asylum is still young in Lithuania. Until 1997 refugee status had never been granted to anyone, and an asylum system specific to the Lithuanian context had yet to be developed. Much has changed since. Due to the efforts and co-operation of public institutions, non-governmental and international organizations, a system now occupies solid ground. It is based on national and international legislation allowing individuals to seek and exercise their right to asylum. A study commissioned in 2000 by the Lithuanian Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, found the majority of people who had applied for refugee status had entered the country illegally, frequently with the help of a guide. For most of them Lithuania was an unplanned stop on an illicit journey to more developed western or northern European states. Most illegal migrants are economic ones and, after being detained, those with no intention of settling often seek refugee status merely in the hope of getting temporary asylum. Eighty per cent of such applications are turned down but for the few who succeed it is a means of escaping detention, acquiring freedom of movement within the country and travelling on when opportunity presents itself. Many bona fide refugees also see Lithuania as a halfway house to something better. They want a country which is not only safe and democratic but also prosperous enough to offer a sound material future. The trend is changing. Recently more and more people have been choosing Lithuania as their final destination, for the most part refugees from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the countries of the former Soviet Union, people with closer ties to Lithuania. Lately many Chechens have been among them, and temporary residence permits have been granted on humanitarian grounds. What fuels the change is open to speculation. Some would say that Lithuania's likely accession to the European Union in the near future is an influence. A great shortcoming of the Lithuanian asylum system has been that it offers little possibility for successful integration. The Red Cross is attempting to bridge the gap. Integration is within the mandate of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, and it had envisaged that municipalities would take direct charge of the process. But they have the option to decline, and so far all but two have refused. Where the authorities are unwilling despite favourable circumstances, the LRC assumes responsibility, assisting the immigrants to find homes and jobs, start a business, learn Lithuanian, and become acquainted with local custom. It provides financial support and advises them on legal issues, tax, health care, education. Today 85 to 90 per cent of refugees are integrated through the LRC. It is an onerous occupation. The law prescribes a one-year period for integration, which can be prolonged in extenuating circumstances, but experience shows the time frame is insufficient. Frequently the year becomes a trial period for refugees and when it ends, along with minimal financial support, they try to flee the country. A great deal of LRC work has focussed on the Pabrade Foreigners Registration Centre located on a former Soviet military compound, and the Refugees' Reception Centre on the outskirts of Rukla town. Projects here have sought to lessen cultural isolation and to create the conditions for meaningful occupation, preventing the depression so often found among refugees. Red Cross social workers organise events that familiarise centre inhabitants with Lithuanian culture, and allow them to present their own, through song, dance, music, games and cusine. Daily programmes encourage sports, reading, gardening, painting and offer any number of classes. Social workers find themselves doing the work of psychologists because there are none in the centres. Free Red Cross legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees has been provided from the outset. Since the asylum procedure was new in Lithuania there was a shortage of competent lawyers to represent the migrants, who could not afford to pay legal fees anyway. Over the years the number of cases assigned to the LRC has grown, and today four independent lawyers are retained. Their field of operation widened last year with a co-operation agreement between the LRC, the Ministry of the Interior, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The lawyers are on hand from frontier to courtroom. They provide regular legal counselling at both refugee centres and border checkpoints, and participate in interviews authorities have with asylum seekers. They represent them at state institutions, and in court at appeal and deportation hearings. They run a border monitoring project. When a migrant is in trouble, even the authorities call the Red Cross. With population movements increasing, the lessons learned in Lithuania may help Red Cross national societies right across Central Europe. |
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