Joyce Fegan: You've donated your €2 for Ukraine, now what?

Don't let care turn to despair. Affirmative, physical action is a powerful antidote to powerlessness

People collect financial donations during a protest against the Russian war in Ukraine in Dublin city centre. 

In the face of abject terror where expectant mothers and newborn babies are being attacked and psychiatric hospitals are getting bombed, how do we make sure our care doesn’t turn into despair?

As of yesterday, Irish people have donated €17.5m to the Irish Red Cross alone to help Ukrainian refugees.

The response has been described as “phenomenal” and “profound” by aid agencies. And Ukrainian people here, who have long called Ireland home, have been inundated with “around-the-clock” offers of “everything” from the Irish public.

In the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a sense of shock and urgency drove us to our pockets.

That urgency lasts only so long. You’ve donated your €2, now what? Incessantly track the news and inundate yourself with images of human suffering, only to render yourself paralysed by powerlessness?

It’s an understandable and obvious option to slip into, but there are people here who we can concretely help, no cash needed.

More than 2,500 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland so far — that number is set to steadily increase over coming weeks. Our empathy must pivot to the practical.

People will need medical help, housing, mental health support, and English language assistance among other things. You arrive in Dublin Airport with your children and 90-year-old mother, now what?

You’ll be guided to the “welcome room” in the airport. There are toys and travel cots on site. You’ll be linked in with the various government departments and other supports — everything from social welfare to SIM cards.

People fleeing the war-torn Ukraine will have to start life from scratch. Picture: AP/Vadim Ghirda

If you’re lucky, you’re meeting a friend or a family member at arrivals and you’re going back to private housing knowing you can rely on a network of personal support already cultivated by your loved ones on the ground here.

But what if you don’t speak English and you know not a soul in Ireland? You might be transferred to a hotel, to live in, for now. It’s time to start life from scratch, having left another whole one behind. Where do you start?

When you feel despair for the people still in Ukraine or those at borders in Europe, it is these people, already on our home turf, that we can help now.

And there are so many people that already are.

As of last night there have been 17,000 pledges of accommodation from Irish citizens to support Ukrainians here. From Kerry to Donegal, the call goes like this: “I have a house. I have a spare room. Please store my number.”

Professionals here are starting CV-writing workshops. Tech professionals are running a support programme to help Ukrainians find employment. Another initiative being organised is the sourcing of iPads and laptops to set up home-working stations and provide educational tools for Ukrainian people arriving here.

One of the best places to find out information about offering any kind of practical support is IamUkrainian.ie — the Ukrainian Crisis Centre in Ireland. It’s run by the Ukrainian community here. The purpose of the website is “to coordinate maximum information in one place to help anyone interested navigate the situation”.

While there are government supports in place, Ukrainians arriving here are reaching out to this volunteer-led organisation, as they share the same language and cultural background.

Not only is IamUkrainian.ie fielding support, it’s also receiving support in terms of being given a premises for free at the Guinness Enterprise Centre complete with wifi and other facilities. There are many ways to help.

Ways to help

Their website lists up-to-date “urgent needs” actions that are coming directly from the Ukrainians landing here. They also list drop-off points all over Ireland. The list comes with an interactive map of the country and indicates what you can drop, think items such as female hygiene products and painkillers.

There is also a section where you can choose what actions to take as an Irish citizen, be that providing legal aid, counselling, or job opportunities. If you’re a business you can sign up to offer discounts to Ukrainians.

The collection point in CCS, early last week, as donations for the Ukraine appeal started to pour in. We need to keep up our efforts to help.

The Ukrainian Crisis Centre in Ireland also gives up-to-date information on work done and events being held here.

But bear in mind there are just 15 volunteers running this entire hub right now, people with lives and jobs to get back to.

This is the point that leads us towards the need for a medium and long-term plan. Our outpouring of goodwill has seen millions of euro flood in in donations and tens of thousands of pledges of accommodation, but we have to stay the course and mind our momentum.

There is our personal momentum, and there is the momentum of the State in that the ball doesn’t get dropped and Ukrainians who came here for protection end up languishing in a sort of a limbo.

While last week we rallied and raised funds and were patted on the backs by all sorts of public voices, our job this week, and beyond, is to build on that momentum and make it practical.

If you’ve made your donation and have now switched off the news in despair, because you think the world is going to hell in a handbasket, it’s helpful to remember that affirmative, physical action is a powerful antidote to powerlessness.

An empowered decision in the face of this much terror might be to link in with the Ukrainian or Polish community or businesses in your town and see if anyone needs a CV updating, an orientation tour of your hometown or an English-language exchange over coffee.

These actions might seem minuscule, if not obsolete in the face of such horror, but imagine how much you’d appreciate such a simple gesture were the shoe ever to be on the other foot. Imagine.