Saturday, February 26, 2022

'We cannot go home': First Ukrainian refugees arrive in Germany



Germany, which in 2015 took in more than a million migrants has pledged to "provide massive help" should there be a large-scale influx of Ukrainian refugees 
(AFP/John MACDOUGALL)

Hui Min NEO
Sat, February 26, 2022, 

Svetlana Z. knew it was time to flee when she noticed that planes were no longer taking off or landing at the airport near their house in the north-eastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv.

"It was intuition. When the planes stopped flying, we knew it was the start of something bad," she told AFP, holding her two-and-a-half-year-old son close while the family of three waited for Berlin authorities to process their registration.

That fateful day -- Tuesday -- they packed up a few bags of essentials, and piled into their "old car" and headed westwards.

Less than 48 hours later, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"There was no accommodation in the west, in Lyiv," Svetlana said, so they kept driving, first crossing into Poland before finally arriving in Berlin on Friday.

Asked why they did not remain in Poland which is closer to home, she burst into tears, saying: "We cannot go home."

They are in constant contact with loved ones back in Ukraine, but "there is only bad news now".

Her family counts among dozens of first refugees arriving in Europe's biggest economy from Ukraine.

Germany, which in 2015 took in more than a million migrants -- many fleeing war in Syria and Iraq -- has pledged to "provide massive help" should there be a large-scale influx in neighbouring nations of Ukrainian refugees.

- 'Palpable bewilderment' -

So far the numbers of new arrivals are small.

"We have had about 75 Ukrainians today. But we're expecting far more in the coming days," Sascha Langenbach, spokesman for Berlin city's refugee affairs office, told AFP.

"They haven't been so emotional such that we always see tears, but their bewilderment at what is happening in their homeland is almost palpable," he said.

At the Berlin reception centre, officials had readied 1,300 beds, with capacity to be doubled in the next days.

Staffing has also been boosted with Ukrainian or Russian speakers.

Small groups of people seeking aid were arriving, some accompanied by relatives or friends living in Berlin, others like Svetlana's family had found their way themselves.

The usual procedure is for officials to register the asylum seekers and then allocate them beds for the first few nights at the reception centre, before a more permanent home is found for them.

But officials at the Berlin centre were advising Ukrainians who have relatives or friends in town to stay with them at least through the weekend as they expect the government to decide on a simplified asylum process for Ukrainians in the next days.

The eased procedure should allow Ukrainian asylum seekers to find work quickly, or to head directly to other parts of Germany where they may have relatives, rather than be bound to remain in the city where they first file for asylum.

"That would make it far easier for them to find their feet here," said Langenbach, adding that his office was expecting a decision "after the weekend".

- No one asked them -

Tattoo artist Dmitry Chevniev, 39, was among those who have opted to hold off from registering officially pending the decision.

Chevniev had found himself stranded in the German capital.

"I arrived two weeks ago to visit friends, and now I can't go home," he said.

His wife and their four-year-old are in Russia visiting his mother-in-law, he said, adding that he had come to the registration centre to find out what he could do to bring them over.

Stanislav Shalamai, 26, meanwhile was relieved to be given a bed for the night at the centre.

He had left Kyiv on February 15 as war had been predicted to begin around then.

"I was nervous about that so I took my stuff and left."

Carrying a dufflebag and a duvet, he took a bus from Kyiv to Warsaw before getting on another bus to Berlin.

Shalamai said he still found it hard to believe the turn of events.

"40 million Ukrainians live there, no one asked them what they want and some other army just came and started shooting at people and killing people," he said.

Shalamai said he had asked his parents to flee with him, but "they said we were born here, we lived here all our life, and we just don't want to leave."

"I don't know what is waiting for me here... I don't know what will be in Ukraine. I will have to see," Shalamai said.


Exodus from Ukraine: A night spent with civilians fleeing Russia's invasion


Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been fleeing the Russian invasion since Thursday and are trying to reach neighbouring Poland. The chaotic evacuation, with dozens of kilometres of traffic jams on the Ukrainian side, foreshadows a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Mehdi Chebil, FRANCE 24’s correspondent on the ground, reports.

State-of-the-art SUVs, prehistoric Ladas, family cars... hundreds of vehicles belonging to Ukrainians of all social classes crawled along Thursday evening, bumper to bumper, for about 30 kilometres before the Polish border. As night fell, silhouettes of haggard pedestrians walking on the side of the road stood out amid the smoke of exhaust pipes.

The giant traffic jam between Lviv, the main city in western Ukraine, and the border with the European Union, which has been growing longer by the hour, is the most tangible sign of the exodus of Ukrainian civilians fleeing the Russian invasion. And it is only the beginning: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated on Friday that up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates.

“We left last night, but as the bus could no longer move, we walked 20 kilometres,” Sofia, a young mother from Chortkiv, told FRANCE 24.













Passage through the Ukrainian border post trickled while thousands of people kept arriving.

Most of the people still appear to be in shock.

“We saw planes and missiles hitting a military depot 15 kilometres from our home. It was total panic. How do you explain to the children that you have to urgently leave the house?” Sofia exclaimed, her face drawn, as she pulled a wool blanket over the shoulders of the two young children travelling with her.




Around her, women and children outnumbered the men. “Men aged 18 to 60 have been called up to the war and there are several checkpoints along the road to prevent them from fleeing,” added the young woman, whose husband lives in Poland.

A significant proportion of the men gathered in front of the border post were indeed foreigners. FRANCE 24 spoke to Algerian, Congolese, Nigerian and Indian refugees waiting to cross the border.

“I feel sorry for the Ukrainians because they’re really lovely people. We’re foreigners and we’re not leaving anything behind. They’re forced to leave their homes,” said Karim, a 28-year-old Algerian man working in finance. Karim left Kyiv with his partner after spending harrowing hours sheltering underground in the metro to escape the bombardments.



Most of the thousands of refugees do not have tents or sleeping bags, as they did not plan to spend the night outdoors. Those with a car can leave the engine running for heat, as long as they don’t run out of gas. Thursday evening, no humanitarian organisations were seen on the Ukrainian side of the border. Unless the crossing opens widely soon, the situation of civilians fleeing the fighting could deteriorate very quickly.



What these companions in misfortune at the border do have is a strong sense of solidarity. “When I see children who are hungry, cold and crying, I can't just stand by. I made three round trips between Lviv, Lutsk and the border, volunteering to transport people,” said Anatoly, an Israeli-Ukrainian entrepreneur working in agricultural equipment. A stock of cigarettes and energy drinks has kept the 23-year-old going with minimal sleep.



“The Russian army is very strong, it’s the second or third most powerful army in the world. But Putin will never be able to impose a new regime in the country in the long term, because the Ukrainians love their freedom too much,” Anatoly said as he got in the car to head back to Lviv.

He drove slowly along the interminable traffic jam leading the other way toward the border, when he saw two frail figures sticking their thumbs out on the side of the road: Two teenagers, a brother and sister, who decided to turn back to avoid spending the night outdoors.



Anatoly dropped them off at a gas station. Like thousands of other civilians, they would resume their exodus at sunrise the next day.



PHOTOS © Mehdi Chebil

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