Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UNHCR’s German spokesman, Melzer, set off from Berlin for the first time to the border between Ukraine and Poland to investigate the situation of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war and their actual needs. Melzer visited every checkpoint along the border and witnessed the plight of a large number of refugees.
Melzer: “In my eighteen days at the border, I saw tens of thousands of refugees. I’ve talked to hundreds of people with very similar stories: They were woken up by the sound of bombs and packed up some simple and important things. Stuff, like passports, change, or stuffed animals for kids, hurried away from home.
After a refugee family reaches the border, it is usually the father who walks over, hugs his wife, and then hugs his child. He then returned to Kyiv or other parts of Ukraine to fight. Mothers and children join a queue of refugees waiting to clear the border. This is a very heartbreaking scene!
When we talk to refugees, the words I hear the most from mothers are ‘when can we go home’ and the words I hear most from children are ‘I miss my dad so much’.
I see these people all day, especially the kids. I would think: OMG! This was my mother’s childhood. In 1945, when she was 9 years old, she had to flee World War II. My mom is 86 now and she sits in front of the TV for weeks on end, watching 16 or 18 hours a day. She sees her childhood once more, faithfully reproduced in full HD and color. She cried all day and kept asking me: When can I stop? I don’t know, I don’t have an answer. “
At the start of the war, thousands of Germans, with the same shock and helplessness, watched the news on TV. But it soon became clear that there would be many refugees fleeing Ukraine in need of help. So the people quickly organized themselves to collect donations and relief supplies, and organized convoys to transport supplies directly from Germany to neighboring Poland. On their return, Ukrainian refugees are taken to Germany and placed in volunteer homes.
Chris Wolfe is one of the initiators of many volunteer relief efforts. He used the power of social media to bring together civil forces, and received echoes and support beyond his imagination.
Chris Wolf
Volunteer Chris Wolfe
Wolff: “I’ve seen reports of the war all over the media before and it doesn’t seem to affect me too much. But Ukraine is very different to me, maybe because it’s closer to us, maybe because I see Innocent citizens of a peaceful city were suddenly attacked. So I said to myself: I can’t watch anymore, I have to do something.
Instead of putting a few bills in the donation box, I decided to go to the Polish-Ukrainian border and deliver relief supplies to refugees. Our goal is: to fill the trucks going directly to the border with relief supplies and provide them directly to those who need them most, including baby food, daily necessities, hygiene products, etc., and then make clear signs on the trucks, please cross the border in Ukraine Families come directly to get them.
Ukrainian men must fight for their country. When their own wives and children are helped, and with true safety, they can go into battle with confidence. “
Many individuals and grassroots organizations like Wolfe are active in supporting Ukraine, bringing refugees into their homes for temporary resettlement. UNHCR’s Melzer wants the volunteers to be more organized and coordinated for the best results.
Melzer: “I admire them so much. I not only praise them for their solidarity, I pay tribute to them! On the other hand, I would like to remind everyone to minimise personal actions, to contact NGOs and local governments, to coordinate with them, That way your help will be more efficient. It’s not so easy to get the things that are most needed to the right place. For example: there may be tons of diapers for children in location A and they are needed more in other places like B. So coordination is very critical.”
Melzer particularly emphasized that the assistance to Ukrainian refugees will be long-term and requires continuous and effective efforts from the United Nations, the government and the people.
Melzer: “It’s really unprecedented to have more than two million refugees in regarding two weeks. It’s going to be a challenge, no doubt, for all countries. But I’m also sure there will be solutions. Germany is a well-organized country with a lot of volunteers and people willing to help. We see a great solidarity in Germany and many other countries and that’s why I’m very confident.
This is not a crisis in Ukraine, it is not a crisis in Poland, it is at least a European crisis, in fact an international crisis. In a word, it is sharing. Ukrainian neighbors cannot be left alone to deal with the refugee problem, support must be provided. We have seen help from other EU countries, which is welcome news. “
The above is a report by Du Jia, a special correspondent of UN News.
Chris Wolf
Convoy to the Polish border to aid Ukrainian refugees