IDPs bring Ukrainian PM Groysman huge glasses

Representatives of Ukrainian NGOs have brought huge glasses to the premises of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, calling on Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to open his eyes to the problems of the internally displaced persons.

The activists presented their alternative report on 100 days of work of the Ukrainian Government concerning the problems of displaced persons, Hromadske Radio informs.

“In its report covering 3-month period of work, the government indicated among its achievements ‘unblocking payment of social benefits to internally displaced persons, simplification of registry of IDPs and improving the system of social benefits.’ Instead, the social benefits have not been actually restored to a large number of IDPs, the local departments of social protection are unable to implement the new ‘enhanced mechanisms and pay the social benefits,” the protesters noted.

Public activists wrote appeals from the non-governmental organizations to Volodymyr Groysman, calling on him to implement the non-discriminatory policies towards internally displaced people living in the areas not controlled by Ukraine as soon as possible.

Olha Hvozdiova, the development coordinator of the NGO “Donbas SOS” also told about unscheduled checks which discriminated the IDPs.

“When the resolutions on IDPs were approved, it was said they would be further finalized. We already see that it is impossible to implement them. Representatives of the social protection departments complain they lack inspectors. We want to say that the policy related to the internally displaced persons should not be formed without IDPs themselves,” Hvozdiova said.