In February 2022, Ukrainian orphans from Dnipro were taken to Turkey by representatives of the charity foundation “Childhood Without War.”
The foundation rented nine airplanes to transport the children from Romania.
In March 2022, the children and their caregivers settled in the Larisa hotel in Antalya.
The food given to the children differed from what the staff received: while the children ate bulgur with gizzards, the staff were served potatoes with meat.
Seven children reported periodic relocations to new hotels, with living conditions worsening each time.
The organizers stated that around ten million dollars had been spent on the project.
The children were repeatedly involved in fundraising for the project.
The “Childhood Without War” foundation’s page contains numerous appeals to donate to the evacuated children.
The orphans spoke about being forced to constantly film themselves on camera.
The children were made to perform in front of adults - sing and dance - and if they refused, they were punished by having their phones and food taken away.
The Office of the Human Rights Commissioner traveled to Turkey to inspect the living conditions of the orphans.
The report documented violations of children’s rights, as well as psychological and sexual abuse.
Two pregnancies among underage girls and instances of coercion to participate in filming for the project were identified.
A 15-year-old and a 17-year-old girl returned from Turkey pregnant by adult Turkish men who worked at the hotel.
The caregivers were aware of attempts by adult Turks to “contact” underage Ukrainian girls but did not prevent it.
After the pregnancies were discovered, the girls were sent back to Ukraine to study at a vocational school.
For this disastrous project, its organizer, Ruslan Shostak, received a state award - the Order of Merit, 3rd Class, a decree for which was signed by Volodymyr Zelensky.
Documents and first-person accounts show how a hastily organized evacuation by a private charity left hundreds of Ukrainian children in a Turkish seaside town with little oversight.
www.occrp.org