Sergey Enikolopov: closing refugees' camps in Chechnya is fair to some extent

Experts think that Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov's instruction to liquidate Temporary Residence Centres (TRCs) refugees may be fair to some extent, the NEWSru.com reports. "Unfortunately, Russia is running no special studies of the topic, although our changing situation would allow obtaining unique results," Professor Sergey Enikolopov, head of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Centre of Mental Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, explained. "Unfortunately, such studies are not ordered by the state or public funds. However, while relying on foreign experiences, in particular, on the studies held for many years in Palestinian refugees' camps in the Middle East, we may state that people, once finding themselves in this situation, are divided into two basic categories."

The first group, according to Sergey Enikolopov, takes a socially active position. This is a reason, in particular, why refugees' camps are often a nutrient medium for members of armed resistance, militants and terrorists. "Many Palestinians who had lived in refugees' camps, and then gone to Europe long ago, who received education and job there, are telling right now that they are ready any moment to go to war," the psychologist tells. According to him, the activity in such cases is not always destructive: "In many people it is quite "legally" expressed through a more active civil position, intention and ability to reach the goals, for instance, to build a house, or by all means to "push out" children to university."

However, there is the second category, which more passive and accustomed to live with a permanent help from aside. "This is a broadly disputable problem - to what extent should the help go to the people who found themselves in such a difficult situation," Sergey Enikolopov says. "There is such a notion in psychology - "trained helplessness." In fact, a person is unlearnt from active behaviour. He or she is all the time beaten on hands when trying to do something, and finally, when he or she is offered to make a call, they start asking to help them to take the handset and dial the number. The term for getting accustomed to a refugees' camp were not calculated, but observations indicate that a complete accustoming to the mode arrives in five-seven years."

According to the scientist, the quantitative ratio between the groups selecting the first or the second mode of behaviour is unknown. "Paradoxical as it may seem, Kadyrov is partially right. Although, of course, one should keep in mind that among the refugees there are persons who cannot get back to normal life because of objective circumstances. And when liquidating the Temporary Residence Centres, one should clearly know that instead of this temporary roof over their head, people may be offered homes and jobs."

We remind you that Ramzan Kadyrov, Prime Minister of Chechnya called the TRCs "a nest of crime, drugs and prostitution." He thinks that "of late years these people have become lazy and hate to work and labour. The women who live there, have forgotten what is housekeeping and house work, and wouldn't take a brush. They'd better live on humanitarian aid." The premier thinks that among TRC residents there are people whose houses have been ruined indeed, but there are people who live there for attaining their political targets. "I know that among TRC inhabitants there are many provokers, who make advances to the West or to the enemies of Russia and Chechnya," Kadyrov said. "We need to detect everyone who plays against Russia and Chechen Republic and helps Wahhabis. Further, the competent bodies will handle them."

The competent bodies have already started to handle the temporary residence centres. The MIA of Chechnya has confirmed that from the middle of last week, that is, immediately after Kadyrov's statement, they started inspecting resettlers' hostels. Violations were revealed immediately in the course of inspections; according to employees of the MIA of Chechnya, in some of the TRCs, as of the moment of inspection, there were no more than a third of registered inhabitants. They believe at the MIA that people live at home or somewhere else, and come to temporary residence centres to get their humanitarian aid only. Besides, during inspections, militiamen detained several persons who were in search, and revealed multiple violations on the part of the administration.