11:10, 06/04/2024

Little Ukrainians in the occupied territories are subjected to no less ideological treatment than adults. Moreover, by settling them on the territory of Russia, the Kremlin prefers to erase the Ukrainian identity. Can Ukraine prevent this?

The material was prepared as part of the “Bridges of Unity and Stability: Temporarily Occupied, Liberated and Frontline Cities” campaign commissioned by Smart Angel.

It is not a secret for anyone in Ukraine that Russia in the occupied territories does not observe any international, or at least any norms of treatment of the civilian population. Moreover, he does everything to leave people with any hope of returning to Ukraine . Unfortunately, children are also subjected to thorough ideological processing. In order to turn young Ukrainians into supporters of the “I am Russian” idea, the occupiers adhere to their traditional principle: “All means are good.”

Promises of a “happy life” in Russia

When the Russians began capturing Mariupol, Ilya was nine. The house where the boy lived with his mother was bombed. During the next shelling, when the family tried to move to their acquaintances, both were wounded: Ilya – in the leg, mother – in the head.

“They reached their friends. They laid down on the couch. And my mother died in his arms,” ​​Ilya, the advocacy manager of the Where Are campaign, told the story at the press conference “The main challenges of the de-occupied territories: civilian hostages, investigations of war crimes, destroyed housing and infrastructure” Our People? of the public organization PR Army Khrystyna Shkudor.

But the horrors did not end there. The wounded boy was taken away by the Russian military. And in the hospital of occupied Donetsk, “processing” began.

As Khrystyna Shkudor said, under the threat of amputation of his wounded leg, Ilya was first told that he should “speak Russian, because he is Russian.” Later, they promised that he would go to live in Russia, where he would be adopted, and that he would have a “happy life” there.

The boy was really lucky that Russian propagandists, using his story of “rescue” as an incredible example of a “happy childhood”, filmed a plot about him, which they tried to spread as much as possible in the West. In the end, Ilya’s uncle, the brother of the deceased mother, who lives in Europe, saw this plot, and the grandmother, who remained in Ukraine, took it upon herself to return the boy.

“She overcame a lot of obstacles, many countries, and in the end she took the child,” said Khrystyna Shkudor.

The goal is the destruction of identity

UNIAN talked about the “ideological processing” that the Russians in the occupied territories are trying to carry out, in particular by the hands of teachers, in the materials “Ours are not ours”  and  “Deoccupation of brains and souls” . As Lydia Bilas, the founder of the network of educational projects “MriyDiy”, notes, a powerful propaganda machine is really working with children in the occupied territories, “the purpose of which is the destruction of Ukrainian identity, militarization and Russification.”

“Russification takes place not only in the linguistic, but also in the ideological and cultural context. Educational hours are spent with children at school, they are forced to study from textbooks stuffed with Russian ideology, they use the transfer of Russian teachers to the occupied territories, destroy Ukrainian language books. Schoolchildren are taken to rest in children’s camps , which are brainwashing factories (according to a study by the Center for Humanitarian Studies of Yale University , 78% of recreation camps are used for the political re-education of Ukrainian children and the imposition of Russian ideology), she notes.

In addition, Russian soldiers are brought in to talk with the students, who create a positive image of the Russian army. In kindergartens and schools, children are encouraged to dress up in military-themed costumes, teachers reinforce the “new image” with approval, admiration and expressions of respect… 

“Instead, Ukraine is depicted as a fascist and neo-Nazi state, and the countries of the West as a hostile world, which contradicts the pure traditional values ​​of Russia,” says Lidia Bilas.

It is difficult even for an adult to counteract such propaganda. And it is even more difficult for children whose critical thinking is not yet fully formed.

The founder of the network of educational projects ” MriyDiy ” reminds of another problematic point: in addition to propaganda, she adds fuel to the fire and the environment. After all, Russians are moving to live in the occupied territories of the south of Ukraine, who have been spreading propaganda narratives for decades. After all, currently they themselves have turned into sources of spreading such false, manipulative information.

Lost children?

