Belarus orphans to resume holiday travel to Italian families

t is not clear if Vika Maroz will travel to Italy this summer, after Belarus and Italy have finally signed a deal which sets out conditions for rehabilitation of Belarusian children in Italy. The travel of Belarusian orphans was suspended by Belarus, following the scandal with Vika Maroz and her Italian hosts. Because of the ban, the Belarusian children could not make their pre-scheduled trip for Christmas in Italy.

The European Radio for Belarus asked Iryna Shyngel, an external relations official at the Ministry of Education of Belarus, to explain the Belarusian children could not travel to Italy since October 2006.

Iryna Shyngel: “That’s why this agreement has been signed. There was a need to set out conditions for the stay of our children in Italy. Under the agreement, children need to return home after their rehabilitation programs come to an end.

Italians looked at our orphans as the people without guardians and wanted to adopt them without consent of the Belarusian side. Therefore, many children would not be let go back home. Court rulings would be issued in those cases.”

The Italian family last year refused to return Vika Maroz, an orphan from the orphanage in Vilejka, Belarus. According to Iryna Shyngel, Italians will be required to provide a minute-to-minute schedule of the children’s stay. Belarusian interpreters will also be hired to stay together with every group of Belarusian children.

Iryna Shyngel: “According to our requirements, one adult should accompany 25 children. If this person does not speak Italian, an additional translator should be hired for the group.”

Belarus also has some obligations, under the signed agreement. Belarus must process on time all the paperwork associated with the travel of the Belarusian children to Italy and oversee the selection of accompanying persons.

The children from the orphanage in Vilejka, where Vika Maroz used to stay, are also going to travel to Italy this summer, an orphanage teacher told the European Radio for Belarus but refused to be named in this report.

“We have many invitations for our children. I think we will send at least 15 groups of children this summer”, she said.

The orphans from Vilejka will travel to the same host family they visited last year. They received personal invitations. According to Tacciana Kavaliova, the deputy minister of education, the Belarusian side dropped the initial ban for the stay of children with Italian families. Belarus has earlier insisted only on camps.

The first group of the Belarusian children will take off to Italy on May 12. Tacciana Kavaliova failed to answer whether Vika Maroz could travel this year, too.

Photo by minsk.kp