I'm very inspired by the support of refugees from the Poles, and the desire to help out is contagious. Volunteers coordinate matching accommodation supply with needs just because they have a big network and connections in Ukraine. People donate clothes and shoes and help each other find someone who needs them. People ask strangers on random Facebook groups if anyone has a stroller or baby bed they could use, only to receive 50 positive responses in the first 10 minutes. Or how about these scenes from the train station the other day: seeing a Polish family walk in with a bag of homemade sandwiches, marked with "Veggie" or "Meat" on the wrappers, ready to pass them out, and caring enough to find out if the other person is a meat eater or not; the lady in the shop putting 50 applesauce tubes in her basket to buy for the kids sleeping there, walking away, then coming back to put in another 50; or the guy walking around with a box full of oranges, passing them out like a vendor at a baseball game, with a smile on his face and not a trace of pity in his eyes, so whoever says "yes please, I'm hungry" doesn't have to feel any shame - it's so damn powerful.
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For those who are wondering what it looks like in Warsaw, I can try to provide some perspective here...though I'm not as much in the middle of it like many other local heroes are. The volunteers working at these support points, those going to the border to bring supplies and transport people to wherever they want to go, people organizing or providing housing, working with NGOs on ways to help. One friend even drove INTO Ukraine to bring out a family he didn't even know, who would have had a hard time escaping otherwise.
There are thousands of women, children and elderly (and their pets) coming into Warsaw and other cities in Poland every day (hundreds of thousands in total by now). It's a horrible situation for them to be running from their homes, hiding in bomb shelters, just looking for a safe moment to try to get out. It's probably hard enough to just come to the decision to leave, as it might mean never seeing their home again. Someone I know by name (but not personally) had his home destroyed by a bomb, but luckily he was in a bomb shelter at the time. I try not to get too mad/sad about the root cause of it all since it drives me crazy not being able to stop it...so we are focusing our attention on what we can do.
There are a lot of actions on social media and through organizations to find temporary housing for those who can't afford it - mostly staying in makeshift shelters or with individuals/families around the country. There's a massive effort to match supply and demand via Facebook, NGOs, or even individual volunteer "brokers". It's pretty chaotic but everyone is doing their best. Many of these people don't have much money, or access to their bank accounts, or find that their Ukrainian cash is useless here (many exchanges are not accepting it). So after all the madness with the attacks at home, and all the madness getting to and through the border (which can take a couple days), they have to try to survive here with all of their possessions packed in a suitcase.
The city is getting saturated, and although there is a lot of momentum with the volunteers and donations, it's scary and sad to think how this will look in a week or a month or beyond, as numbers keep growing and volunteer fatigue kicks in. Many other European countries are willing to take refugees but as you can imagine a lot of these people are hoping this will end soon so they can go back home (if it's still standing). They don't really want to trek all the way to the Netherlands or Spain or whatever. At the same time, it would be nice if some non-EU "giants" (like the US) would drop visa restrictions for them, to not only let them start a new life (or connect with family), but also to ease the pressure on Poland, Romania, Slovakia and other nearby countries.
In any case, it's been overwhelming to see how the locals are working to support in any way possible. We still haven't hosted a family yet...we've been contacted by a few coordinators but things have fallen through for one reason or another. Since we can only offer the living room sofa and floor mattress, and we have only one bathroom, we can only comfortably host 1-2 people max (considering their comfort and privacy as well), while most people coming in so far are bigger families. One of our possible matches actually told us she didn't want to disturb us after she found out we have a baby, because she has 2 rowdy and loud kids - she was very considerate and went back into the pool to find somewhere else to stay. So we still wait.
There are several reception points going up around Warsaw, and the train stations are overflowing with people passing through, sleeping there, trying to figure out their next move. There are dozens of volunteers at the 3 main stations in Warsaw 24/7, managing separate stations of food, hot and cold drinks, hygiene supplies and medicine, diapers, clothes, and even an area for kids to play. Everything seems to be donated by random individuals or local businesses/NGOs constantly leaving bags of stuff at each station. It's heartbreaking to see what used to be a waiting room at the central station filled with women and children, with a security guard at the door, blankets and pillows spread across the floor, trying to keep a positive spirit while waiting for any kind of good news (I'm honestly not sure if many of them have any specific plan...some may try to settle in and work in Warsaw, but it's not easy). Every day there is a desperate plea from the train station volunteers on social media for anyone who sees the post to bring water or medicine or diaper cream or home made sandwiches (the needs change hourly). Over the weekend we've gone to the central station a few times to try and provide the most urgent needs.
So far (with the huge help of donations from friends abroad), Zosia and I have been able to drop off 100's of diapers, baby wipes, diaper creams, lotions, cough syrup, nose sprays, shampoos and body wash, ibuprofen, applesauce packs, juices, cat food, and chocolate eggs (the kind with a toy inside). In the next day or two we'll probably do another run for more of the same (still waiting for Florian to be able to push a shopping cart). One of the local drug store chains (Rossmann) has a promotion for a 40% discount for most items bought to support refugees, so we'll take advantage of that.
- Sometimes I'm sad, sometimes mad, often both. I don't understand the (even fake) justification for this war.
- As new parents, it was hard enough to travel from Warsaw to Seattle with a baby even if we had weeks to prepare all of the supplies, and we knew more or less when we'd arrive at our comfortable destination. I feel so bad for these mothers and kids not knowing when they'll have a clean diaper or a sterilized bottle or any necessary medicine or creams.
- The politics of whether or not NATO or the US should get involved are complicated - and I hate that
- If China (hypothetically) invaded Canada and a bunch of refugees crossed the border into Seattle, would Seattle help with this same level of energy? I'd like to think so.
- If Spain (hypothetically) attacked Mexico and a bunch of refugees wanted to cross the border into the US, would it be the same?
- What's the difference between this situation and war refugees coming from countries further away, like Asia or the Middle East? Maybe neighbors are more willing to help each other when they have a long, similar history of cooperation (and fighting), having suffered through the same crap and having similar enemies?
- I've heard that non-Ukrainian refugees who are also fleeing from Ukraine are treated worse at the border than Ukrainians. It's also harder for them to receive aid here (maybe it's seen that they have other options?). I don't know much about this, so won't comment further. I hope that people are willing to help anyone.
If you would like to make a donation but aren't sure where to send the money, you can always send it to me and I can buy more supplies for the people at the train station, to help any future family that stays with us, or those staying with our friends. Just let me know if you have any specific request. I'm on PayPal and Zelle - trisbo@hotmail.com
Thanks a lot for reading, and take care!
Bravo! We will support your efforts.
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