On the activity of the Russian “Compatriots” Foundation

More than 25 million Russians found themselves outside the borders of Russia after the breakdown of the USSR. At the same time more than 4 million people, mainly Russians, had to leave the places where they resided and move to Russia because of the numerous conflicts between nationalities. Almost all of the people were faced by unfamiliar circumstances, by a more severe climate, being without accommodation, job or any livelihood.

The main task is to help them settle and adapt to living in the new situation, and first of all to assist them in learning how to earn their bread, simultaneously reviving the economies of the region where they settled.

The Russian “Compatriots” foundation for aid to refugees has been contributing to the accomplishment of the task since 1991. It has taken an active part in the financing of the construction of 220 thousand sq. m. of housing space for refugees and forced migrants, participated in the creation of more than 84 thousand workplaces, some of them having been made available for local community members. The foundation has backed construction works of up to 220 billion roubles worth and produced consumer goods worth 90 billion roubles in the period from 1991 to 1998 (the estimates are made at rouble’s rate of 1996).

The federal budget is the main source of financing for the projects on creation and preservation of workplaces in the compact community settlements of refugees and forced migrants that the “Compatriots” foundation works on. Other sources of financing are also used, including financing from the UN OHCR.

The work on projects is a substantial part of the foundation activity. Selection of the projects is performed by the foundation board in the process of active discussion, in which both objective and subjective factors are considered.

Associations of migrants get comprehensive support for the preparation of such programs and projects. Specialists of the foundation prepare necessary economic, technical and legal documentation, do marketing research, provide equipment, resolve issues of raw materials acquisition, products sales and transporting, all this in cooperation with refugees and forced migrants. Financial support implies assistance in hammering out business plans, budgets and estimations, it also includes follow-through of project implementation. Besides, legal services, assistance in construction work are provided etc.

A majority of refugees and forced migrants try to settle together. This way it is easier for them to overcome obstacles and to hold out against difficulties and an unfriendly environment, which is to some extent strange to them. The largest settlement of the sort is HOKO. This is an organization specializing in construction work headed by former chief architect of Tadjikistan, virtually everyone in the organization moved to Borisoglebsk in Voronezh region to continue working in the construction industry. About 7 thousand people live there. They could receive even more people but for financial constraints. There is a big organization of forced migrants in Pskov, many migrants from Baltic countries live there. They have to change careers, as they cannot find jobs in their old professions. They have never been doing neither agricultural, nor production work (we have not got a large-scale production, small business enterprises are all we have, we can not do more than that). Economists and managers are scarce among the people. We do help refugees a lot in this respect unlike the FMS who only give money.

We do it differently. We figure out what people want by talking to them. For instance, a community of Douhobors, a Christian sect, moved from Georgia to a village built for former Chernobyl inhabitants who refused to go there. Say, the migrants ask for a mill, which costs 600.000 roubles. However the mill has to be mounted, a place for installation has to be found, the house should be watered and wired with electricity. This is a whole project in itself. Migrants paint it in glowing colors, while they don’t have specialists to perform the job. We have mill specialists. They can also tell which mill is better. It is necessary to assist the people in finding a niche for themselves, so that they would be able to survive. A lot of questions arise. For instance, where to get bread grain? Ok, they have ground the corn into flour, they have 60% of grade A flour and 20% of seconds. Where should they sell the flour? Should they bake bread by themselves or find a partner? We want the people to answer the questions. Besides, we don’t ask for IDs, we don’t try to distinguish between refugees and migrants. It is important for us that they are registered as a community. If we give money to them, it means that they should become owners of the enterprise. We have nothing against involvement of aborigines. The main problem is to avoid situations when some local mobster becomes the master, uses the refugees for the first time and then in a year there is not a single refugee in the business. We make sure that refugees and forced migrants open their businesses themselves under the aegis of their organizations and keep on working in the businesses. The profit from the businesses should be spent for plumbing installation, sanitation improvement and resolution of other problems of the settlements.

When basics are discussed, a project addressing all economic aspects of the business is being drawn up. We don’t have much money, so we cannot just waste it. Calculations have to be made, expenses should be defined, a business plan should be prepared. We have specialists for that, along with a computer program “Project manager.” Being fed with all the necessary data, the computer produces a ready business plan with the charts showing pay back period and conditions.

