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Saturday, February 26, 2022
This week, Kenney’s UCP government presented its Alberta Budget 2022, a budget with little good news for working Albertans. Read our fact check blog, press release, as well as other reactions around Alberta.
News
Kenney's UCP Budget 2022 fact check
Despite the grand celebration Kenney’s UCP government put forth, which was perhaps best described by CUPE Alberta as a “master class of deception and gaslighting,” there is little good news in the budget for working Albertans and a lot of unknowns as to where funding is actually going especially given the UCP’s plans for privatization of health care and education.
Albertans have shouldered three years of increasing taxes, higher costs, underfunding of public services and outright cuts. The budget shows workers will continue to do the heavy lifting of the so-called recovery. After three years of cuts and underfunding, the UCP government posted a small surplus ($511 million) with revenues boosted by high oil and gas prices mostly due, in part, to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Since the Kenney UCP government have proven they are anything but trustworthy, the AFL has gone through the budget to determine the facts. Read more.
UCP’s Budget 2022 shows failure to create good jobs for Alberta workers
“After three years in office, it’s clear the UCP government is not concerned about what Alberta workers need to thrive,” says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. “The UCP’s ‘Alberta at Work’ plan doesn’t include workers or their families.”
“The corporate tax cut was supposed to create 55,000 new jobs – the UCP campaigned on that promise in the 2019 election. Today’s budget shows that this promise was a lie,” says McGowan. “Tax cuts to the wealthy did not create jobs and only resulted in a larger hole in our province’s finances, a hole Alberta workers and their families will continue to fill with higher personal income taxes, higher tuition, higher fees, and investments in public services that have not kept pace with inflation and population growth.”
“While a one-off bump from oil and gas revenues is welcomed, Albertans are not seeing the benefits. Shareholders and larger corporations are flush with cash, but jobs for Albertans haven’t flowed. Albertans own these resources, but they are not seeing full value,” says McGowan. Read more.
From natural gas rebates to smokeless tobacco, here's how the Alberta budget might impact you
It was one of the many questions looming prior to the release of Thursday's budget — given Alberta's startling reversal in financial fortunes (largely owing to spiking oil prices) — how will this affect the pocketbook of the average Albertan?
We now have some answers. Read more.
Sohi says Alberta budget a 'slap in the face' for Edmonton
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi decried what he called Edmonton’s “second-class treatment” in the provincial government’s 2022 budget.
Shortly after the budget was tabled Thursday afternoon, Sohi called it “a slap in the face” after what he described as significant efforts to reset government relations since his election last fall. He suggested the capital city, represented in all but one riding by NDP MLAs, is getting short shrift from the United Conservative government.
“The message that we got from the provincial government today is that Edmonton doesn’t matter, that our needs aren’t being heard, that collaboration doesn’t matter,” Sohi said. “We asked for four basic needs that would help us to make life better for all Edmontonians, but we received next to nothing in return.” Read more.
Budget 2022: Gondek 'less than impressed' with provincial budget
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she’s “less than impressed” by municipal investment in the budget, with modest provincial funding for downtown revitalization representing one major disappointment.
The budget allocates $5 million to revitalizing Calgary’s downtown, $1 million of which is directed to the Calgary Downtown Business Association. City council approved $255 million of city spending toward that project in 2021, and Gondek had asked the provincial government to contribute funds.
“I suppose our request for matched funding means two per cent,” Gondek told reporters at city hall Thursday, following the release of the budget. Read more.
Watch: How health care and education fared in the budget
While health care has been a major focus during this COVID-19 pandemic, this budget actually reduces the COVID contingency spend. And despite Premier Kenney saying there would be historic investments in Budget 2022, the operating budget is increasing at a rate below population and inflation growth -- basically amounting to a freeze. Additionally, with the UCP's push to privatize health care and education, there are a lot of unknowns as to where funding is actually going. Watch news story.
Action
Public health care dollars are for people, not profits
Canada’s premiers are calling on the federal government to increase health care funding for provinces and Justin Trudeau says he’s listening.
But Jason Kenney can’t be trusted with a blank cheque. The UCP and their donors are pushing American-style private health care. Jason Kenney has already started giving more of our health care to profit-seeking companies and is using the pandemic as cover to cut Alberta’s investments in public health care.
