“We do not face rejection by the local community”: Lviv Kirimli women discussed their relations with the local social environment in a psychological workshop

On June 19-20, 2017 a psychological training workshop for Kirimli women took place in Lviv. It was an adaptive meeting with the women from the Crimean Tatar community that consists of internally relocated people. The event was organized by the East European Cooperation, a non-governmental organization.

“Our project's mission is to help the Crimean Tatar community that moved from the occupied Crimea to the Lviv region to adapt to the local Ukrainian communities. The Kirimli community found itself in a quite monocultural traditional society that emphasizes its identity as Ukrainians and is proud of it. This was quite challenging for the migrants from the Russian-speaking Crimea, and the Crimean Tatars deeply felt the need to emphasize their own identity as Kirimli and not to get lost in the local environment. However, this does not hinder the integration of the people displaced from the Crimea into the local communities. We saw a strong desire and readiness to make efforts so that this could happen. However, an important condition of a successful integration is preservation of one’s own identity and national dignity while building relations with a host community,” said the EEC director Beatričė Beliavciv.

During the workshop, the participants discussed the psychological aspects of building relationships with the surrounding society. An issue of national identity was singled out in the discussion as a factor that influences the integration into the local community.

 “It is extremely important for us to integrate into the local community, because we do not know how long we will live in Lviv. We do hope that we return to the Crimea in the future, but in the meantime we have to live a full life here. I can not say that we face rejection by the local community, as the Kirimli community is treated very well. We rather feel uncomfortable because of the household problems and lack of funds connected with job search and house rental. The participation in the workshop was a real recharge and a new experience. After the classes with the psychologist we felt relieved and lively,” commented Emel Ametova, the head of the Lviv club of Kirimli women.

For reference:

In 2017, the Kirimli Women’s Club in Lviv was launched (a project of the non-governmental organization The Crimean Institute of Civil Society). On June 5, the traditional Crimean golden-stitch embroidery classes for the club members were started. The objective of this course is to develop the Kirimli culture and to create self-employment opportunities for unemployed Kirimli women.

In September 2017, the East European Cooperation organizes a two-day training with coachers from Lithuania and Ukraine. The club members will gain a practical knowledge of the basics of entrepreneurship and self-employment, and learn the principles of developing one’s own business and becoming a successful freelancer.

The project envisages the informational campaign and building a positive image of a migrant which will facilitate further integration process and a decrease in stigmatization of internal relocation of people from the Crimea and the Eastern Ukraine.

The project Self-Employment and Civic Activity as a Guarantor of Successful Integration and Social Inclusion of Internally Relocated People from the Eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Tatar Communities is launched with an aim to facilitate a successful integration of migrants into local communities in Ukraine and social adaptation of the vulnerable groups.

The project is implemented by the non-governmental organization East European Cooperation (the Republic of Lithuania), the partner organization being The Crimean Institute of Civil Society.

The project is funded by the Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lithuanian Republic.