On November 14, 2011 the official ceremony of awarding keys of three apartments provided by Minsk City Executive Committee and repaired by UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus for permanent residing of refugees took place in the Frunzenski district Administration in Minsk.
The representatives of Minsk City Executive Committee, Administration of Frunzenski district of Minsk, Department on Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Belarus, UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus, partners of the project, the representatives of refugee communities took part in the ceremony.
The Head of the Frunzenski district Administration in Minsk Boris Vasiliev stressed the importance of providing refugees with housing given by the state as a factor contributing to refugee integration. Also Mr. Vasiliev told about the refugees living in his district. In his speech he approved the activity of the partner of the project — the Center for Children and Adolescents “Evrika”, where refugee children spend much time, and described his visit to the Russian lessons. Once, after entering into the classroom, he was impressed by the expression and beautiful Russian the refugee girl told the poem written by Pushkin with. The speaker noticed that the biggest number of refugees live in Frunzenski district, and the Administration tries to do its best to facilitate the process of refugee integration in Belarus.
Sholeh Safavi, the Representative of UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus, in her speech stressed that this ceremony is an example of fruitful collaboration between governmental institutions, donors, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and refugee communities. Later in her speech Sholeh Safavi noticed that due to such collaboration there is now a possibility to celebrate the result of our joint efforts in reaching a common noble cause having assisted refugees in their integration in Belarusian society. The research made by UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus and its partners in 2007 illustrated that integration is the best long-term decision for the majority of refugees in Belarus. The majority of refugees consider it the same. It is necessary to note that the absence of access to cheap and decent housing in all countries of the region, especially in cities, where currently the majority of refugees live, is among the factors preventing from successful integration. The contribution of the European Union allowed to begin the implementation of the regional project “Local Integration of the Refugees of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine” and also to embody a range of activities for refugees in the sphere of education, employment and housing. Then Sholeh Safavi thanked all member states of the European Union for their attention to the question of integration and their generosity. The representative of UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus also expressed special thanks to Minsk mayor, the Frunzenski district Administration and Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Belarus for their efficient cooperation in implementation of housing component of this project. Individual gratitude was expressed to the partners UNHCR from non-governmental organizations, particularly Belarusian Movement of Medical Workers, Belarusian Red Cross, refugee organizations, which assistance helped to reach this goal.
The representative of the European Union in the Republic of Belarus, Ambassador Mayra Mora also thanked everyone who participated in implementation of this project. According to her words, the European Union is a reliable partner of the Republic of Belarus, which gave money for different projects in the sphere of migration and asylum. In the end, Mayra Mora expressed satisfaction of continuing cooperation with UNHCR in this sphere.
The representative of Afghan community in Minsk Joya Haydar in his speech thanked all the partners of the project for providing apartments for refugees. Also he noticed that refugees should be more active in the process of integration in Belarusian society.
After many good wishes on behalf of all participants the most crucial and responsible moment came – awarding with keys. The Vice-chairman of the Minsk executive Committee Igor Karpenko and the Representative of UNHCR Office in the Republic of Belarus Sholeh Safavi handed over the long-awaited keys to three families.