"I was shocked!," said Czech bishop Václav Malý after his visit to Grozny"I visited Chechnya to show that the Czech Catholic church cares not only for itself but also for events in places of extreme suffering and the ravages of war," Prague bishop Václav Malý said about his journey to the North Caucasus. The visit took place between July 13 and 20 and Mr. Malý was accompanied by Secretary General of Caritas Czech Republic Jaroslav Kopřiva. They saw Caritas-run children centres in Chechen capital Grozny, refugee camps in Ingushetia, and remote villages in North Ossetia hit by recent floods. Catholic bishop Václav Malý said he had no intention to carry out a religious mission to Muslim areas of the Caucasus. “I wanted to meet people and see in what conditions they live,” said Mr. Malý.
“In 1994 I visited the post-war Beirut, Lebanon, but what I saw there by no means can be compared to Grozny. I must say I was shocked! There is an apocalyptic land in Grozny. The city that used to have some four hundred thousand people has been completely destroyed”, Mr. Malý described his feelings.
Officially the war has already ended in the country but the area is still closed for journalists. “Chechnya is one of the sorest places of today’s world but nobody speaks aloud about it,” said the bishop.
“People walk among the ruins of Grozny. I was fairly surprised by nicely dressed women and men wearing clean clothes. Thus people try to keep their dignity. But it’s funny when you know they have no running water in their houses.” Jaroslav Kopřiva added: “Regardless of that dust there, every man is wearing polished black shoes.”
The same applies to children. “I didn’t see dirty children there,” said Mr. Malý adding that one of the things Chechnya as a Muslim country can rely upon is the fact that the Chechens, contrary to the Russians, do not drink alcohol.
„I have the impression that what the Chechen people mostly want is to live in peace. A few of them told us the current situation is worse than the period of the two recent wars,” said Mr. Malý. “When there was a war, people knew that they had to find shelter. But now the danger is unpredictable. It is a psychological terror developed systematically by the Russian military. From time to time, the military make a raid on a certain part of Grozny or a village and soldiers loot flats and detain men starting from the age of fourteen. These men disappear without a trace or return traumatized for life. Terror in this country is maintained by this silence genocide. The Russian military tries to humiliate the Chechen people and force them to their knees.” That is why bishop Malý liked to see Russian women teaching at children centres (kindergartens) organized by Caritas Czech Republic with nobody being hostile to them because of their nationality. “We try to keep the atmosphere of tolerance at our children centres, so that the children are not educated to hate everything related to Russia,” explained Jaroslav Kopřiva.
On behalf of the international organization Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Czech Republic runs three children centres for one hundred and fifty children in Grozny. “In addition, we provide a hundred more children with food,” said Jaroslav Kopřiva. He added that in refugee camps in Ingushetia the staff of Caritas Czech Republic run two kindergartens with a hundred children in each. Besides, they help to establish the Caritas structure in North Ossetia. “In Vladikavkaz we contributed towards the purchase of a new building for the activities of the local Caritas,” said Kopřiva.
In North Ossetia Malý and Kopřiva visited two remote villages in the mountains that were completely destroyed by floods in late June. “People there have lost literally everything. My experiences were just shocking and I will never forget them,” said Mr. Malý adding that Caritas Czech Republic was the first non-governmental organization to provide these people with humanitarian aid. Jaroslav Kopřiva said they brought sanitary packages, bedding and sleeping outfits bought for money raised in a charity collection in the Czech Republic.
“I should praise not only Caritas Czech Republic but also other non-governmental organizations that their staff come to Grozny - if they are allowed to do so by the local authorities - and see how their help works. Humanitarian workers talk with the local people right on the spot, see what they need, how they use the help, what works and what doesn’t,” said Václav Malý.
“Naturally, having spent a few days in Chechnya, I cannot say what is the solution to the situation there. I just want to witness on what I have seen with my own eyes,” concluded Václav Malý.
The text is based on a press release by Caritas Czech Republic for the Czech media. Translated by Prague Watchdog.
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