So we draw up a business plan for them, buy and install equipment. From the legal point of view it is we who own the equipment. By the way, nobody objects to it, as we enjoy certain exemptions being a non-commercial foundation. We are exempt from taxation. In time the equipment can cease to be necessary in the project, then we transfer it to another project. However if a contract is made with a migrants organization, the equipment is given in lease and made callable. Most often the equipment is held by refugees in trust for our foundation, and we, say, keep it under control all the time.

First of all we help the people to create workplaces. The financing isn’t big and the production is small. Profits will also be small, however the people will be able to survive.

There arise very many difficulties, so we have our own lawyers available for assistance.

A few migration organizations in Pskov negotiated with a ruined fishing kolkhoz. We buy good German fish-works for smoking, salting and curing for the kolkhoz. Under this condition our refugees and migrants enter the kolkhoz and become its shareholders. Moreover, we sign a contract with the Germans to sell the fish to Germany. Such an enterprise will surely survive.

The main difficulty is limited financing and its irregularity, especially in spring. The budget is being passed now, and we know that it will last till summer. So we won’t get the money before the end of summer. Representatives of refugees who work in agriculture come to us in spring. They need to buy some machinery and seeds, to build something, but we have no money to give them.

Last year we faced the problem of budget sequester; we make calculations, plan and buy equipment. But all of a sudden financing is suspended. The equipment stands idle. What should we do in situations of this kind?

To continue implementing our projects somehow, we try to approach the problems in complex. We always recommend to get in touch with the employment service, the migration service, the local administration. Last year our board members including deputies went to the country a few times, we invited local administration officers to participate. Thus we have visited two regions, one of them was Stavropol region, where the head of the district administration and a regional administration officer have taken part in our meeting. We have discussed the work program together, outlined a few projects.

Of course we don’t have the money for capital construction. So when they come to us with such proposals, we try to find other ways. Local administration can be able to assist here. If the foundation is financing the equipment, it is usually ready to provide migrants with some working space under the terms of long lease.

The same problem with land. We want the land to become property of the migrants or to be leased to them for 49 years.

We have 4 organizations of migrants in Vladimir. One of them is a grist-mill business. They have a mill, and the local administration has bargained away to them a pack-house connected to the railway. They were planning to get electricity through a nearby plant. The plant went bust, and everything was ruined. The mill stands idle for a month, for two, three months. They ask for money to wire the pack-house, to install a transformer and to start working. There is no money.

The calculation of cost-effectiveness we use is as following: the cost of one workplace shouldn’t exceed 7.5 thousand dollars.

So all in all the main thing that we do is the creation of workplaces.

We also provide social aid which is level with our capacities. There is a compact community settlement “Zov” in Voronezh. We helped them to drill a bore-well, now they have water.

The situation with medical attendance of refugees and forced migrants is very difficult, they don’t get full service from medical establishments, especially if they live in one location. Malnutrition and a nervous atmosphere added, we get a tuberculosis epidemic spreading through the Stavropol region, we have data that many children have been affected. We buy equipment. We know that among migrants there are doctors and paramedics. They start to work using the equipment. Aborigines are examined with this equipment for a fee, while refugees and forced migrants are examined for free. We try to do something in the circumstances. All the efforts should be united for the resolution of the problem. The main issue is that of financing.

Every little thing takes great efforts of refugees and forced migrants. Of course, our legislation should grant exemptions to their businesses, as they work under very difficult circumstances. They need assistance to survive, this is an issue of importance to the state.

Question. I would like to ask you about your status. Are you a state fund?

Answer. We are a charity foundation, and thus a public organization.

Question. Then why it is you who fuses together financing from all sources? A foundation is a foundation, a public organization is a public organization, and you have everything including financing from the budget.

Answer. We acted pragmatically. It is very difficult to obtain budget financing. We account for the program that we have. This is our program. There was a President’s program towards job creation, a President’s decree, a governmental resolution, an order of the Labor Ministry.

We have been put down as executors of one of the items. We developed out program on the basis of this item and are working on it.

And we are more efficient that the employment service, we are less formalistic.

Question. As far as I know, this year you are not funded directly from the budget, but in an indirect way, through the FMS I hear. Is that true?

Answer. We had our budget line this year, we had direct funding, i. e. we worked with the Finance Ministry. The Ministry approved the procedure for spending the funds – how much and how it should be spent. The Finance Ministry controls us in this respect.

