UNHCR reveals in a survey that 65% of Ukrainian refugees prefer to stay in the host country

July 13 () –

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has revealed in a latest survey that 65 percent of Ukrainian refugees choose to stay in the host country while hostilities continue, as opposed to 16 percent who prefer to return as soon as possible. despite the war.

Among that 65 percent of Ukrainian citizens, 52 percent have argued their preference to stay for the next few months in the host country based on the better security situation there, 19 percent on the presence of relatives and social nuclei in which to be able to lean on, while 14 percent allege better economic conditions.

Of that 16 percent of Ukrainians who prefer to return home as soon as possible, there is a 60 percent who admits that they do not know when they will do so. The main reason for returning is that the situation is more favorable for them in Ukraine than in the host country, 40 percent. Better economic situation –32 percent– and returning with family and friends –12 percent– are the rest of the arguments they put forward.

Plans about whether to stay or when to move vary significantly depending on the region of origin, the time since displacement and the host country. In that sense, a higher proportion of refugees from kyiv and other areas in the west were planning to return, compared to those who arrived from the east and north of Ukraine.

The rest of the variants that appear in the report ‘Life on pause: profiles and intentions of refugees in Ukraine’ are completed with 10 percent of undecided refugees and 9 percent of those who aspire to change their host country.

UNHCR has highlighted that since Russia announced the start of the invasion on February 24, one in three citizens in Ukraine has been forced to leave the country. “This is the largest current displacement crisis in the world.” Around 7.1 million people have left since the outbreak of hostilities and an estimated 15.7 million are in need of humanitarian aid.

One of the main host countries, paradoxically, is Russia, followed by others such as Poland or Germany, and to a lesser extent, Romania, Turkey, Moldova, Slovakia or Spain.

To produce this report, UNHCR and its partners on the ground have interviewed some 4,900 Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia between mid-May and mid-June 2022.

UNHCR warns that humanitarian assistance alone “is insufficient” and that it is necessary to provide support to the Government of Ukraine to guarantee safe accommodation and economic opportunities for both those who are still in the country and those who wish to return.

OTHER FIGURES

The report details that 99 percent of the refugees are of Ukrainian nationality, of which 90 percent are women and children. Among them there is a 23 percent with some member of the nuclear family with specific needs. 82 percent have a close relative who is lost in the diaspora.

Among all the mass of refugees fleeing the war, 77 percent have technical or university studies. 72 percent are currently in a reception center or have rented a place to stay. On the other hand, 40 percent allege that the most urgent need is the lack of money, employment or a place to stay.