National Guard veteran, Hero of Ukraine Finashyn: I can't say that any country won in terms of veteran affairs
There is no country in the world has been able to implement a veteran policy in a way that would prevent negative consequences, since it is impossible to meet all needs taking into account the specifics of veterans, National Guard veteran, Hero of Ukraine, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Dmytro Finashyn believes.
"I cannot say that any country has won in terms of veteran affairs. The United States, which could, and did, 'pour' money into all this – they really gave all the opportunities – lost the veteran policy," Finashyn said in the second part of a video interview with Interfax-Ukraine, expressing his own opinion as a veteran.
According to Finashyn, it is impossible to satisfy absolutely all the needs of people in this category and take everything into account. "The specifics of individuals returning from war are different... You go through an extremely difficult experience and you are not always ready to simply return to your previous life. You are not always ready to open up to this world, and you do not always perceive it as it is," he said.
Finashyn added: "Veterans came back and saw, perhaps indifferent views toward the war, toward the things that happened. Is this easy to accept? No, it still hurts... It triggers you, because you were ready to give your life for these values, for these ideas, and people do not share them at all."
According to the National Guard veteran, Ukraine will face cases "where individuals with mental disorders will commit crimes." "What we can do, we are already doing: we try to provide employment, provide assistance. Will that meet everyone's needs? No. We will face huge problems," Finashyn said.
He said the government and society must make efforts to improve the lives of veterans, "or at least not make them worse."
"Everyone needs to be more tolerant toward one another. In general, in everyday life. Especially towards veterans. As these people have gone through a terrible experience. Society must learn how to treat veterans: not to scare, not to shout unexpectedly, because a person may react completely differently. In war, you are constantly defending yourself, you must constantly be on guard," he said.
In the meantime, as Finashyn noted, veterans themselves should make efforts to adapt to civilian life.