But is that why we should consider children in the occupied territories lost forever? Lidia Bilas is sure not. In her opinion, accepting that Ukrainian children in the occupation are lost for Ukraine is “the best thing we can do for Russia.” Instead, the best thing that can be done for the future of Ukraine is to “continue to fight for Ukrainian children.” Moreover, this struggle has been going on for more than ten years – since Russia occupied the Ukrainian Crimea and annexed part of Donbas.

What contribution can educators make in this struggle? According to Lidia Bilas, it is necessary to use three factors to counter Russian influence.

First, to develop students’ critical thinking and understanding of the nature of disinformation. “This makes our children stronger, more human and freer,” the expert notes.

Secondly, to make the educational process innovative, exciting, interesting and progressive. “At a time when propaganda highlights only one possible option for the future – to go fight against the Ukrainians, we enlighten students with many options for their future, based on their abilities and talents,” she emphasizes.

And, thirdly, to promote the integration of children from the occupied territories. “Educators cannot influence the evacuation of children, but we can warmly welcome them in controlled territories, realizing what they went through and are going through. Having met protection, love and support, children will start to move on faster, continuing to get an education,” says Lidia Bilas .

Darya Kasyanova , head of the board of ” Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights “, program director of ” SOS Children’s Towns “, has been working on the topic of the return of Ukrainian children in wartime conditions and their integration after the occupation for the eleventh year.

“Both in 2014 and 2017, I saw how children and young people left the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. How they, where there was such an opportunity, continued their education in Ukrainian schools online. How after moving, they entered universities… And now, in the third year of a full-scale war, I see how children who are under occupation study there, how they then leave… In the cases with which the “Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights” works, we see how children willingly leave here. How motivated they are to integrate, learn and live here,” she says.

According to the expert, there are examples of how those who were children in 2014 are now already defending their country or working in humanitarian missions. In the same way, those who are leaving now, despite years of studying in the occupation according to Russian curricula, quite quickly learn everything they need in Ukrainian schools and colleges.  

“We have young people up to 17 years old who came from the occupied part of Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia. We helped them catch up on the studies they missed. And now they are studying normally in Ukrainian schools or in Ukrainian colleges, preparing to enter universities… Recently we returned a boy from the occupied Donetsk region, and now he is studying to be a military man, he wants to defend the country,” says Daria Kasyanova.

To get all the children back, Ukraine must win the war

One of the most problematic issues is the return of young Ukrainians to Ukraine, both from the occupied territories and from the territory of the Russian Federation. And the specialists of “Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights”, “SOS Children’s Towns”, as well as individual volunteers related to this topic, do not undertake to state unequivocally where it is easier to pick up a child. In each specific story, there are many factors that can be decisive. These are the documents that the child has (not always the birth certificate issued by the “DPR” or “LPR”, even Russians take into account), and the presence of parents and where they are, or the need to find an adult legal representative, etc.

Advocacy manager of the campaign Where Are Our People? Khrystyna Shkudor of the public organization PR Army emphasizes that there is only one unique formula for all Ukrainian children to return – Ukraine must win the war.

“It is very difficult to find a child with completely new Russian documents on the territory of the Russian Federation and to prove that this is a Ukrainian child. After victory, we will have access to all materials inside the Russian Federation, and we will be able to find out where these children are, how they were renamed… And what to do We need the decisions of international courts. Yes, they will not be implemented, but we need the support of Western partners and international organizations to put pressure on Russia – the United Nations and the Red Cross. Now, let’s say, they don’t really want to take responsibility, to search for and take away Ukrainian children, they try to abstract from this problem. But we have to insist,” she says.

Oleksandra Romantsova , executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties , agrees that pressure from, for example, the International Criminal Court can have an effect.

“For example, Ukraine can find out in detail who in the Russian education departments, for example, school principals, are engaged in abducting children from Ukraine, and put them on sanctions lists by name. This has a very important cooling effect in these technologies. After all, when a person himself is responsible for the crime – this is not the same as the fact that she expects that one day Putin will be responsible for all of Russia,” the expert says.

She also adds that Ukraine can directly address even those Russian families, those guardians who have taken in young Ukrainians: “You need to communicate with them, saying, “don’t take part in crime.” environment is a good thing. But participating in “reflashing” it, manipulating consciousness is a bad thing and a crime.”

Tatiana Urbanska

(C)UNIAN 2024