Poland, a country of refuge for Ukrainians

(Przemyśl (Poland)) With a cap on his head, Oliek moves around in a wheelchair in the sumptuous neo-baroque station of Przemyśl, a town of 60,000 inhabitants in eastern Poland. This Ukrainian in his thirties, accompanied by his mother, has just disembarked from the train in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, like dozens of other passengers massed, tired and shaken, in the arrival hall.

Oliek fled the city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, located 30 kilometers from the Russian border. “Two days ago the Russians started shelling Kharkiv. Taking refuge in a cellar – which almost everyone finds themselves doing in Ukraine right now – would have been a bit difficult given that my mobility is limited. So I decided to gather some things in a hurry and I left, first by car, then by train, direction: Poland”, explains the man who, like nearly 30,000 of his compatriots, chose to go into exile – at least temporarily – in Poland.

“At the moment, my mother and I are going to Warsaw. Then, I don’t know yet where we will settle. One day at a time…”, continues Oliek, who specifies having “lost everything” in the country, starting with his house.

Difficult to clear a path in the hall, between the newcomers and all those who, in Poland, have decided to come to their aid. Like Maciej Duda, a 29-year-old dance teacher who lives in Krakow and holds a sign where he has just scribbled the name of his city. “I never thought there would ever be a war so close to home…I know so many fantastic Ukrainians, I hate war, and the least I can do, as a Pole, it’s offering to transport Ukrainians in my car. It’s unfortunate, but I have to stick to transport, because my apartment is far too small to accommodate anyone, “seems to apologize the twenty-something, tears in his eyes.

“Who wants to go to Warsaw? I have room for nine people! “Announces, fellow, another Pole in the crowd.

Food, housing, jobs

Since Thursday, aid has been pouring into Przemyśl station, one of the main rail hubs serving Ukraine from Poland. In addition to the police and rail security, medical aid has been mobilized on site, not to mention all the volunteers serving food, drink, and who willingly offer a little comfort to those who, sometimes, do not even have didn’t have time to take their passport.

On this point, the Polish authorities have assured of their leniency: even those without this precious “pass”, usually required by Ukrainians to enter Polish territory, can access it without difficulty and start an asylum procedure, in Poland, if applicable.

Many recruitment agencies have also made the trip and gladly offer employment and accommodation to dozens of Ukrainians or, rather, Ukrainian women, as Pawel Jamro, head of the Urban Recruitment agency, explained, met earlier in the day on Friday, at Przemyśl station. “We are able to offer jobs that are a little less physical and more accessible for women who do not speak Polish. For example, we are recruiting Ukrainian women to put surprises in Kinder Surprises, in a Polish factory, then soon, jobs in agriculture will start, and the needs there are great. »

Indeed, since military conscription was imposed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Thursday evening, only women and children are now allowed to cross the Ukrainian border. Men, except those with major disabilities, are asked to make themselves available to fight the Russian attacker.

At Przemyśl station on Friday, we therefore met mainly women and their children. Like Ielisaveta, four and a half, who proudly decorates a brand new album with stickers, with the help of her grandmother. Halina Litvin Orestivna, mother of Ielisaveta, who works in western Poland, picked them up at the land border a few hours earlier.

“I was thinking of bringing my daughter to Poland next year, but Vladimir Putin decided otherwise. I never thought he would bomb western Ukraine. Result: we are going to have to start all over again, in Poland”, testifies Halina Litvin Orestivna. “I didn’t tell my daughter about the war, I just told her that it was time for her and me to get together, because we hadn’t seen each other since December! she breathes. I hope to come back to Ukraine in the spring, well, if calm returns by then, of course…”