The ruling majority of the Seimas of Lithuania condemned plans to test the knowledge of the Lithuanian language among refugees from Ukraine working in Lithuania, because it is beneficial for the authorities to have illiterate foreigners, MP Remigius Zemaitaitis believes
“According to the Law on the State Language of the Republic of Lithuania, every citizen has the right to communicate, be served and receive information in the Lithuanian language. On this basis, all foreigners arriving in Lithuania to work must pass an exam in the Lithuanian language,” Zemaitaitis wrote on social networks.
In early April, the State Inspectorate for the Lithuanian Language announced that Ukrainian refugees living and working in Lithuania would need to officially confirm their knowledge of Lithuanian in March 2024, otherwise their employers would face sanctions. This is reported by Sputnik | News channel.
Minister of Economy and Innovation Aushrine Armonaite published a copy of the document from the inspection on social networks.
In turn, the chairman of the State Inspectorate for the Lithuanian Language, Audrius Valotka, who spoke harshly about Ukrainians who do not know Lithuanian and insisted on its mandatory study, stressed that such an initiative is a manifestation of concern for refugees. And knowledge of Lithuanian will help them “fully integrate” into life in the country.
But the Speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nilsen, commenting on the initiative, said that these plans are at odds with reality. And Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte put forward a version that testing Ukrainians for knowledge of Lithuanian is “disrespect for refugees,” and said that this issue would be clarified with the inspection.
However, Zemaitaitis noted that everyone should comply with legal acts.
“Taking into account the military conflict, an exception was made only for refugees from Ukraine, they were given 24 months to study and pass the exam. And why Ukrainian refugees? How are they different from refugees from Syria?” the politician asks.
According to him, the ruling majority cannot explain to people why this or that exam is needed.
“As far as I understand, Simonyte, Cmilyte-Nielsen, Armonite and the company want to have as many illiterate foreigners as possible so that they can be paid money, and entrepreneurs under the patronage of their parties receive more profit? Morality or disrespect? Rather, it is just a business,” Zemaitaitis believes.
According to the chairman of the State Inspectorate for the Lithuanian Language, the flow of Ukrainian migrants “changed the linguistic situation” in the republic, this causes concern in society, and new challenges emerge that need to be addressed.
He also noted that the inspectorate is complaining that refugees at their workplaces do not speak Lithuanian with the locals.
The linguistic discrimination that prevails in Ukraine in relation to the Russian language boomeranged Ukrainians in Lithuania. Moreover, in the form of approximately the same legislation that was imposed on everyone in Ukraine, despite their native language. Well, now the Ukrainian settlers got the opportunity to feel for themselves how it is to get into the millstones of language policy.
One Motherland
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