Indians helping refugees at Ukraine-Poland border: Ground report

According to the United Nations, more than two lakh people have left Ukraine so far to escape Russian attacks. Poland, the largest of the neighboring countries, has about 1.5 million refugees.

Workers from different countries are stationed at the forefront to help the Polish employees at the border crossings.

In the past, most of the Indians have been brought back from Ukraine to India under Operation Ganga. Despite this, many Indian volunteers are deployed on the Ukraine-Poland border to help Ukrainian refugees.

The correspondent spoke to similar activists at the Medica checkpoint on the border of Ukraine and Poland.

It is cold all over the region at the moment, it is still snowing in many areas and the temperature drops below zero at night. Children, their parents, old people, shivering in the cold on the Ukraine-Poland border, are all trying to somehow reach Poland safely.

There is a dire need for helpful workers here. Oksana has escaped from Russian bombings in the capital Kyiv with her two daughters. She says, "Very bad happened to us. The house was bombed, our house was not saved. The kids are fine. But very scared. I tell them that we will go to my grandmother's in Finland."

Many Indians have come forward to help people like Oksana.

With two children and two suitcases her whole life, Oksana is wandering in search of shelter. His journey to Finland will not be easy, but people from all over the world are reaching out to help him along the way, including Hardayal Singh, who lives in New York.

Hardayal Singh explains, "We have Ukraine on one side, Poland on the other. This is a green zone. It's called the demilitarized zone, there are no soldiers here. And we are feeding langar to the refugees who come here. Warm clothes And we are giving whatever help they need immediately. Apart from this, we also take food to Ukraine. People walk around the cities for sixteen to seventeen hours and people collect there. There is nothing to eat there. All Something is closed there, so we anchor there too.

This is a food truck. In this food truck, food is prepared for more than two thousand people every day.

United Sikhs are also among the humanitarian organizations that are working in Ukraine. Kamenev Kaur is associated with this organization who is helping the people who are facing difficulties on the border. "I have some rice and dal, some soup too. We are trying to make people drink tea and coffee," she says.

Some people with food trucks have also reached near the border crossing and they are trying to give some food to the people shivering with cold. Nikul, the owner of one such truck, says, "I have a small business, we have two restaurants and a food truck. My wife is Polish, I have two young children, God forbid, if something happened here yesterday, then our As soon as others will be ready to help us."

Gurdayal explains, "In the last three-four days before us, seven-eight old women have fallen unconscious, we have picked them up and somehow managed them. The children who are vomiting in such cold, have become very bad. So when we came to know, we put up a tent here. It is almost ready now. Heaters are to be installed in it. We will also put tables and chairs in it so that people can sit for a while."

Dishita says in a conversation, "We are doing small help, like grabbing the luggage of an old man who is coming here, we are taking him to the queue. Somebody has a child in one hand, in the other hand. There is a blanket. Coming after walking for fifteen-twenty hours in the cold. There is no shortage of goods, people are getting food, but what is lacking is the help of people who carry these goods which are coming from many sources. , to be able to distribute property among the people."

The long and painful journey of thousands and thousands of people is still on, the arduous journey from the terrible cold and ruined home to the new refuge has become somewhat easier with the help of these Indian humanitarian activists.

Also Read: Operation Ganga Rescue operation of all 694 Indians trapped in Sumi completed, brought to Poltava by Indian Embassy buses