ロシア人妊婦、アルゼンチンに「出産旅行」 子どもの国籍取得目当て

【ブエノスアイレスＡＦＰ＝時事】アルゼンチンの首都ブエノスアイレスの空港で先週、ロシア人の妊婦６人が入管で拘束された。この出来事で、ここ１年ほどブームになっているロシア人の出産旅行が浮き彫りになった。（写真はブエノスアイレス。資料写真）
　ロシアによるウクライナ侵攻が続く中、子どもの徴兵を回避し、国籍を取得するため、アルゼンチンに来るロシア人が増えている。
　ブエノスアイレスのカフェや公園やバス、特に民間クリニックで、新生児連れのロシア人女性やカップルを目にすることが多くなった。
　空港で拘束された６人は全員妊娠後期で、別々の個人旅行で来た。観光ビザ（査証）を持っていたが、帰りの便は予約しておらず、観光予定地の詳細を説明できなかった。
　当局は犯罪組織の関与を疑ったが、女性はアルゼンチンで出産したかっただけだった。同国の医療水準の高さと、国籍取得のたやすさなどがロシア人の間で人気の理由だ。

■「息子には生き抜いてほしい」

　出産旅行に来るロシア人の多くは、現在ウクライナで戦闘が行われているように、いつの日か子どもが徴兵され、戦争に送り込まれるのではないかと不安に思っている。
　アルゼンチンで２０年間通訳者として働くエレーナ・シュキテンコワさんは、ロシア人妊婦たちの公的手続きを支援している。
　「生まれるのが男の子だと分かったのでアルゼンチンに来ると決めた人もいる」とＡＦＰに話した。
　アルゼンチンで生まれた子どもには自動的に同国の国籍が付与される。つまり、ロシア人の男の子がアルゼンチンで生まれた場合、成人後にロシアでの徴兵を回避することができる。
　親は「息子には生き抜いてほしい。平和に暮らしてほしい。私もより良い未来が欲しい」と話すという。
　アルゼンチンで生まれた子どもの親には居住権が与えられ、市民権も取得しやすい。
　フィノチェット療養所では、ロシア人家族や妊婦が目立つ。担当者によると、約１年前からロシア人妊婦の数が徐々に増えてきた。昨年１２月に生まれた子ども２００人のうち、約４分の１がロシア人が親だったという。
　こうしたロシア人のほとんどはスペイン語を話せず、アルゼンチンに来るのも初めてだ。過去３か月で５８００人以上のロシア人が、アムステルダムやイスタンブール経由で入国している。
　匿名を条件にＡＦＰの取材に応えた、ロシア人妊婦を支援する事業を立ち上げた男性は、ロシア人が子どもに二重国籍を取らせようとする動きは前からあったと語った。ただ、これまでは米国が一番人気だった。
　この男性によると、アルゼンチン行きの出産旅行パッケージは最高で１万５０００ドル（約２００万円）掛かる。
　「経済的に余裕があって、ロシア以外で子どもを産めるなら、みんなそうする。アルゼンチン国籍は簡単に取得できるし、赤いロシアのパスポート（旅券）を持っているより、ずっとましに扱われる」
　アルゼンチン警察によると、中には３万５０００ドル（約４７０万円）を要求する業者もいる。
　アルゼンチン国民はビザなしで１７５か国に入国できる。これはロシアのパスポートでビザなし入国できる国の数を５０ほど上回っている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/02/20-12:58）

When migration officials detained six pregnant Russian women at a Buenos Aires airport last week, they exposed a phenomenon that has been growing in the country for a year: Russian birthing tourism.
As Russia's President Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine, Argentina has gradually become the destination of choice for Russian expectant parents fleeing the threat of conscription and seeking new passports in the South American country.
Pregnant Russian women and couples with a newborn baby have become increasingly visible in Buenos Aires over the last year, whether in cafes, parks, or buses, but especially in private clinics.
The case of the six detained women sent alarm bells ringing at the Directorate of Migrations, worried that something underhand was afoot.
The six heavily-pregnant women -- who traveled separately and were detained for only a few hours over two days -- had tourist visas but no return tickets and were unable to give any details about what they planned to visit.
Authorities were worried criminal gangs were involved but in truth, the Russians just wanted to give birth in the country.
Argentina's quality medical facilities and the ease with which nationality is obtained are part of the draw.
- 'I want my son to live' -
But many are driven by fear that one day their children could be conscripted into the army and sent to wage a bloody war, like Putin is doing in Ukraine with the current generation.
Some 90 percent of the women who come are looking for a better future, interpreter Elena Shkitenkova, who has lived in Argentina for 20 years and helps expectant mothers in their administrative processes, told AFP.
There have been cases of women that when they have discovered they are expecting a boy, they decided to come to Argentina.
The South American country bestows nationality on anyone born in Argentina, meaning those Russian boys born here would be able to avoid any eventual conscription when they become men.
They tell me: 'I want my son to live, I want peace for my son, I want a better future', added Shkitenkova.
The parents too are desperate to escape the war.
The war in Ukraine influenced our decision to come to Argentina, although that was not the only reason, Elena, 32, a mother of three girls who did not give her surname, told AFP.
It is certain that if we had stayed in Russia, my husband probably would have been conscripted, she added.
The parents of Argentine babies are afforded residency rights and an accelerated process to apply for citizenship.
Elena's youngest daughter, Severina, was born in Buenos Aires in May.
We want to stay here and assimilate. Our residency application is in progress, she said.
At the Sanatorio Finochietto clinic, there is a noticeable presence of Russian families and pregnant women.
Guillermo Capuya, who is in charge of the clinic's institutional relations, says the arrival of pregnant Russians began very slowly about a year ago, around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
We did not imagine it would become a phenomenon, but in the last quarter it started to increase exponentially to the point that in December a quarter of the 200 births in the clinic were to Russian mothers.
- 'It's an avalanche' -
Most of the Russians do not speak Spanish and almost none have ever visited Argentina before.
But what is happening now is an avalanche, said Florencia Carignano, the migration agency director.
They mostly arrive on flights from Amsterdam, Istanbul and Addis Ababa.
Carignano says there are 14 or 15 pregnant Russians on each of those flights.
More than 5,800 have arrived in the last three months.
There is nothing new about Russians seeking dual nationality for their children, a man who created an agency to help expectant parents in Argentina told AFP under condition of anonymity.
Before, the preferred destination was the United States.
The package deal for giving birth in Argentina can cost up to $15,000, he said.
If you have a bit of money and are able to have your child born outside Russia, you will do it. It's easy to acquire Argentine citizenship and you get treated a lot better than with the red Russian passport, he said.
According to the federal police, some networks charge up to $35,000 for birthing tourism.
Authorities are worried mafia organizations could be trying to get access to Argentine passports.
Police conducted a raid in Buenos Aires last week, seizing telephones, documents and several currencies, although no arrests were made.
The Argentine passport allows you to travel to 175 countries without a visa, around 50 more than with a Russian passport.