In defiance of the Geneva Convention on the Rights of the Child—and even the Russian Constitution—the Russian Duma has passed a law barring children of migrant workers who “do not speak enough Russian” from attending school, reports Inna Hartwich in the *taz* from Moscow.
“It is generally not easy to enroll children from other countries in Russian state schools,” Hartwich writes. “‘No space’ is often the excuse given by school principals. Sometimes required documents are missing—papers that migrant families simply do not have—or their residency status is unclear or does not meet the criteria Russian authorities define as ‘long-term residence.’ For years, Russia has ignored the children of migrant families, acting as if the men and women from Central Asia—who do not need visas to enter Russia—are only there to work on construction sites, clean buildings, drive taxis, or wait tables before leaving again. Many in the country refuse to acknowledge that these people have lived in Russia for years. They label them ‘black asses’ or ‘locusts,’ and forbid their children from playing with ‘this scum.’
The Ministry of Education estimates that around 209,000 migrant children attend Russian schools. How many fail to enroll remains unknown.”
