'These people are living a horrible nightmare' — warm welcome in Romania for refugees
Clutching a toy, a child exits the border control in Siret with family members who had fled to Romania from neighbouring Ukraine which is currently under attack by Russia. Picture: Andreea Alexandru/AP
For as far as eye can see, small groups of families march on each side of the main road; slowly emerging from the Siret border crossing between Ukraine and Romania.
Arms are stiff from carrying blankets and well-worn bags of clothes. Some have children’s toys poking out.
The pace of each cluster picks up as soon as the sight of volunteers handing out food, baby supplies, blankets, and hot drinks is within reach.
There’s undoubtedly a momentary flicker of relief to see the bustling array of local volunteers, Red Cross personnel, and well-meaning local security teams at the entrance to the border town. At least you’re not completely alone.
Mothers pushing buggies with one or two children. Often another trailing behind. The children are completely spent from the journey of several days amid shelling, violence, and biting cold. Fearful of the deep uncertainty.
“They miss their husbands, they want to go back to their husbands,” said Karina Hryjoruk, one of the scores of local volunteers.
However, conscription for men aged 18 to 60 in Ukraine means families are separated. “They don’t want to put their children into a bomb shelter,” said Karina, who is one of the first kind faces Ukrainian families see as they pass the border at Siret.
She hands out chocolate bars and snacks but is mostly an empathetic figure in the face of hopelessness.
“They are spending around two or three days in the Ukrainian border in order to come here to Europe.
"And it’s very overwhelming because, you know, these people are living a horrible nightmare.”
At the same time we set eyes on a woman pushing a double buggy with twin babies around 16 months old. She can barely see through the tears streaming down her face. Karina turns away to weep, before going after the woman; taking her by her wrist and directing her to people who can help.
Women are everywhere. They are clutching young children and often minding elderly, desolate grandparents. The weight of the journey is etched all over their faces.
Nearby is a station for baby supplies — nappies, blankets, baby formula, jars of food. The next station has hot tea or coffee. Others have tinned foods. There are buses which people are eventually escorted on to find refuge in a tent set up in a nearby football stadium. This is home for now.
The tents at the Stadion Mai 9 stadium are new and neatly arranged. They’re not full. Yet. So far, around 72,000 Ukrainians have come through Romania, but only a few hundred are staying so far. The rest are transiting to other EU countries, often to Spain, Italy Portugal, and Poland where they have family. Although not everyone has that option.
The EU has allowed Ukrainians special temporary protection for three years so they don’t have to go through the same asylum process as people typically would when travelling from other non-EU countries.
So many families fleeing in the dead of the night have no documents. They hadn’t got around to getting passports for babies or children. Nobody was travelling during Covid. This is complicating the asylum process and making it hard to move on from living in a camp.
Late on Sunday, 18-year-old Tsikhotska Daria Anatoliyivna arrived with her mother, as well as her two brothers, Nasrin, 16, and Makis, 11. “My dad couldn’t come because of the mobilisation for men,” she says.
“I am really scared of what can happen to my dad, and I pray for him every night and every day, all the time. And there are lots of people who are ready to help me and pray for my family, and I’m so thankful to everyone who cares. My dad wanted to be patriotic and he wanted to go by himself to war.”
The UN says 500,000 Ukrainians have left for safety and more are following.
However, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson says Europe needs to “prepare for millions of refugees” from Ukraine. The refugee crisis has been a hugely destabilising topic in the EU for several years. Right-wing governments in Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere have refused to share the burden of people fleeing wars in Syria and Afghanistan.
So far though, there is a distinct willingness from traditionally anti-refugee countries such as Poland to welcome Ukrainian refugees. More than 100,000 refugees have arrived in Poland to a different message.
“Poland is wearing its heart on its sleeve for the Ukrainian people as today is the time to offer assistance.”
It is a message of hope so badly needed by many of those undertaking the arduous and dangerous trek to the Ukrainian border and beyond at present.