Albertans urgently need more investment in our public health care, but the federal government can’t give the money to Kenney unconditionally — we need to make sure our public dollars aren’t handed over to corporate shareholders.
Tell Justin Trudeau not to give Jason Kenney a blank cheque to privatize our health care. Take action.
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US or Russia? Ukraine crisis poses dilemma for wealthy Gulf
A visitor takes pictures inside the Russian Pavilion of Expo 2020, in Dubai on October 5, 2021
A visitor takes pictures inside the Russian Pavilion of Expo 2020, in Dubai on October 5, 2021
(AFP/Giuseppe CACACE)
Mohamad Ali Harissi
Sat, February 26, 2022, 1:33 AM·4 min read
Choosing sides in Ukraine's crisis would have once been easy for Gulf states long protected by the US, but growing ties with Moscow are forcing them to strike a balance.
As the world rushed to condemn the Russian invasion of its smaller neighbour, the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have largely kept quiet.
Middle East experts say their reticence is understandable given what's at play -- energy, money and security.
"It is not only the economic ties that are growing, but also the security ties of these states with Moscow," said Anne Gadel, a Gulf expert and contributor to the French think-tank Institut Montaigne.
On Friday, the UAE abstained along with China and India from a vote at the US Security Council demanding Moscow withdraw its troops.
Russia as expected vetoed the resolution co-written by the US and Albania while 11 of the council's 15 members voted for it.
After the vote, Emirati state new agency WAM said the UAE and US foreign ministers spoke by phone to review "global developments". No mention was made of Ukraine.
Russia's foreign ministry meanwhile announced that the UAE and Russian foreign ministers would meet Monday in Moscow to discuss "further expanding multifaceted Russia-UAE relations".
Hours before Russia unleashed its massive ground, sea and air assault against Ukraine on Thursday, the UAE had "stressed the depth of friendship" with Moscow.
Gulf power house Saudi Arabia has not reacted to the invasion, like the UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have only denounced the violence, stopping short of criticising Moscow.
- 'Ideological ally' -
For more than seven decades, the United States has played a key role in the conflict-wracked Middle East, serving in particular as a defender of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies against potential threats such as Iran.
But in recent years, Washington began limiting its military engagements in the region, even as its closest allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have come under attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels.
Saudi oil giant Aramco's facilities were hit in 2019 by the Iran-aligned insurgents.
Gulf countries "understand that they need to diversify their alliances to compensate for the perceived withdrawal of the United States from the region", said Gadel.
Politics are paramount too.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two US allies hosting American troops, have seen their ties with Washington change to a love-hate relationship over arms deals and rights issues.
The 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate has strained relations with Riyadh, and the UAE has threatened to cancel a mega-deal for US-made F-35 jet fighters.
"Russia is seen as an ideological ally while American human rights strings attached to their support are becoming ever more of an issue," said Andreas Krieg, Middle East expert and associate professor at King's College London.
"There has been an integration of grand strategy between Moscow and Abu Dhabi when it comes to the region. Both are counter-revolutionary forces and were eager to contain political Islam."
- 'Tough spot diplomatically' -
Despite growing security cooperation with Russia, which is directly involved in the Syrian and Libyan conflicts, Krieg says most GCC states will "still put their security eggs into the US basket".
But "they have started to diversify relations with American competitors and adversaries in other domains".
Trade between Russia and the GCC countries jumped from around $3 billion in 2016 to more than $5 billion in 2021, mostly with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, official figures show.
The UAE, in particular Dubai, has been long seen as a magnet for Russian investment, and a vacation destination for the Russian elite.
As major players in the energy markets, most GCC states have a relationship with Russia as fellow producers.
Riyadh and Moscow are leading the OPEC+ alliance, strictly controlling output to buoy prices in recent years.
"Arab members of OPEC are in a tough spot diplomatically, as maintaining" the OPEC+ deal, which controls production, "is clearly at the forefront of their considerations", said Ellen Wald, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank.
"Gulf countries fear damaging this relationship and seek to maintain Russian participation in OPEC+... If Russia left the group, the entire agreement would probably collapse."
Despite calls by some major oil importers for crude producers to boost supply and help stabilise soaring prices, Riyadh, the world's top exporter, has shown no interest.
"Staying silent on Russian action in Ukraine is probably the best course for this at the moment," Wald said.
