4 November 2020 – Ms Tamara Inzhutova, an elderly IDP, volunteer at IDP Community Centre in Irpin participated as a panelist from Ukraine in online Dialogue on Protection Challenges – “Protection challenges and responses to COVID-19 for and by forcibly displaced and stateless people” with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The pandemic has challenged the institution of asylum and presented many other protection challenges to UNHCR’s persons of concern. In some cases, it has triggered restrictive measures, including border closures on health grounds; where some, but not all, States have made exceptions to enable asylum-seekers to enter and request international protection, with health screenings and quarantine. Some States have also facilitated innovative approaches to enable the continued functioning of asylum systems, such as the automatic or remote renewal of asylum-seeker documentation, remote registration and interviewing and accelerated processing of cases. In some States stateless persons have also benefited from measures to extend protection to them in the context of the pandemic. Efforts by many States to continue providing civil documentation as an essential service have also helped prevent statelessness.
In addition to creating new challenges, COVID-19 has also amplified existing challenges for refugees and internally displaced and stateless persons worldwide, particularly in terms of heightening the vulnerabilities of individuals with specific protection needs pre-dating the pandemic, such as women and girls, individuals at risk of GBV, and, older persons or persons with disabilities. The pandemic has also provided new opportunities for forcibly displaced women, men and youth to partner with local communities, government authorities and humanitarian actors, and take the lead in the prevention of COVID-19 as well as in the response to the existing and emerging protection and assistance needs of the most vulnerable in their communities.
The objective of the session was to allow panellists, including refugees and IDPs, as agents of the prevention and response to COVID-19, to share their experiences, challenges, and opportunities in conflict and fragile contexts.
Tamara Maksimovna Inzhutova, an elderly IDP, volunteer at IDP Community Centre in Irpin participated as a panelist from Ukraine.
Born in 1951, Tamara Maksimovna Inzhutova has spent most of her life in Luhansk, Ukraine with her family, working as an engineer. In 2014, she had to urgently leave her home due to insecurity and was displaced to Irpin. She thought she was leaving for a few weeks; however, Tamara and her family have yet to return home. She works with the “Good Deeds Foundation”, and volunteers with children at the community center. She also introduced sewing classes for older internally displaced women. During the pandemic, she and other older IDPs sewed creative masks for children and adults. She is the caretaker of her spouse, who cannot not walk and speaks with difficulty.
Read the whole story of Tamara Maksimovna here.
Tamara Maksimovna mentioned that the pandemic exacerbated the importance for internally displaced persons to have their own housing and become full-fledged members in host communities. While local residents are supported by local authorities, internally displaced persons quite often remain invisible and seem to be forgotten.
“We observed that local older persons were supported by food parcels. And we received nothing. Most probably, displaced persons were not included into distribution lists. Unlike those who have chosen to relocate within Ukraine, we have no place to return and are bound to rented housing. It is very important to ensure that housing is sustainable and we are not evicted”, said Tamara Maksimovna.
“I believe that one day scientists will find a cure and a vaccine for this virus. But we should not underestimate the role of ordinary people in this battle. By helping each other we understand our needs and how to address them. Listening and generating solutions together, do what we can – this is what really matters”.
The theme of this year’s High Commissioner’s Dialogue on Protection Challenges is “Protection and Resilience during Pandemics”. The Dialogue focused on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the protection and resilience of refugees and people who are internally displaced or stateless and their host communities. Participants reflected upon how to address the pressing protection and solutions questions that have emerged, building upon the international refugee protection regime and the principles and arrangements set out in the Global Compact on Refugees.
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