CHISINAU / NEW YORK, March 25, 2022 – A month following the start of the war in Ukraine, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom traveled to the Republic of Moldova to meet refugee families and children who had fled Ukraine.
During these two days, Orlando Bloom visited a UNICEF-supported “Blue Point” center in Palanca, in the south-west of the Republic of Moldova, where women and children find rest and support following crossing the Ukrainian border in search of security.
“I met a mother who had just arrived with her three young children. She told me that they had fled Ukraine the night before because they were too scared to stay following seeing the nearby house bombed,” the actor said. “It was heartbreaking to see this family, alongside so many others, crossing the border following a long journey, with only a few things and not knowing where their journey will end. »
UNICEF and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in partnership with governments and civil society organizations, have set up three “Blue Dot” centers in the Republic of Moldova, along the main migration routes refugees. In addition to providing essential information and services to people on the move, these safe spaces help identify unaccompanied and separated children from their families and protect them from exploitation.
Since the beginning of the war on February 24, more than 1.8 million children have fled Ukraine and, among them, tens of thousands have flowed into the Republic of Moldova. While many refugees continue on their way to other countries, nearly 100,000 people – half of them children – have remained behind to stay with host families, with volunteers or in refugee centres. reception of refugees set up by the Government.
“The immediate and very real threat to refugee children from Ukraine is growing daily, and those traveling alone are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation during such a long and difficult journey,” explains Maha Damaj, UNICEF Representative in the Republic of Moldova. “UNICEF is working tirelessly in the country to provide psychosocial support and protection services to children and families crossing the border in search of safety. »
During his visit, Orlando Bloom also met children and families at the Moldexpo refugee reception center in Chișinău – one of around 100 centers in the Republic of Moldova where refugees can sleep, get care and information. legal, and eat a few hot meals before continuing on their journey.
There, Orlando Bloom met the five members of a family who had fled Ukraine earlier in the week, with some money in their pockets and their only clothes on their backs. After arriving in the Republic of Moldova and spending five nights at Moldexpo, a local family offered to put them up while they completed the necessary paperwork to continue.
“Most of the families and children I met had left their homes, leaving behind their school, friends, loved ones and almost all of their possessions. As a father, I can’t imagine how agonizing and confusing this must be,” added Orlando Bloom, who traveled to eastern Ukraine with UNICEF in 2016. “The UNICEF Blue Dot Centers at borders are a vital first stop for mothers desperate for respite, and provide children with a safe space to play. »
UNICEF recently warned of the increased risk of human trafficking and exploitation faced by the millions of children fleeing war, and the many other internally displaced children in Ukraine. due to conflicts. This is why UNICEF and its partners are stepping up the establishment of “Blue Dot” centers in the countries hosting refugees, in particular in the Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and are calling on the governments of the region to take measures to protect children, inter alia by strengthening border crossing controls to address protection risks.
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