Feedback The Barents Observer in the article ‘Children of War. Norwegian benefactors fund foundations supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’ tells us, that the organisation of evangelist Steinar Harila from Kristiansand spends millions of kroner on charitable projects in Russia. One of the foundations he funds helped a family that took two Ukrainian girls to Russia, while another transfers money for military needs and sews socks for them:
Steinar Harila has been engaged in charitable activities in Russia for many years. Among them is an entire village for large families in the settlement of Taytsy, Leningrad Region. It is called Vårsol – “Spring Sun” if translated from Norwegian. It consists of several multi-family cottages, as well as a Meeting House with a conference hall. It is there that Sonya and Zhenya, who were taken from Russian-occupied Donetsk in 2022, have been living for three years.
The conversation with the Ukrainian girls was published by Steinar Harila on his Facebook page at the end of May. He came to the Leningrad Region with like-minded people from Norway to meet with the wards of his charitable organisation. At the same time, he decided to expose the “lie” that Ukrainian children are being held in Russia against their will; at least, this is how he explained the purpose of recording and publishing the video.
The Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of persons from occupied territory to the territory of the aggressor country. This same rule is stipulated in Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the ICC. An exception is an urgent evacuation, but even in this case, subsequent return must be guaranteed. Changing the civil status of children is also illegal. The leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague precisely for the abduction of Ukrainian children.
Stefania Kulaeva, an expert from the Anti-Discrimination Centre “Memorial”, believes that this case does not quite fit the “abduction of children”.
“I would classify this case as “children taken from Ukraine to Russia by close people”.
The godparents are now guardians and legal representatives; they actually saved the children from the Donetsk orphanage, from where they would also most likely have been taken to Russia, where they would probably have been given to completely strangers (or kept in an institution – which is even more frightening).
I see two tragedies and problems here.
First: the Russian Federation is to blame for the orphanhood of these children, they are war orphans. This is especially evident in the case of the mother’s death in 2022, although those who died in the first stage of the war – Donetsk victims since 2014 – all died because of Russia, which started all this back then,”
Kulaeva says.
“The second problem is the removal to Russia, even by close people (the very fact of children being taken into custody by a family that has known them all their lives, loves them – this cannot but be accepted as a good option). We at ADC “Memorial” are dealing with this very topic. If “abducted”, that is, taken against the will of parents or legal guardians, there were thousands of children, then hundreds of thousands ended up in the Russian Federation by the will of responsible adults, sometimes parents, sometimes other people – grandmothers, aunts, guardians.”
These children are also victims of indoctrination, propaganda, militarisation,”
Kulaeva explains.
“Their Ukrainian origin is denied (in the worst cases they are also discriminated against). I consider it a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to educate these children only in Russian, to impose on them a false identity, hatred of Ukraine, militarisation of their young minds.”
One might assume that in a fund financed by Norwegian philanthropists, war propaganda to Ukrainian children would not be a threat. Especially since it is constantly emphasised in social media and various publications that the activities of Steinar Harila and his funds remain “apolitical”.
However, reality somewhat differs from the programmatic statements. The “apolitical” fund organises propaganda events. In May 2024, residents of the village were invited to a concert in honour of Victory Day. The event took place in the Vårsol concert hall and, as the announcement stated, was held “for the purpose of patriotic education of the youth”.
The concert began with children in military uniforms taking the stage, waving Russian flags and performing the anthem of the “Yunarmiya” – the militaristic youth organisation under the control of the Russian state. <…> The director of the foundation, Valeria Alexandrova, judging by her social media, is a supporter of the Russian invasion.
Read the full article at the The Barents Observer