Palestinian refugees claim facing difficulties with integration in Kabardino-Balkaria

Forced migrants from Palestine who arrived in Nalchik have faced a lack of job offers and a shortage of cash. The refugees express their hopes that after the New Year holidays, the authorities will resolve the issue of educating children in local schools.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 7, fifty forced migrants from the Gaza Strip, including 21 children, arrived in Kabardino-Balkaria. They have been accommodated at a sanatorium in Nalchik.

The refugees from Palestine in Nalchik are provided with three meals a day, medicines, and everything they need, emphasizes 50-year-old Shekhda Umran, a forensic medical expert from the Gaza Strip, who once graduated from the Medical Academy in Saint Petersburg.

According to Shekhda Umran, when the bombing of the Gaza Strip began, he was only thinking about how to save his large family, as he takes care of six children. “We are peaceful people. We want to live, work, and raise our children in peace,” Shekhda Umran noted.

The man has noted that his family had no question of choosing a country where to go, since he has Russian citizenship and speaks Russian, and his wife is Russian. Among the Palestinian refugees there are many who speak Russian; they are all graduates of Russian universities, mainly medical ones, Shekhda Umran explains.

The man notes that the refugees who arrived in Nalchik are most depressed by lack of activities, as they, especially men, are used to working and being busy with something.

According to Shekhda Umran, charitable foundations help refugees.

Let us remind you that on November 21, the authorities of Dagestan announced that the republic was ready to accept up to 200 refugees from Palestine. The refugees asked to be provided with mobile phones and access to the Internet. Some of the refugees intend to apply for Russian citizenship.

Akhmed Dudaev, Minister for National Policy, External Relations, Press, and Information of Chechnya, has emphasized that refugees should maintain cleanliness and be more organized, and they should not rush the authorities of Chechnya to solve their problems. Caucasian experts note that reproaches to the guests contradict the Chechen traditions of hospitality.