Bishop Joseph (Milyan): Seven Million Ukrainians are Migrant Workers

Tuesday, 28 September 2010, 16:20
During the international discussion “Prospects of the Euro Dialogue in the Migratory Sphere: The Participation of the Church” on September 24 Bishop Joseph (Milyan), the head of the Pastoral and Missionary Department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church reported that seven million Ukrainians are migrant workers.
During the international discussion “Prospects of the Euro Dialogue in the Migratory Sphere: The Participation of the Church” on September 24 Bishop Joseph (Milyan), the head of the Pastoral and Missionary Department of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church reported that seven million Ukrainians are migrant workers. “Since independence, between 4.5 and 7 million Ukrainians have left Ukraine in search of work. In the last 3 years, over 1.5 million—60% from western Ukraine—have left. Overall there are 5 million Greek Catholics in the world, which means one-third of our faithful is emigrants. It creates certain challenges for our church. The reality forces us to build a living church. “Migrant workers are come from different countries: from Poland there are 450 thousand; Czech Republic, 200 thousand; Spain, 200 thousand; Russia, over 2 million people. After 1996 the geography of Ukrainian emigration was to Europe from North America. At first this was Greece, then Italy, Spain, Portugal, and after the improvement of the economy in eastern European countries, Ukrainians went to Poland and the Czech Republic. “The main problems the emigrants encounter are the disintegration of their families and not having legal protection,” said Bishop Joseph.  “Upon return to Ukraine, emigrants face an enormous problem. These are people who were either disappointed or those who made money and want to live in Ukraine. But even successful people experience culture shock when they return for it is difficult for them to find a job and they feel alienated from their families. They need to communicate with people who are undergoing the same experience. The self-help association Pieta, which helps reduce social pressure, offers aid in this area,” said Oksana Ivankova-Stetsyuk from the Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

http://galinfo.com.ua/news/75254.html

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