I will start with an episode from my visit to Kyiv in September, when I and the spouses of other heads of state visited the Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights. The Centre helps children who’ve fallen victim to war-related violence or witnessed the atrocities of war find their way back to a safe childhood. Children who’ve been forcibly deported from their homeland under false pretences, allegedly beautiful and humane reasons, and later returned home, are also brought to the Centre. Every escape story has required the work and dedication of numerous people and is a miracle in its own way.
At the end of the official meeting, we were able to talk to children deported from Ukraine. Some were talkative and shared their experiences with us, others were silent and the horrors they had experienced could only be seen in their eyes. One such mentally broken boy quietly slipped his warm hand into my palm and held on tight. In that handshake, I felt trust and hope in us, the adults. They’d probably been told that friends were coming to visit, and they didn’t have to fear being taken somewhere again.
The knowledge of what it means to be torn away from your home, family, country and people, language and culture, also lives on in our own collective memory. There are people among us whose parents or grandparents grew up in Russian orphanages because their parents were either dead or in forced labour camps. We cannot remain silent as we see history repeating itself, because this is not just a concern for Ukraine, but for all of us. And that’s why I am glad that children and their mental health play a very important role in Estonia’s support to Ukraine. The kindergarten that was built in Ovruch with Estonia’s help and the family homes that provide a safe environment for growing up, as well as the many other things that Estonia and our people are helping to make happen in Ukraine. The future of Ukraine, confidence in their country and love for their people blossoms in these children.
I’m grateful that through the tireless work of Mrs Olena Zelenska and the Foundation she’s established, I’ve been able to contribute to raising awareness of the situation of Ukrainian children, both in Estonia and at international meetings, most recently at the UN General Assembly side event focusing on children in Ukraine and other war and conflict zones around the world. Last Friday, the UN Security Council addressed the situation of children remaining in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which once again brought into the wider consciousness an issue that we must not forget. Children’s rights, which include safety in childhood and when growing up, are one of the three key issues for Estonia’s candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council.
Today, we all have to speak about the fact that Russia’s systematic deportation of Ukrainian children is a very serious international crime and we cannot rest until the deported children have returned to their homes. It’s our moral duty to bring back the childhood stolen from these children, as much as it depends on us, to reconnect them with their country, their people, their language and their identity. And that’s why we must also keep the deported Ukrainian children and their return under constant international scrutiny. It’s the least we can do.
Dear all,
Action is just important as words. And in the film screened today, we see the importance of providing a safe place and environment to overcome the traumas of the past. We all know a child who has dreamt about a dog or a kitten. In this film, we see that where the evil and cruelty of people have destroyed children’s trust and courage about the future, animals help build a bridge of trust with the world children live in now and in the future. Where words run out – as they did with that boy in Kyiv – touch, presence and caring continue their healing work.
I would like to thank the filmmakers for their coverage of this important issue, and all of you for your daily contribution to the well-being and safe future of Ukraine, and also of our children. Together, we can help and become stronger.
Thank you all!
