Solidarity with the Ukrainian refugees
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have entered Romania since the start of the Russian invasion, and the number of Ukrainians waiting to cross the border is increasing by the day.
Roxana Vasile, 28.02.2022, 13:50
Innocent victims of Russia’s war against Ukraine, many Ukrainians have chosen to flee their country. Most of them are women, children, elderly or people with disabilities. Men between 18 and 60 have remained at home to defend their country against the invasion ordered by the Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin. The images are heartbreaking. In the Ukrainian cities, train stations have become too small for those fleeing the Russian army’s offensive. But the simple fact of getting on a train to escape has proved to be a difficult mission. On the road, since Friday, immediately after the beginning of the invasion, terrible traffic jams have slowed the fleeing of civilians. The slow advance and also the lack of gasoline or diesel, that were rationalized, made many Ukrainians leave their cars near the borders and walk tens of kilometers to the customs offices to cross and take refuge in safer countries.
Romania is the EU state with the longest border with Ukraine, its neighbor to the north and southeast. There are no less than 19 permanent border crossing points between the two countries, road, railway, pedestrian and river points. Since the end of last week, the points at Sighetul Marmatiei and Siret, in the north, and at Isaccea, in the southeast were literally stormed by Ukrainians. People come from all regions of Ukraine. Some go to relatives or acquaintances from Romania. It is well known that Ukraine has an important Romanian ethnic community.
Other refugees seek asylum in Romania or are transiting to other European countries. The number of people fleeing the war has risen sharply since Sunday afternoon, after the customs procedures, which were initially cumbersome on the Ukrainian side, were simplified. On the Romanian side of the border temporary mobile camps were set up for the Ukrainian refugees, and in the specially arranged tents people can find food, clothing, personal hygiene products, and can benefit from primary or emergency medical care.
Also the Romanian citizens have shown impressive solidarity with their neighbors. Volunteers from all over the country – ordinary people or businesspeople, companies, NGOs or religious communities – are giving whatever support they can, providing food and water, or free transportation and indefinite accommodation. The Romanian Red Cross donates food and medicines and helps the refugees to contact their relatives from Ukraine. To help the refugees, the IT specialists have built a computer platform dopomoha.ro (ʹhelpʹ in Ukrainian), available in Ukrainian, Romanian, English and Russian, which provides information on the procedure for entering Romania, on asylum procedures, rights and obligations of applicants, as well as the resources they can access.
Although the concrete, material support of the Ukrainians is of paramount importance, Ukrainians also need moral support. In Bucharest, just as in many other cities around the world, Romanians showed solidarity with the Ukrainian people in front of the Ukrainian Embassy, and also protested in front of the Russian Embassy against the Russian aggression against a European state. (LS)
