Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Anastasia Ordinyan
[REGNUM] About nine thousand children are being evacuated from the Belgorod region due to shelling, the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday, March 20. First of all, children will leave from Belgorod, the Belgorod and Grayvoronsky districts, as well as from the Shebekinsky district.
On Friday, March 22, 1,200 children are sent to Tambov, Kaluga and Penza. This will be followed by flights to the Stavropol Territory and Dagestan. The evacuation mechanism, Gladkov noted, has already been built.
The authorities made the decision to take the children out due to incessant shelling. From March 11 to March 17, 16 civilians were killed and 98 were injured in the Belgorod region. Another 5 people died on March 18, including a 17-year-old teenager.
It is planned that the children will stay in other regions for three weeks. But if necessary, the period can be extended until the end of the academic year.
About 500 children will go to Dagestan. There is no exact date of arrival yet, but the region is already preparing, Marina Ezhova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights of Dagestan, told IA Regnum.
The republic is ready to accept both children and older children. The age and characteristics of the children will be taken into account, says Ezhova: the school year is ongoing, so the trip should include not only rest, but also continued education.
This is not the first experience for Dagestan. The republic was previously visited by children from new regions of Russia and Palestinian refugees. The work scheme is well established, there is a list of “children’s locations” where the children feel as comfortable as possible.
“We are ready to receive the guys. Now everything depends on the Belgorod side. If they say tomorrow, we’ll accept it tomorrow,” notes Yezhova.
They place children in children's camps, sports and music boarding schools. But not only.
“We had a group of children with some disabilities. Naturally, they went to special sanatoriums under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health,” said the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of Dagestan.
Local residents are also ready to welcome children. Three years ago, the community “Community of Donbass” appealed to the regional authorities with a request to place children not in camps and boarding schools, but in families. This is how the “Hello Russia” project started.
“Older children came from new territories and lived with families for two weeks - from Derbent to Gorny Khunzakh. The boys dressed up in national costumes, the girls learned to cook Dagestan dishes. And if there is a good horseman, then you can get married,” Marina Ezhova laughs.
Any guest will be able to feel like a truly local - ride a horse, wear a burka.
In general, immersion in culture and familiarity with the traditions of the republic is a mandatory part of the program. And Dagestan has something to show and please: beautiful nature, hospitable people, tasty and satisfying food.
For Dagestanis, the arrival of guests is a reason to celebrate. Especially when there is an opportunity to help.
“Children should feel like ordinary, normal, happy kids who came to relax and have fun. These are our kids. It doesn’t matter where they are from: Russia, Syria or Palestine, these are children,” emphasizes Marina Ezhova.
She adds that I really want the trip to remain in the children’s memory as a bright, interesting adventure, and not as a forced temporary relocation.
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