The integration of Ukrainian refugees into the Lithuanian society

After the Russo-Ukrainian war commenced on February 24, 2022, many Ukrainian started moving abroad in search of peace and a new life. A lot of them came to Lithuania, and are starting their new lives there. This essay will offer an overview of different sectors within Lithuania, including education, job market and entertainment, and what steps are being taken by the Lithuanian government in order to integrate Ukrainian nationals. Through examining the specifics of different sectors, this essay will argue that Lithuania is efficiently integrating Ukrainian refugees into the society.

Since the start of the war the Lithuanian government has taken numerous measures in order to integrate Ukrainian children into the educational system and make their transition easier. One of those steps, for example, was “recruiting additional teaching and support staff, including staff with Ukrainian and/or Russian language skills” (Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė, 2023). This allows for Ukrainian children who do not have sufficient Lithuanian language knowledge for studying, to still continue their education simultaneously with their lithuanian-speaking peers. Utilizing russian-speaking teaching staff is also a rather convenient solution, taking into account that many Lithuanian adults are fluent in russian, due to Lithuania’s past as a part of the USSR. This expresses Lithuania’s ability to mobilize the resources already at hand, in order to accommodate the Ukrainian refugees. More measurements have also been ratified, for example “three private schools for Ukrainian children have been established” (Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė, 2023), providing the refugees with an especially tailored and niche opportunity to continue their education in a familiar environment.

There are naturally drawbacks to implementing changes in the educational system in order to better integrate Ukrainian refugees. Firstly, there is currently a lot of stigma around learning or speaking in Russian, which poses limits to “recruiting additional teaching and support staff, including staff with Ukrainian and/or Russian language skills” (Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė, 2023). This is because staff with Russian language knowledge is more accessible in Lithuania, but some students may not be willing to integrate Russian into their studies, thus limiting the supply of additional teaching staff. Secondly, there is limited financial freedom to implement the solutions, and especially the more drastic measures, such as establishing new schools, can really take a toll on the government’s budget, which would prevent it from being used in other sectors of integrating Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania. Finally, the availability of places in schools is an issue, because taking in Ukrainian children limits the ‘seats’ available for Lithuanian students in Lithuanian schools. Even in the Ukrainian schools, there is a limited number of students the schools can take, and “there is not enough space for everybody” (Anilionytė & Malinauskaitė, 2023), resulting in inequality around not all Ukrainian refugees getting the opportunity to enroll. Due to these three reasons, the attempts to integrate Ukrainian refugees into the Lithuanian education system might not be fully effective and even create issues for various parties in the society. Despite these drawbacks, making efforts to incorporate Ukrainian students into the Lithuanian education system is necessary to achieve successful integration of Ukrainians into Lithuanian society.

Another aspect of the integration of Ukrainian refugees that Lithuania is committed to, is providing the working population of them with opportunities to enter the job market. Statistics show that “30% of them [Ukrainian refugees] were employed in shortage occupations, thereby alleviating regional labor shortages'' (Jokubauskas, 2023). This benefits both the Ukrainian refugees, because they still have the opportunity to get employed even with linguistic barriers or mismatch of skills, and are able to support themselves and their families instead of relying on government subsidies. It also decreases labor shortages in Lithuania, increasing the overall efficiency of the labor market and, therefore, improving the productivity of the country. Further economic benefits to Lithuania are pointed out by the following data, which suggests that “Ukrainians employed in Lithuania generate around €400 million in added value, or around 1% of GDP” (Budreikienė, Gineikaitė & Parulskis, 2023). Aside from economic productivity, integrating Ukrainian refugees into the labor market also “contributes to preserving human dignity and facilitating integration” (Jokubauskas, 2023), since having a job as a refugee allows them to feel more a part of the society and adapt to their new life quicker.

While Lithuania has done great in integrating Ukrainian refugees into the labor market, by supplying them with employment opportunities, the next step would be “increased retraining measures” (Jokubauskas, 2023) and a greater supply of more attainable language courses, so that Ukrainian refugees are able to use their skills to the full extent, in order to benefit themselves and Lithuania. Currently not all refugees are able to work in positions that match their technical qualifications, mostly due to language barriers but also lack of vacant spots in the job market. Many Ukrainians, even though they worked higher-rank and administrative jobs back home, end up working jobs in the lower sectors here in Lithuania. This can be degrading to the refugees as they are subordinated to lower positions than they’re used to and also it leads to the underutilization of abilities and potential, which prevents the Lithuanian economy from gaining the full benefits.