Question. How do you support private business?

Answer. We can not support private business. The law states that we are to provide assistance to compact communities. A farmer recently came to see us, we have been in touch with him for quite some time. We talked, and I suggested he unites several farmers into such a “compact community.”

Question. Our three projects have been sent to your organization back in March, 1997. One of them concerns production of flour. We have a functioning bakery that was given to us by MOM, we work the land in a kolkhoz that its refugee-chairman handed over to us. And the issue of the mill was almost resolved, but nothing has been done for some reason.

The second project is the company “Krug” set up by refugees from Chechnia, 70% are forced migrants, 30% — local population. The company is doing fine, it is producing small switches for fire-hazardous facilities and creates additional jobs at the same time.

The third project is a hairdresser’s for refugees and forced migrants.

Unfortunately we have not heard from your organization, though we wrote many times. How can you explain this?

Answer. I can only say that the funds that are allocated to us are so insufficient that we can only satisfy a small part of the requests. We have a large portfolio of such projects and requests, but we can not fund them due to a lack a of money. I do not know the exact figure, but I think we can not fund some 95%. I suggest members of your organizations come and see us. We do not have funds available now, but we need the projects ready. And when we get the money we will fund them. We have to be in constant contact with our departments, work on the documentation. We have a whole package of documents that have to be presented.

Question. And do you have contests and a jury?

Answer. No, we don’t. The foundation board makes the decisions.

Question. You have 100 applications to choose 5 from. What’s the selection criterion?

Answer. We have projects that were ready a few years ago, but unfortunately we have no possibility to back them.

For instance, there is a sewing factory in Rostov. All we have to do is to provide them with a car, a few tents and a sewing machine, however we just cannot do that. We put them on our list. Our foundation board discusses the issues with the financial bodies. There is also the executive management, the problems are also debated there.

Question. Are the decisions of the foundation board made public?

Answer. Yes, I think that in principle they are public. We have no conflicts because of refusals, people understand us. Everything is discussed by the same foundation board. There are many considerations, but we haven’t got definite criteria as such, since our approach is to take into account many aspects. We don’t have any problems, the only problem is that we don’t have enough money.

S. Gannushkina. This is somewhat strange. We help specific individuals by giving them 100 roubles per person. And still we have to work on the selection criteria all the time, because it is impossible to help all of the applicants however modest the allowance is.

Comment. If I hadn’t known that you represent a foundation, a public charity organization as you name yourself, I would have thought that a representative of a state department is speaking. You have enumerated the problems with both medicine and housing that are really present, indeed, the federal budget doesn’t have enough money. However the main problem is the financing irregularity, lack of money in the federal budget. The same problems are being experienced by any state body working on the problems of refugees and forced migrants. I would like to state that a public organization can use the financing it receives more effectively, as well as any other private organization. But how? Using the mechanisms that the state organizations don’t have. You talk of irregular budget financing, we all experience this. Public organization can be regarded as an accumulator of a sort, which, though being fed irregularly itself, lets refugees and forced migrants use the financing regularly in accordance with some program, through some competitive selection system, etc. I’d like to know more about the mechanisms that you use as a public organization, not as a state organization that gets money from the budget irregularly.

Answer. What do you imply by such mechanisms?

Question. Excuse me, if you don’t have such regulation mechanisms then why is a public organization needed?

Answer. We can accumulate nothing, we are only trying to catch up all the time. But what do you imply by some mechanisms? I just don’t know. Let me hear it, perhaps I’ll take pleasure in using it. We have been working since 1991, and our system is being improved all the time; of course, there are many inadequacies. We tried to organize a revolver fund. What is this? I didn’t want to discuss it. The money shouldn’t be just given away, it should be given so that it returns back to us to be reused in a revolver fashion, either by the same grantee for the organization of another facility, or elsewhere. Regretfully, we fail to implement it so far. As it was rightly said here, “There are many criteria.” It is difficult to put them into some order. If someone could help us with advice then we’d be very grateful.

First, it is the creation of new jobs. We want to create as many of them as possible to dissipate the tension of the situation with refugees in some regions. We consider the potential for the realization of the project and the attitude of the local administration to it.

All the criteria boil down to one, the money should be used rationally. And it is a different issue how successful our efforts are.