2023-12-24 05:06:34
A Caritas team from Austria visited many of their aid projects in Ukraine in the run-up to Christmas. “Especially now in winter, the need of people, especially the elderly and children, is particularly great,” said Caritas director Klaus Schwertner, according to the broadcast, following a seven-day visit to the country marked by the Russian war of aggression. “The consequences of this war are brutal, that The suffering of the population is enormous.”
The country was still a long way from a “Christmas miracle” in the second winter of the war, Schwertner said following the trip that took him and his team to Kiev, Zhytomyr, Irpin and Butscha. “Ukraine is attacked by drones and missiles every day,” it concluded. “We shouldn’t kid ourselves: Even though Ukraine has largely disappeared from the headlines recently, the war here continues to rage with undiminished brutality.”
“Since February 2022, the authorities have counted more than 35,000 air alerts,” listed the Caritas director. “In the best case scenario, each individual means only psychological terror, but in the worst case scenario, an alarm is followed by death, suffering, destruction and sadness. The psychological consequences are devastating, especially for children.” In the past few days there have been the strongest drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital in many months.
According to the report, the Caritas team was forced to go to shelters several times during their trip. “It is clear: with every day that this war of aggression continues, with every additional rocket and with every additional drone, the suffering and desperation of the people increases. There is no escape for the people on the ground.” The Ukrainian border is the same distance from Vienna as Bregenz, and Kiev is as close as Paris. “We must not abandon our neighbors!”
Schwertner: “We said from the start: We’re not running a sprint, but a marathon of help. Maybe it will be the longest marathon that Austria and Europe have had to run since the Second World War. But we see: our help works and it makes a difference “It makes a big difference for many men, women and, above all, for the five million children – especially now at Christmas.” According to Caritas, more than 17.6 million people are already dependent on humanitarian aid within the country. “More than five million Ukrainians have become displaced persons in their own country. More than six million people have fled their homes.”
On their trip, the Caritas team visited numerous projects for children, winter emergency aid or “heating points”, but also facilities that provide inpatient care or mobile home care for old people and people in need of care and people with disabilities. “Together with Caritas Ukraine, we distributed firewood in remote villages during snowfall and sub-zero temperatures, provided people with food, warm meals and sleeping bags and we visited child protection centers where something like childhood during war is supposed to be possible,” Schwertner reported. “And if there is such a thing as good news at this time, it is: We can help and our help reaches a lot of people – specifically more than four million since the war of aggression began on February 24, 2022, mostly women and children across the country. It is no exaggeration to say that this help ensures the survival of many people.”
Last but not least, the willingness to help of people in Austria has made it possible to deliver 500 tons of aid since the start of the war of aggression, the aid organization said, and a quarter of a million people in Ukraine have also received support in the form of food packages, hygiene products and drinking water.
The Caritas director appealed to those responsible in the Austrian federal government not to let up on humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the coming year and to provide appropriate funds, for example from the foreign disaster fund: “The aid must continue – because the need increases as the war continues.” In view of the tense situation, Caritas continued to ask for donations for the local people: “We are asking for this help at a time that is also challenging for the people in Austria. But the experience of the past few months makes me confident that many Austrians and Austrians want to work with us to make a little Christmas miracle possible for our neighbors in Ukraine.”
With a monthly, freely selectable donation, long-term care for children in Caritas protection centers is made possible, says Schwertner. “The donation order is limited to one year and ends automatically at the end of 2024.”
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