The TV-documentary about the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis – 2.

Estonian Public Broadcasting team, author Stas Kuznetsov and cinematographer Peep Plakso continued recording the documentary of Ukraine in November. The TV-documentary about the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis will be screened on Estonian National Television next fall.

It has been less than 6 months since the first trip. This time we will analyze together with government officials and representatives of the OSCE, the political and social developments in Kiev and visit our Ukrainian friends from Vostok SOS (local non-profit organization).

In autumn the volunteers of Vostok SOS moved their headquarters from the old apartment to a new location. Now three different organizations are under one roof, all of which are interconnected and operate with a common goal. The social workers, volunteers and psychologists assist Ukraine's internal refugees in a shared house.

The volunteers now also have more opportunities for privacy. During summer, 12 people lived in one apartment, but now they have moved to separate apartments. This will help them to raise and educate their children more conveniently during the difficult time and situation the country is in and gives others the opportunity to engage in their hobbies.

The second anniversary of the Maidan protests in Kiev.

As Kiev celebrated the second anniversary of the Maidan protests during our stay, formal ceasefire lasts in Eastern Ukraine. Local people admitted that they can hear less battle noises, shooting and explosions. This however, does not mean that the heavy armament and weapons have been moved out of the area.

According to the OSCE reports, Ukraine has 1.5 million internal refugees by autumn of 2015. The increase in the refugee number has brought about specific issues, such as human trafficking. When earlier human trafficking was mostly related to sexual context then now the number of problems has enlarged. Scammers try to sell false documents to refugees and evidence of the refugee status, provide job opportunities, but do not pay salaries, and so on.

Local people are worried that due to the refugee crises in Europe the international community pays less attention to the crisis in Ukraine than it did before.