Ukraine – Welcoming refugees and listening to their voices, to learn about the tragedy of war

05 April 2022
Warsaw, Poland

(ANS - Lviv) – “It is unacceptable that in 2022, in the 21st century, such a terrible war was unleashed. My Mariupol, with 450,000 inhabitants, was a beautiful city. It had terrific roads, beautiful parks, kindergartens, schools, and a wonderful theater. People sheltered there during the bombing, in the theater hall and basement. We heard 300 died there.” This is what Maria (fictitious name), a witness to the horrors of the war in Ukraine, tears in her eyes, told the Salesians of Lviv, where she arrived after a 10-day journey - when usually, with a bus, 8 hours are enough...

The woman continued:

“When the war started on February 24, in our city, Mariupol, they had already turned off our city’s heating; then water and light, and finally gas. We were deprived of any communication. It was winter outside; the temperature was -8° C. We lit fires on the stones in the backyard to keep warm and cook. We went to the river to get water for the toilet, and we brought water to drink from a well. All of this was done while bombs were dropping, but we had no other choice. 

People killed by bombs were lying in the streets. If anyone knew them, they took them so that their relatives could bury them with dignity. The others were buried like dogs or cats, wherever they could. Mariupol is a cemetery... No one will ever know exactly how many people died there.

When the bombing first started, we hid in our apartments, in the corners, in the elevator, and some hid in the basement but they were all unsuitable places because no one would be able to get us out  if the house collapsed.

On the last night, when the house was shaking as if there was an earthquake, we went down to the basement, sensing that something terrible was about to happen. The cellars were already overcrowded, but somehow we squeezed in to spend the night there. During the night, soldiers came and told us we had two choices: die under this house’s rubble, or go out into the city and look for some other shelter. If we had not been warned, we would have waited and not gone anywhere, because my house was bombed the next morning.

About 15, maybe 20 of us escaped from the basement, taking whatever we could: I was unable to take anything: no pictures of my loved ones, nor my favorite things... We fled to the city center, then went down to the sea, and after almost 24 hours we took a bus to Berdyansk, on the Azov Sea; then, from there with 50 buses, totaling about 3,000 people, they took us to Zaporizhzhia, and the next stop was Vinnytsia, from which we then reached Lviv.

There shouldn’t be any war in any nation. We should show each other respect and kindness, whether they’re Russian or Ukrainian, Polish or German,” she says finally.

Like Mary, many people who flee the war remain as internally displaced persons in Ukraine. Salesian homes in Lviv play a special role in this regard. Many do not want to leave their homeland and find there a home where they can feel safe. Because this is their first need, and they manifest it clearly both there and when they arrive in Salesian houses in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova... or wherever they are. The connection to their nation remains strong, and, although Salesian schools are available and open to Ukrainian students, many of them prefer to follow along with online learning guided by their teachers in schools in Ukraine.

So many more, however, go abroad: from February 24, 2022, to the day before yesterday, 3 April, 2,461,000 people from Ukraine entered Poland. More new refugees continue to arrive, but at a lower rate than at the start of the war. Salesian homes are hospitable and are currently hosting several hundred refugees inside.

Another 300,000 people who fled Ukraine are now refugees in the Czech Republic, and over 200 of these are housed in Salesian homes. Children have begun to go to school, and adults to look for work. A small oratory for the Ukrainian community has been opened in České Budějovice, led by two Ukrainians, a teacher and a psychologist, salaried by the Salesians, and other similar oratories are being developed. In Zlín, České Budějovice, and other places, more than a hundred women and children are taking Czech language classes to integrate into society. "We are preparing cultural integration groups for the children and also provide basic social assistance to them and their parents," say the Salesians of the Czech Province (CEP).

Other refugees arrive even further afield, including in Italy. The Southern Italy Province (IME) has spread the word that it is currently hosting 27 people, between Naples, Bari, and Soverato, while there are about 80 more with the families involved by the Salesians; other Salesian houses are also gearing up to host the fleeing refugees.

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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