It is seven in the evening in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, and the around 300 Ukrainian refugees staying in two adjoining pavilions of the exhibition center MoldExpo They have already finished dinner. The children play, the mothers wander and chat, the older kids stroll around the outside of the compound and the grandmothers stop by for a cup of tea before retiring to the six-by-ten cubicle where they have a couple of beds and all your belongings. There are almost no men, if any old man who has been able to leave the Ukraine due to his age.
The atmosphere reminds me of a Spanish village in summer, just after dinner: the sun has already set, people walk around in flip-flops visiting their neighbours, children play calmly because they don’t have school the next day, and there is a feeling of tranquility and little to do. And so it is here too, unfortunately. The daily life of a refugee family is a tense wait. They await news from their city to see how their parents, boyfriends, husbands and children are doing. To have a plan of where to go after passing through here. Let’s see if things improve and the war in Ukraine ends. And meanwhile, hours and days go by.
The average stay in this center is three days, although there are families that stay for weeks. Most come from nearby cities, such as Mykolaev, which has suffered a strong offensive, or Odessa. They have crossed through the Palanca border crossing, from where many continue to travel directly, through Moldova, to Romania, and from there to other Western European countries, where they hope to meet friends or relatives, gain asylum and live in peace until they can come back. But others do not dare to stray so far. They don’t have acquaintances in other places, they don’t speak the language (in Moldova a lot of people speak Russian, so they communicate easily here) or they simply can’t get the necessary papers to enter the European Union, so after crossing the border, end up in temporary centers.
On February 24, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. March 15th, less than three weeks later, three million refugees had already left the country, of which a million and a half were children. That means that every second that passed during those first 19 days, a Ukrainian minor became a refugee. In addition, there are millions of displaced people within the borders.
The situation is very worrying, since displaced or refugee children are at risk of being separated from their families, exploited or trafficked. Unicef and Acnur, together with local organizations and authorities, are deploying what we know as blue dots, mainly throughout Poland, Romania and Moldova, as well as other countries. These are spaces where children and their families have, above all, a place to be protected, receive psychosocial assistance and obtain practical information on how to continue their journey or resolve legal questions. Unaccompanied children are also identified, and our protection experts ensure that they are safely taken care of by the authorities. For the little ones, the blue dots They are a pleasant place to rest, play with other children and simply be children, forgetting for a while the trauma they are experiencing. In this Chisinau refugee center where I am, there is one such facility.
During our visit today we have been talking with the administrators, Natalia and Carolina, who presented us with some of the eventualities they face, such as an insufficient number of toilets, the lack of cribs and pushchairs for the little ones, the shortage of underwear for women, girls and boys, and something as essential as a washing machine. Currently, they have one for the two pavilions, which works non-stop day and night, with established shifts, with exquisite solidarity and respect among the population that lives here 24 hours a day. A washing machine for 300 people.
It is very important to rely on the experience of humanitarian professionals who have lived through these situations in the past and can respond with precision and agility. Even with something as simple and mundane as a washing machine
Just as coordination between organizations and authorities is essential to avoid duplication, it is also essential to carry out a constant assessment of needs on the ground, which is what we are trying to do today with this visit. Nobody wants to find themselves with 100 boxes of paracetamol if what is needed is amoxicillin. You also have to be prepared to quickly scale up aid at very specific points, in case a new front opens up and the flow of people towards a border increases. In addition, it is crucial to try to source locally whenever possible, in order to help the struggling economies of the countries hosting the refugees, while avoiding disrupting these markets. And we must avoid having to destroy clothes, food or medicine, which sometimes arrive, but are not necessary. That is why it is so important to rely on the experience of humanitarian professionals who have lived through these situations in the past and can respond with precision and agility. Even with something as simple and mundane as a washing machine.
It is essential that solidarity does not stop until we are sure that every last child has shelter, a school, a pediatrician and protection against trafficking, violence or abuse.
The response of the Spanish population is being extraordinary and, thanks to the generosity of individuals, companies and public administrations, humanitarian organizations can provide a bit of comfort, dignity and security to children and their families, who have left everything behind and They don’t know what they will find when they return. However, the needs continue to increase. It is essential that solidarity does not stop until we are sure that every last child has shelter, a school, a pediatrician and protection from trafficking, violence or abuse. And yes, also something as simple as clean clothes to wear every day.
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