In order to integrate the Ukrainian refugees into all aspects of Lithuanian society, the country has also made efforts to create more inclusive forms of entertainment. One example of such is the “Ukraine cinema day” (“Kino Pavasaris”, 2022) which took place in March, 2022. It was a day devoted to showing Ukrainian movies at one of Lithuania’s movie theaters. This day featured a selection of films made by Ukrainian professionals. Some of the movies had already been shown at different points of one of Lithuania’s most famous cinema festivals - “Cinema Spring”. Having events like the “Ukraine cinema day” and generally implementing Ukrainian films into the repertoire of films shown in Lithuania, serves as a great measure to include Ukrainian refugees into the leisure part of Lithuanian society.

Representation and a sense of belonging is important for helping refugees settle into their new home country. After having fled Ukraine, refugees living in Lithuania miss parts of their folklore culture, including the arts. Showing Ukrainian movies is a great way to being them back a piece of their culture, so that they can feel more at home and adapt to living here faster and more efficiently. It also shows the refugees that Lithuania’s government and people do care about them feeling good here and not only seeing Lithuania as a place to flee to, but also a place that they can actually settle in for the long term. Additionally, including Ukrainian movies amongst kinds of entertainment in Lithuania removes language barriers, creating a more inclusive country. Many movies generally shown at the commercial movie theaters are either in english or lithuanian, excluding the Ukrainians that are not proficient in any of the languages from visiting the cinema. Showing Ukrainian movies makes cinema accessible for all Ukrainians in Lithuania, making the entertainment industry more inclusive by creating something that all of them can enjoy regardless of their language abilities, ultimately integrating the Ukrainian refugees into Lithuanian society. Furthermore, most of those Ukrainian movies have English or Lithuanian subtitles, therefore making it possible even for Lithuanians to watch them. Thereby it helps educate Lithuanian people on Ukrainian arts, history and society. This creates a more mindful and understanding society of Lithuanian people, which can make the Ukrainian refugees feel more integrated and comfortable, by being around people who are aware and informed about their culture.

Improving the inclusivity of the entertainment industry is an important step towards promoting integration of Ukrainian refugees into this sector of Lithuanian society. By creating a more comfortable, understanding and familiar environment, it contributes to their integration into the overall society. The societal integration is also achieved by the assimilation of Ukrainian refugees into the education system, which supplies them with opportunities to continue their lives here, and also by their assimilation into the labor market, allowing the refugees to feel more a part of the Lithuanian society and benefit the country and themselves to the best of their abilities.

In conclusion, the discussion above showcases the efforts that Lithuania is making in order to integrate Ukrainian refugees into different parts of Lithuanian society. This includes accommodating their education needs, providing opportunities for job search and making the entertainment industry more accessible. Despite natural drawbacks and limitations, all of these have been working rather effectively to improve the experience and adaptation of Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania. However a lot of the Ukrainian refugees are obviously thinking about going back home to Ukrainian, as soon as the war circumstances allow them to, and they are not planning to continue their lives here in Lithuania. This consecutively raises further discussion around the extent to which are long term integration investments useful and worth implementing.

References:

Anilionytė, J., & Malinauskaitė, G. (2023, September 1). Lietuvos mokyklose – maždaug 8 tūkstančiai ukrainiečių: Kai kurie pereina mokytis I lietuvių klases. lrt.lt. https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/2067818/lietuvos-mokyklose-mazdaug-8-tukstanciai-ukrainieciu-kai-kurie-pereina-mokytis-i-lietuviu-klases

Budreikienė, J., Gineikaitė, K., & Parulskis, L. (2023, November 14). Ukrainiečiai Lietuvos darbo rinkoje. vz.lt. https://www.vz.lt/verslo-valdymas/2023/04/23/infografika-ukrainieciai-lietuvos-darbo-rinkoje

Jakavonytė-Staškuvienė, D. (2023). Models for organising the education of Ukrainian children who have fled the war in Lithuanian municipalities: Psychological, material, and linguistic support. Social Sciences, 12(6), 334. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12060334

Jokubauskas, V. (2023, November 19). Valstybės kontrolė: karo pabėgėlių iš Ukrainos integracija turi būti stiprinama. vz.lt. https://www.vz.lt/verslo-aplinka/2023/06/13/valstybes-kontrole-karo-pabegeliu-is-ukrainos-integracija-turi-buti-stiprinama

Prasideda „Kino pavasaris“: Ko sulauksime šiemet? • Neakivaizdinis Vilnius. (2022, November 17). Neakivaizdinis Vilnius. https://neakivaizdinisvilnius.lt/straipsniai/18748-2/