"But this pragmatic stance may become untenable if pressed on their position by Western leaders."
mah/th/hc/hkb
Mohamad Ali Harissi
Sat, February 26, 2022, 1:33 AM·4 min read
Choosing sides in Ukraine's crisis would have once been easy for Gulf states long protected by the US, but growing ties with Moscow are forcing them to strike a balance.
As the world rushed to condemn the Russian invasion of its smaller neighbour, the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have largely kept quiet.
Middle East experts say their reticence is understandable given what's at play -- energy, money and security.
"It is not only the economic ties that are growing, but also the security ties of these states with Moscow," said Anne Gadel, a Gulf expert and contributor to the French think-tank Institut Montaigne.
On Friday, the UAE abstained along with China and India from a vote at the US Security Council demanding Moscow withdraw its troops.
Russia as expected vetoed the resolution co-written by the US and Albania while 11 of the council's 15 members voted for it.
After the vote, Emirati state new agency WAM said the UAE and US foreign ministers spoke by phone to review "global developments". No mention was made of Ukraine.
Russia's foreign ministry meanwhile announced that the UAE and Russian foreign ministers would meet Monday in Moscow to discuss "further expanding multifaceted Russia-UAE relations".
Hours before Russia unleashed its massive ground, sea and air assault against Ukraine on Thursday, the UAE had "stressed the depth of friendship" with Moscow.
Gulf power house Saudi Arabia has not reacted to the invasion, like the UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have only denounced the violence, stopping short of criticising Moscow.
- 'Ideological ally' -
For more than seven decades, the United States has played a key role in the conflict-wracked Middle East, serving in particular as a defender of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies against potential threats such as Iran.
But in recent years, Washington began limiting its military engagements in the region, even as its closest allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have come under attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels.
Saudi oil giant Aramco's facilities were hit in 2019 by the Iran-aligned insurgents.
Gulf countries "understand that they need to diversify their alliances to compensate for the perceived withdrawal of the United States from the region", said Gadel.
Politics are paramount too.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two US allies hosting American troops, have seen their ties with Washington change to a love-hate relationship over arms deals and rights issues.
The 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate has strained relations with Riyadh, and the UAE has threatened to cancel a mega-deal for US-made F-35 jet fighters.
"Russia is seen as an ideological ally while American human rights strings attached to their support are becoming ever more of an issue," said Andreas Krieg, Middle East expert and associate professor at King's College London.
"There has been an integration of grand strategy between Moscow and Abu Dhabi when it comes to the region. Both are counter-revolutionary forces and were eager to contain political Islam."
- 'Tough spot diplomatically' -
Despite growing security cooperation with Russia, which is directly involved in the Syrian and Libyan conflicts, Krieg says most GCC states will "still put their security eggs into the US basket".
But "they have started to diversify relations with American competitors and adversaries in other domains".
Trade between Russia and the GCC countries jumped from around $3 billion in 2016 to more than $5 billion in 2021, mostly with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, official figures show.
The UAE, in particular Dubai, has been long seen as a magnet for Russian investment, and a vacation destination for the Russian elite.
As major players in the energy markets, most GCC states have a relationship with Russia as fellow producers.
Riyadh and Moscow are leading the OPEC+ alliance, strictly controlling output to buoy prices in recent years.
"Arab members of OPEC are in a tough spot diplomatically, as maintaining" the OPEC+ deal, which controls production, "is clearly at the forefront of their considerations", said Ellen Wald, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank.
"Gulf countries fear damaging this relationship and seek to maintain Russian participation in OPEC+... If Russia left the group, the entire agreement would probably collapse."
Despite calls by some major oil importers for crude producers to boost supply and help stabilise soaring prices, Riyadh, the world's top exporter, has shown no interest.
"Staying silent on Russian action in Ukraine is probably the best course for this at the moment," Wald said.
"But this pragmatic stance may become untenable if pressed on their position by Western leaders."
mah/th/hc/hkb
UKRAINE WHEAT BASKET OF THE WORLD
Arabs fear for wheat supplies after Russia invades Ukraine
Wheat groats are milled during the preparation of bulgur in the Lebanese town of Marjayoun (AFP/JOSEPH EID)
Sarah Benhaida
Sat, February 26, 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine could mean less bread on the table in Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere in the Arab world where millions already struggle to survive.
