Sean Murray: Irish aid will do a lot of good at Polish-Ukrainian border
The humanitarian aid centre in Przemysl where thousands are gathering for shelter, food and onward transport.
On the edge of the town of Przemysl in south-eastern Poland, there’s a large disused Tesco. It's just like the kind you’d find in many places across Ireland.
Instead of groceries on the shelves and staff at the checkout, there are rows of hundreds and hundreds of beds to cater for refugees who’ve had to flee their homes due to war.
Przemysl is one of the key sites in Poland for people fleeing Ukraine. It has a rail link with the Ukrainian city of Lviv, and 50,000 people arrived each day last week. The Tesco is acting as a makeshift humanitarian aid centre where thousands are gathering for shelter, food and onward transport.
Children sit with their parents, and with their friends, surveying their surroundings. Older people carry whatever belongings they brought with them and try to find a corner to rest. They line the corridors of this old supermarket, unsure of what’s next.
It’s here where Irishman Tommy Byrne arrives to discuss the imminent arrival of lorry-loads of Irish aid with the mayor of Przemysl, Wojciech Bakun. Mr Byrne is helping to coordinate the delivery of over 500 tonnes of aid which left Dublin Port on Tuesday afternoon.
It’s expected to arrive in the Polish region on Friday. Mr Byrne, from Tuam, has taken a few weeks off work to help out.
“It was the spirit of the Ukrainian man going back to fight that inspired me to do something,” he said.
“All of these elderly people, and women and children, who now have to flee. There’s a gap we have to fill. We can give that aid.”
The Irish people have already given generously to help the people of Ukraine in their hour of need, with charities providing support on the ground and the aid being transported via land, air and sea. The next step is making sure that it helps those most in need.
Volunteers talk of bringing supplies directly into Lviv, but there's some logistical confusion and the parties leave to head elsewhere. “The problem is finding a transparent location where aid can go to who needs it most,” Mr Byrne said.
He’s impressed with the set-up at the old Tesco in Przemysl. “I’m going to stay there for the next three weeks, I’ll be able to see the stuff getting out to the people who need it,” he said.
There is plenty of water, lots of food, sanitary supplies, but they could always do with more. In the centre, people are fed, given medicine, shown where they can lay their heads. There’s even a stall with pet supplies for people to feed the dog or cat they’ve brought with them.
Many people in the aid centre want to travel onwards. One woman who speaks English asks if she and her family can have help fleeing to Germany. Others are seeking to go to Austria, the Czech Republic, and beyond.
Belgians, Swedish, German, American – dozens of volunteers have turned up to offer their help, offering translation services, packing aid parcels, or distributing food. One of the men running the centre is an engineer with the local council who volunteered to help.
Offers of help are nothing new. People routinely arrive with carloads or vanloads to drop supplies off. When he hears of the scale of the aid from Ireland on the way, he raises an eyebrow. He says this generosity will be more than welcome.
“I’m impressed with this set-up,” Mr Byrne said. “The aid that’s on its way will do a lot of good here.”
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