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The Barbaric Legacy of Soviet Rule That Ukraine Must Address Before EU Membership (Content Warning) [1]

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Date: 2022-07-26

Warning: You may find some of the details distressing.

Every country that has freed itself from the iron rule of the Soviet Union has had a barbaric legacy of that system. The same is true of Ukraine but it is one that will have to be addressed before Ukraine can become a member of the European Union. Before the invasion by Russia, it was planning to confront the problem but understandably funds and personnel have been concentrated on liberating the country.

The basic tenet of communism is that the people should own the means of production. Under the Soviet system this turned into a system where production was achieved by owning the people. With the shortage of workers after the “Great Patriotic War” it was essential that women worked. Babies were also important to provide future cannon fodder for the army. The problem was of course that childbearing could mean unfortunate breaks in the mother’s time at the factory or whatever. No problem, you provide nurseries and kindergartens so one nursery worker could look after 8 babies so 7 mothers could get back the the grindstone.

Sometimes mothers were so unpatriotic that they gave birth to disabled children. Of course there is no provision for such children in the nurseries and kidergartens, let alone schools. Why waste money on people who will never be productive? For many parents, having a disabled child meant a round of diagnostics, often in central cities involving a day or more’s travel. Little specialist support was available except to those who could be successfully treated. The frequent end was for the parents to be offered a place for their child in an “orphanage”. Like other parts of the welfare system these were underfunded and with insufficient staff to treat or even manage the children’s challenges. It all feeds into a mindset that disabled children are best cared for in institutions.

The BBC has filmed the work of Eric Rosenthal, CEO of human rights group Disability Rights International (DRI) in visiting the institutions now holding the most disabled.

The Ukrainian government has promised a series of reforms over the past few years, acknowledging that its system of institutionalisation needs to change. Until the war led plans to grind to a halt, the government had begun moving thousands of "orphans" into family-style group homes. But disabled people are excluded from these plans.

(This link should automatically redirect to the BBC.com mirror. There is a video of their report which graphically shows the results of neglect. The other content is similarly disturbing.)

One young man they showed was a teenager with elpilepsy and learning difficulties. He was tied to a bench in a diaper for hours. Unusually his parents still visit. Their experience is typical.

Vasyl's family felt they had no choice but to give him up. They had tried to get a diagnosis when he was very young - even consulting a neurosurgeon from the UK - to help him get the support he needed. But a poor health and social care system meant they struggled to provide for him at home, as he has regular seizures and can become aggressive. In the end, when he was five years old, the local authorities told them an institution was the best place for him.

Vasyl’s parents are so used to his treatment that they were unfazed by him being tied to the bench,

The BBC visited other institutions including one for disabled young adults. They showed years of neglect like the young man in his early 30s shown in the main picture. His body has become distorted to fit into the child’s cot he lives in.

The BBC point out this legacy was common.

Neighbouring Romania has closed many of its orphanages since children were discovered living in appalling conditions in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution.

There were similar problems in the former Czechoslovakia although in addition there were disproportionate numbers of Roma being held in “mental institutions”. Films from there showed the use of “cage beds”, literally beds with cages built on top, to contain some disturbed inmates. Proper conditions for people under the protection of the state was a condition of Czech compliance with the EU acqui — the body of law including the rights of disabled people — necessary for final Membership.

So in the long term, the assistance given to Ukraine as part of its candidacy will include both material and professional assistance towards a proper care system, including establishing community support for the parents to keep their disabled child at home. The inclusion of the young girl with down’s syndrome in the Ukrainian First Lady’s Christmas broadcast last year was a hopeful sign of a change of atitude. Sadly that was the girl killed by a Russian rocket attack.

There are many thousands like Vasyl whose lives have been blighted by a relic of Sovier policy and who now are suffering worsening conditions because of Russian aggression. The benefits of EU Candidate status should start to flow and it’s things like ensuring the rights of disabled people that will be important. Hopefully Ukraine looks like it recognises the problems and already has plans in place to improve the lives of those who cannot go to the group homes they are building.

Once the fighting is over, Ukraine will still have those disabled young people but the country itself will have been disabled by the war. Development assistance will be the second front in the fight against Russian agression. The country will need continued help to climb out of the trenches and stand on its own two feet. A complete and prosperous Ukraine is the best and only response to Russian aggression. It’s also the way for Ukraine to provide the best quality of life possible for the most disabled in the country. There will be sadly more before this war is over.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/26/2112772/-The-Barbaric-Legacy-of-Soviet-Rule-That-Ukraine-Must-Address-Before-EU-Membership-Content-Warning

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