The region is heavily dependent on wheat supplies from the two countries which are now at war, and any shortages of the staple food have potential to bring unrest.
If those supplies are disrupted, "the Ukraine crisis could trigger renewed protests and instability" in several Middle East and North Africa countries, the Washington-based Middle East Institute said.
The generals now ruling in Khartoum after an October coup have not forgotten: In 2019 one of their own, Field Marshall Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's longtime autocrat, was toppled by his military under pressure from mass demonstrations triggered by a tripling of the bread price.
Sudan is already facing regular anti-coup protests but seems to have taken the initiative to avoid demonstrations over bread.
When Russia's invasion began on Thursday, the second-highest figure in Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council was in Moscow to discuss trade ties.
Bread is already a luxury for millions in Yemen, where a seven-year war has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
"Most people can barely afford the basic foods," and the war in Ukraine will only "make things worse", Walid Salah, 35, a civil servant in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, told AFP.
Russia is the world's top wheat exporter and Ukraine the fourth, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.
Moscow's invasion pushed the wheat price far above its previous record high in European trading to 344 euros ($384) a tonne on Thursday.
David Beasley, the World Food Programme's executive director, said the Ukraine-Russia area provides half the agency's grains. The war, he said, "is going to have a dramatic impact".
- 'Supplies won't last' -
WFP says 12.4 million people in conflict-ravaged Syria are also struggling with food insecurity.
Before its civil war began in 2011, Syria produced enough wheat to feed its population but harvests then plunged and led to increased reliance on imports.
The Damascus regime is a staunch ally of Moscow which backed it militarily during the war.
"Syria imported some 1.5 million tonnes of wheat last year, largely from Russia," The Syria Report, an economic publication, said this month.
Damascus says it is now working to distribute the stocks to use them over two months.
Supplies in neighbouring Lebanon won't last that long.
The country is gripped by a financial crisis which has left more than 80 percent of the population in poverty, and a 2020 port explosion damaged large parts of Beirut including silos containing 45,000 tonnes of grain.
Lebanon's current stock, in addition to five ships from Ukraine waiting to be offloaded, "can only last for one month and a half", said Ahmad Hoteit, the representative of Lebanon's wheat importers.
Ukraine was the source of 80 percent of the 600,000 to 650,000 tonnes of wheat imported annually by Lebanon, which has only been able to store about a month's worth of wheat since the port blast, he told AFP.
The United States can be an alternate supplier but shipments could take up to 25 days instead of seven, Hoteit said.
In the Maghreb, where wheat is the basis for couscous as well as bread, Morocco's minister in charge of budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, told journalists the government would increase subsidies on flour to $400 million this year and stop charging import duties on wheat.
Nearby Tunisia, with heavy debts and limited currency reserves, doesn't have that luxury. In December, local media reported that ships delivering wheat had refused to unload their cargo as they had not been paid.
Tunisia relies on Ukrainian and Russian imports for 60 percent of its total wheat consumption, according to agriculture ministry expert Abdelhalim Gasmi. He said current stocks are sufficient until June.
- 'Bread riots' -
Neighbouring Algeria, which says it has a six-month supply, is Africa's second-largest wheat consumer and the world's fifth-largest cereals importer.
Egypt imports the most wheat in the world and is Russia's second-largest customer. It bought 3.5 million tonnes in mid-January, according to S&P Global.
The Arab world's most populous country has started to buy elsewhere, particularly Romania, but 80 percent of its imports have come from Russia and Ukraine.
Egypt still has nine months of stock to feed its more than 100 million people, government spokesman Nader Saad said. But he added: "We will no longer be able to buy at the price before the crisis."
That is an ominous sign for the 70 percent of the population who receive five subsidised breads a day.
The weight of the subsidised round food was reduced in 2020 and now the government is considering raising the price -- fixed at five piastres (0.3 cents) for the past three decades -- to get closer to the production cost.
When then-president Anwar Sadat tried to drop the subsidy on bread in January 1977 "bread riots" erupted. They stopped when he cancelled the increase.
burs-sbh/it/dv
Arabs fear for wheat supplies after Russia invades Ukraine
Wheat groats are milled during the preparation of bulgur in the Lebanese town of Marjayoun (AFP/JOSEPH EID)
Sarah Benhaida
Sat, February 26, 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine could mean less bread on the table in Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere in the Arab world where millions already struggle to survive.
