Speaking about the situation in the North Caucasus Federal District, the authorities admit that the problems of employment, living issues and legal ignorance have become systemic in the post-conflict regions of the North Caucasus. The non-governmental sector deals with these problems too. The office of the organization Danish Refugee Council in Russia helps those who have suffered from military operations in Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Chechnya. However, the activity of non-governmental organizations as donors of Western states causes mistrust on the part of Russian law-enforcement bodies. The head of the program department of the Danish Refugee Council in Grozny, Adam Sadulayev, answers VK’s questions.
- What is the Danish Refugee Council? What are the sources of its financing?
- The Danish Refugee Council is a non-commercial, non-governmental organization. Its head office is situated in Copenhagen. Sources of financing are international donors, to whom we address projects. The major donors are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the European Commission on Humanitarian Affairs and various funds of Scandinavian countries. They announce grants and we propose them projects. If we win a tender procedure, we get financing.
- What is the system of accounting to donors?
- Each donor has its own requirements. Some demand monthly reports, others – once every 6 months. Each project is limited by unique criteria and indexes. We account to donors for the number of built houses, for example. Donors come and check the situation on-site. We should report on the spending of every cent we were given.
- There was a time many people in Russia said that Western humanitarian organizations are working for Western intelligence services. What do you think about this?
- Our recipients could answer this question. The Danish Refugee Council is the largest non-commercial international organization that has worked in the North Caucasus. We had about 200 thousand recipients in Ingushetia when we allocated food products. In Chechnya more than 200 thousand people received product support too. It was real help. They supported the development of small businesses, construction, and so on. Of course rumors circulate, but our recipients, local administrations and state bodies, which we cooperate with, have their own view. Donors have no time to spy, they really work here. The accusations are groundless.
- Several years ago there was information that the Danish Refugee Council stopped working in Chechnya, after scandalous cartoons depicting Muhammad appeared in Danish newspapers. Is this true? What is your opinion of the situation?
- We remember the situation. The Danish Council expressed its position firmly. We had nothing in common with these cartoons. The local office and the management of the organization reacted negatively to the cartoon. Due to the international and Russian campaign connected with these events, we had to freeze our activity for some time. It was temporary, for a few weeks only. It didn’t influence our operations.
- Last year the management of the Danish Refugee Council fired two employees from Abkhazia and the head of the regional office in the South Caucasus because of stealing allocated financial resources. What do you know about it? Does the management trust local staff?
- As for the story, I didn’t know about it and it doesn’t concern us. We are working in Russia and have nothing in common with the South Caucasus. As for the second question, they trust us, our department heads are local employees. At the moment we have only two foreigners, the entire staff comprises about 30 people. Foreigners give us more freedom and we can provide our own initiatives. The management atmosphere is very democratic.
- How has the situation in the North Caucasus changed in recent years?
- A lot of global changes are made due to the head, the government, and the federal center. We can see the progress through our projects. Initially we received food, construction and project support. Now financing from donors has reduced. This is due to the improvement in the situation. In the early 2000s our help was demanded. At the moment only 3-4 organizations are working in the region. We coordinate our activity with the authorities of republics and cities, as they know people’s demands better.
