Conversations about corruption, mutual cover-ups, and the selective application of laws in our society have long ceased to evoke any emotions in most citizens. And since these phenomena have encompassed all spheres of activity in the state, any article about some scandal connected to the above-mentioned problems is mostly perceived as settling scores. However, one must write. One must write at least so that people receive maximum information and have the opportunity to independently sort things out and get to the truth. The conflict between the Regional State Administration's Department for Family and Youth Affairs and the Volyn Regional Committee of Youth Organizations (VOKMO) is gaining increasingly wider publicity. And not only in the region. I will try to be as impartial as possible and present all the information known to me neutrally, giving the floor to both sides. On behalf of VOKMO, signed by its chairman Oleksandr Hil, at the end of January, letters were sent to all government authorities of the state demanding the dismissal of Yuriy Verbych — the head of the Regional State Administration's Department for Family and Youth Affairs, and Iryna Dryhanyuk — the head of the youth division of the same department, in connection with the "opaque distribution and irrational use of state funds," "boorish attitude toward representatives of youth public organizations," "refusal without valid reasons to consider 14 important social projects submitted by VOKMO." Now let us turn to the parties' arguments at present. Y. Verbych: "All 14 VOKMO projects were rejected by the competition commission according to various criteria, and O. Hil is guided only by emotions and personal offense." O. Hil: "On the second day after the competition commission meeting, I. Dryhanyuk reported that we had allegedly not submitted the protocol and therefore our projects were not even considered by the competition commission. (By the way, this information was confirmed by several commission members in private conversations — S.R.) Then Yuriy Verbych named the same reason, and we never received a response to our official appeal, although more than 30 days have passed since its submission. Now the department is citing other reasons." On February 19 at 15:00 in the assembly hall of the financial administration of the Volyn Regional State Administration, a meeting with leaders of women's, children's, and youth organizations began on "Prospects for cooperation in the implementation of state policy regarding children, women, and youth in 2004." At the meeting, after the television crews had left the hall, the issue of the conflict was also raised. By the way, in a private conversation, Deputy Head of the Regional State Administration S. Rodych stated: "O. Hil is wrong at least because he sent letters to Kyiv instead of resolving the problem on the spot with the regional leadership." O. Hil: "The course of events shows that we acted correctly. Otherwise, the matter would simply have been hushed up and no one would have seriously checked the department's activities." Now I will present brief excerpts from the speeches and the sums that some critics of the VOKMO chairman will receive from the department for project implementation. Andriy Melnyk — chairman of the Volyn Regional Organization of Youth of the Regions, secretary of the competition commission (will receive UAH 3,000 for two projects): "And all this is being brought to such a wide public as the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, even international donor funds know about it... I want to say unequivocally that what we are being accused of is a lie!" Oleksandr Hil (namesake of the VOKMO chairman) — adviser to the chairman of the Volyn Regional Council on interaction with public organizations, political parties, movements, and people's deputies of Ukraine: "I was simply shocked when I learned that such letters were sent... to all possible authorities... By doing this, he (VOKMO chairman O. Hil — S.R.) put a stain on the region's image, inspectors are now coming to us..." Stepan Sydoruk — chairman of the regional pioneer organization (will receive UAH 5,800 for three projects): "Literally before this meeting, we, the leaders of several youth organizations that are part of VOKMO, discussed this issue. The heads of seven VOKMO organizations (the committee includes 21 organizations in total — S.R.) agreed to sign a response appeal..." Stepan Rodych — deputy head of the Volyn Regional State Administration: "...And there is essentially nothing to divide — some 38 thousand hryvnias! And should such a fuss be raised over this that it reaches all the way to the President? So that there's a scandal across all of Ukraine? I'll put it this way: if you have a half-liter bottle, you can't pour 750 grams into it..." Yuriy Verbych: "There will be inspectors, but we are ready to receive them... I would like to emphasize once again that the decision regarding VOKMO was not made by me alone. The commission refused because their projects were not submitted on time." And in conclusion: I believe certain conclusions can already be drawn from this story: 1) The people who wrote 14 out of 79 projects submitted by youth organizations could hardly have failed to know or confused the deadlines for their submission or the documents necessary for project consideration; 2) Judging by the tone and conclusions of the speakers at the meeting, they were more concerned about the region's image than about getting to the true reasons for the rejection of VOKMO's 14 projects; 3) The department seeks not so much to prove its correctness as to smear the VOKMO chairman; 4) The fact that the response appeal was signed by the leaders of only seven "youth organizations" (some of which received significant funds for the implementation of their projects) does not indicate a general condemnation of the VOKMO chairman. I will say more — again in private conversations, even some of the signatories support O. Hil; 5) However, the most regrettable thing in this situation is that even representatives of youth public organizations, who should involve other citizens in the cause of developing democratic values in our state, remain passive. And most of them do not openly express their opinion regarding this conflict, let alone defend it. P.S. In the near future, an inspection from the capital will arrive at the Regional State Administration's Department for Family and Youth Affairs. Will it find clear traces of bias and corruption? I think hardly. So rumors will continue to spread in the youth environment about the so-called "kickback" by youth organizations that received the largest funds for the implementation of their projects to the head of the Regional State Administration's Department for Family and Youth Affairs. Currently, the size of this "kickback" is allegedly 10% of the funding amount. And Y. Verbych's friend Stepan Sydoruk will possibly again be driving his own car and collecting signatures for the removal of one or another youth leader who tries to conflict with the head of the Department for Family and Youth Affairs. And this makes one sad.