Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, we have been dedicated not only to direct aid to refugees, but together with researchers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Charles University, we have been investigating what life is like for war refugees in the Czech Republic. We presented the second run of the research at a public presentation on June 17 at the Old Town Hall in Prague. The event was held under the auspices of the Deputy Mayor of Prague, ing. Alexandra Udženija.
The event, held in the Hall of Architects, was attended by many individuals from the nonprofit sector, and representatives from state and local governments. Specifically, they were representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Refugee Facilities Administration, the Czech Statistical Office, District Government Offices of Prague 3, 4, and 13, and the Prague City Hall. There were also the representatives of UNICEF, IOM, WHO, Romodrom, Diakonie ČCE, ADRA, Charita, and Eduzměna. Last but not least, the representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy were also present. The opening remarks were given by the director of Slovo 21, Jelena Siladžić, and Barbara Colzi from UNHCR.
To recap, what exactly is this research about?
It was conducted by Josef Novotný, Anna Levková, and Dušan Drbohlav from the Department of Social Geography and Regional Development of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Charles University in collaboration with Slovo 21, which was responsible for organizing and collecting data. The research was carried out in two phases. In 2022, data were successfully collected from 1,037 Ukrainian refugees, with the first wave of research funded by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic. In 2023, another round of data collection took place, this time with support from UNHCR, where 129 respondents from the original sample were re-interviewed to see how their lives had changed a year after arriving in the Czech Republic. Additionally, responses were obtained from 221 other refugees, and the research was supplemented with a qualitative component.
What interesting findings resonated in the hall during the presentation?
The first was the integration of war refugees into Czech society, specifically into the labor market. We all likely assume that mastering the Czech language is essential for successful integration. However, the research surprisingly revealed is that high language proficiency alone is unfortunately not enough to find suitable employment. For this, according to the conclusions, it is necessary to "reduce other significant barriers (e.g. salary and other inequalities, recognition of qualifications or lack of contextually relevant experience)" (Novotný, Levková, Drbohlav 2024).
Another topic discussed was the evolution of attitudes towards returning to Ukraine. Thanks to the two-round survey in 2022 and 2023, we can observe how refugees' preferences for returning home have changed. In this respect, the data show that while 75% of respondents in the first round of the survey in 2022 planned to return, in the second round a year later this figure was only 50%.
We hope that the presented findings will provide useful insights, and at the same time, we are actively working on the possibilities of continuing further data collection.
The official press release for the research presentation can be read here.
The complete research report "War refugees from Ukraine in the Czech Republic (2022-2023): situation and subjective attitudes" can be read here.
