International > Russian, Armenian, Assyrian, Assyro-Chaldean and Turkish refugees

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(b) Relief is given either in the form of direct grants for the maintenance, clothing and
lodging of refugees, or by keeping them in homes, creches, kindergartens, or in the form of hospital
treatment, medical aid at home and free supplies of medicine. This relief is given at State expense
by the Ministry of Social Welfare and the municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the
Law on Social Welfare.
(c) It is thought that relief measures for refugees resident in Latvia are adequately organised,
and, in the view of the Ministry of Welfare, no changes of any kind are called for. Similarly, it is
unlikely that the assistance of the High Commissioner’s delegate would be required in this matter.
B. Legal Status of the Refugees.
(а) The Latvian Government applies all the provisions of the arrangements concluded under
League auspices regarding refugees, except that referring to the levying of an annual surtax of
5 gold francs on non-indigent refugees. The Latvian Government has on several occasions stated
the reasons why this measure is unacceptable.
(б) The Arrangements referred to are applied by the competent authorities, without the
assistance of the High Commissioner’s delegate.
(c) No.
{d) The competent authorities propose, in future, to provide for the execution of the provisions
of the Arrangements in question in the same way as heretofore.
IX. REPLIES OF THE POLISH GOVERNMENT.
[Translation.']
I. Refugee Settlement.
I.
Geneva, June 28th, 1930.
A. Humanitarian Work.
(a) Are there many unemployed refugees ?
Exact data regarding the number of unemployed Russian refugees are difficult to obtain
(they will be communicated later). According to information at present available, the number
is rather large, owing to the poverty in which most Russian refugees in Poland live. The wealthier
refugees from Russia emigrated to Western Europe, while those who could not afford to go
elsewhere remained in Poland. There is a constant increase in the number of indigent Russian
refugees owing to recent events in the U.S.S.R. Refugees newly arrived in Poland are quite
destitute.
(b) Is it possible to find work for these refugees within the country ?
As unemployment in Poland is again on the increase, it is extremely difficult to find work for
Russian refugees. Unemployment, moreover, is one of the reasons for the emigration of many
Poles.
(c) Is it possible to transport these refugees to other countries in which it would be easier for
them to find work ?
In view of what has been stated above, it is not merely possible, but even essential, to encourage
the transfer of Russian refugees to other countries where there is a shortage of labour. It is not
for the Polish Government to point out where Russian refugees could find employment; this
duty devolves upon the High Commissariat for Refugees. The Polish Government, however,
believes that the High Commissariat should concentrate primarily on European countries, as the
experiment of transporting Russian refugees to transatlantic countries has proved very expensive
and has not given satisfactory results.
(d) To what extent in future will your Government require the co-operation of the High Com¬
missioner’s delegate in carrying out the tasks indicated under (b) and (c) ?.
The co-operation of the High Commissioner’s delegate in finding employment might be
invaluable. The delegate, however, if he is to accomplish this task more effectively, should be
given wider powers, have more detailed information on the state of labour markets and receive
a larger number of labour contracts than hitherto from Geneva. The Polish Government is
prepared to co-operate very closely with the Lligh Commissioner’s delegate in placing Russian
refugees, but would like the High Commissariat to realise that, as things are, the only way of
alleviating the lot of Russian refugees in Poland is to place them and thus radically to reduce their
number.