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Sanitarium managers received a letter from Swedbank in the morning informing them that the institution could use the bank accounts again.
They have been frozen since December 17 last year, when the European Union adopted a decision imposing additional restrictions on Belarus. Following this decision, Swedbank also applied direct sanctions to the Belorus sanatorium operating in Lithuania.
During that time, the bank only allowed employees to pay salaries a few times. Concerned about jobs, doctors and nurses repeatedly turned to politicians, but only received an offer to look for work elsewhere.
Ready in a few days
On Thursday, most returned to their usual workplace and began preparing for the new season. The first step was dusting, promising to turn on and start heating the water in the near future.
If there are no problems after restoring the water supply, the sanatorium should start working in a few days.
“After that time, it is necessary to tidy up the environment and slightly update the interior,” Ilya Epifanov, the head of the “Belorus” sanatorium, told the lrytas.lt portal.
He hoped to open the door to tourists later this week.
Foreigners are also waiting
Although the sanatorium learned of the possibility of working only on Thursday, the first reservations are already expected. “Even when we couldn’t work, a lot of people called and asked when we would start working. We have received calls from Israel, Poland, Germany,” said I. Epifanov.
This sanatorium employs 390 people, most of them Lithuanian citizens. Until the sanatorium could not function due to the sanctions imposed, 15 people had to leave work. I. Epifanov stated that he could not offer a job to all employees at once: “First, only a part of the employees will return to work when the clients appear, another part, then even more.
According to the head of the sanatorium, much will depend on the travel restrictions due to coronavirus. If there are no restrictions, it will again welcome children and the disabled from Belarus. There have been no Belarusian children in Druskininkai since mid-March last year.
Following the announcement of the first quarantine, on March 19, 2020, a column of buses accompanied by the police lined up near the sanatorium and carried dozens of disabled children back to Belarus.
Sanitarium manager change Hundreds of Druskininkai residents working in the Belarusian sanatorium were already losing hope of going back to work, and those living in sanatorium apartments were in danger of becoming homeless. The people of Drsukininkai collected signatures and, in early May, organized a car picket that shook Vilnius. The hope of returning to work came to them a few weeks ago when Belarusian media reported that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had signed a decree dismissing Viktor Sheyman, who headed the presidential affairs board. It is officially announced that he has retired.
By the end of 2020, the EU had imposed sanctions on the General Economic Board (GHU), which reports directly to the Belarusian Presidential Affairs Board.
Šeiman himself was included on the EU sanctions lists more than a decade ago.
After V. Šeimanas resigned, A. Lukashenko signed a decision a few days after the “Belorus” sanatorium in Druskininkai would be transferred to the Republican Sanatorium and Spa Treatment Center.
When the situation changed, Swedbank made the decision to allow the use of sanitarium accounts.
The money stays in Lithuania
Several hundred seriously ill children from Belarus regularly attended the “Belarus” sanatorium. Belarus pays between 6 and 7 million euros a year for the treatment of children.
According to the employees, many of these children come from orphanages and families with difficulties to live. For most of them, the trip to Druskininkai was their first trip abroad.
The children spent the money brought in Druskininkai: in the water park, museums, shops.
Residents found it more difficult to return with toys and clothing donated by sanitarium staff.
The sanatorium pays taxes to Lithuania
The “Belorus” sanatorium in the center of Druskininkai was built in 1978. Although the sanatorium is officially owned by Belarus, it has been registered in Lithuania since 1997 as a public institution, operates according to Lithuanian law and pays taxes on the Lithuanian budget.
The treatment base of the sanatorium is considered one of the best in the complex, which is why disabled children from Russia, Israel and other countries come to it every year for treatment. They use the services of the sanatorium on their own account.
In addition to disabled children, the sanatorium also accommodates tourists with 74 hotel rooms. All funds for recreation, health and beauty services provided to them remain in the sanitarium itself.