The region is heavily dependent on wheat supplies from the two countries which are now at war, and any shortages of the staple food have potential to bring unrest.
If those supplies are disrupted, "the Ukraine crisis could trigger renewed protests and instability" in several Middle East and North Africa countries, the Washington-based Middle East Institute said.
The generals now ruling in Khartoum after an October coup have not forgotten: In 2019 one of their own, Field Marshall Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's longtime autocrat, was toppled by his military under pressure from mass demonstrations triggered by a tripling of the bread price.
Sudan is already facing regular anti-coup protests but seems to have taken the initiative to avoid demonstrations over bread.
When Russia's invasion began on Thursday, the second-highest figure in Sudan's ruling Sovereign Council was in Moscow to discuss trade ties.
Bread is already a luxury for millions in Yemen, where a seven-year war has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
"Most people can barely afford the basic foods," and the war in Ukraine will only "make things worse", Walid Salah, 35, a civil servant in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, told AFP.
Russia is the world's top wheat exporter and Ukraine the fourth, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.
Moscow's invasion pushed the wheat price far above its previous record high in European trading to 344 euros ($384) a tonne on Thursday.
David Beasley, the World Food Programme's executive director, said the Ukraine-Russia area provides half the agency's grains. The war, he said, "is going to have a dramatic impact".
- 'Supplies won't last' -
WFP says 12.4 million people in conflict-ravaged Syria are also struggling with food insecurity.
Before its civil war began in 2011, Syria produced enough wheat to feed its population but harvests then plunged and led to increased reliance on imports.
The Damascus regime is a staunch ally of Moscow which backed it militarily during the war.
"Syria imported some 1.5 million tonnes of wheat last year, largely from Russia," The Syria Report, an economic publication, said this month.
Damascus says it is now working to distribute the stocks to use them over two months.
Supplies in neighbouring Lebanon won't last that long.
The country is gripped by a financial crisis which has left more than 80 percent of the population in poverty, and a 2020 port explosion damaged large parts of Beirut including silos containing 45,000 tonnes of grain.
Lebanon's current stock, in addition to five ships from Ukraine waiting to be offloaded, "can only last for one month and a half", said Ahmad Hoteit, the representative of Lebanon's wheat importers.
Ukraine was the source of 80 percent of the 600,000 to 650,000 tonnes of wheat imported annually by Lebanon, which has only been able to store about a month's worth of wheat since the port blast, he told AFP.
The United States can be an alternate supplier but shipments could take up to 25 days instead of seven, Hoteit said.
In the Maghreb, where wheat is the basis for couscous as well as bread, Morocco's minister in charge of budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, told journalists the government would increase subsidies on flour to $400 million this year and stop charging import duties on wheat.
Nearby Tunisia, with heavy debts and limited currency reserves, doesn't have that luxury. In December, local media reported that ships delivering wheat had refused to unload their cargo as they had not been paid.
Tunisia relies on Ukrainian and Russian imports for 60 percent of its total wheat consumption, according to agriculture ministry expert Abdelhalim Gasmi. He said current stocks are sufficient until June.
- 'Bread riots' -
Neighbouring Algeria, which says it has a six-month supply, is Africa's second-largest wheat consumer and the world's fifth-largest cereals importer.
Egypt imports the most wheat in the world and is Russia's second-largest customer. It bought 3.5 million tonnes in mid-January, according to S&P Global.
The Arab world's most populous country has started to buy elsewhere, particularly Romania, but 80 percent of its imports have come from Russia and Ukraine.
Egypt still has nine months of stock to feed its more than 100 million people, government spokesman Nader Saad said. But he added: "We will no longer be able to buy at the price before the crisis."
That is an ominous sign for the 70 percent of the population who receive five subsidised breads a day.
The weight of the subsidised round food was reduced in 2020 and now the government is considering raising the price -- fixed at five piastres (0.3 cents) for the past three decades -- to get closer to the production cost.
When then-president Anwar Sadat tried to drop the subsidy on bread in January 1977 "bread riots" erupted. They stopped when he cancelled the increase.
burs-sbh/it/dv
'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
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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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