09-02-2011

One of approved agreements with EU – about readmission – became an indirect cause of situation emerged in the very western town of Ukraine – Chop. Its residents do not want a shelter for the illegal migrants to be built here. However, border guards tell that the greatest number of trespassers is detained exactly in Transcarpathia: only last year the officers of Chop detachment caught more than thousand persons.

Maryna Koval, reporter:
– Here is over this fence border guards planned to build a centre for keeping illegal migrants. Money for it – more than twenty million UAH – European Union promised to allot. But townspeople opposed.  
There is a picket nearby Chop Border Detachment since the very morning. There are posters in the hands of people: “We do not need illegal migrants!” People are against the building of new shelter for the refugees. There is a centre for keeping sixty trespassers.

Mykhail Pelenka, Biology teacher of Chop secondary school №1:
– This centre, literally, approaches the fence of the school from another side, you understand, it is not a very fortunate neighboring for school. Immune system of local people is not ready to accept those diseases which can get there due to illegal migrants.  
Dispute springs up between border guards and protesting people. Border guards report that the most number of detained illegal migrants in Ukraine is in Transcarpathian region. Just last year Chop Border Detachment caught more than thousand trespassers. Thus, new premises are needed to keep them.

Representatives of UNO on refugee issues in Ukraine are also on the part of the border guards. Today he was examining the conditions illegal migrants are kept in Chop. Kyiv signed Agreement on readmission, and it means that if Europe detains a violator who gets there through Ukraine, so he will be sent back to our country. In order to keep those refugees new premises will be needed.

 
Oldrih Andrysek, UNHCR representative in Ukraine:
– I do not understand, what people are against. This is reality. People come, some of them without documents, so this fact should be examined. This centre is of closed type. How can somebody disturb living in the premise of closed type?

But still border guards promised to protesting people not to build a new centre for keeping illegal migrants in the centre of the town. Already existed premises will be reconstructed for EU money.   

Maryna Koval, Yuriy Kovalyov, “Podrobnosti”. TV channel  “Inter”

Source: http://podrobnosti.ua/podrobnosti/2011/02/09/752182.html