The flow of displaced people and chaos are the perfect breeding ground for those who traffic in women and minors
Only women, children and men over 60 years old. Ukraine retains boys to defend the country from Russian invasion. That is why it is very difficult to find one of the age to wield a rifle among the thousands of Ukrainians who cross the border with Poland through the Medyka pass every day. Tural is one of them. “I have Azerbaijani nationality,” he explains with relief. He has come from Kiev with his Ukrainian wife and his two children. The one Tural is carrying in his arms is barely a few months old. “We would like to go to Spain, but we still don’t know if it will be possible. In spite of everything, we feel safe because we go as a family. Most of the people have had to leave children, parents and husbands behind in Ukraine », he regrets.
Precisely because of this, entering the European Union does not mean leaving all risks behind. “The reception system for refugees is still being set up. The chaos and the lack of supervision are the perfect breeding ground for the mafias that traffic in people, because this crisis is particular: it is an exodus of children and mothers”, says Francesco Cecon, specialist in child protection at Save TheChildren. «The main danger is in transport. Refugees don’t know how to move and that makes them vulnerable.”
Europe has turned to refugees. Thousands of people from all the countries of the continent have traveled to border areas with material of all kinds and with the intention of facilitating the trip of Ukrainians. Many initiatives have been launched from Spain that reflect the solidarity of the population, and there are people of all nationalities at the border offering free transport. “But there is the possibility that among these well-intentioned people others slip in. And we are concerned that traffickers will take advantage of the situation, ”explains the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Chris Melzer.
Not only can they act camouflaged behind the smile of those who offer free services. Cecon also underlines the risk involved in crowds and logical oversights after days of stress and fatigue. “Fortunately, there are not many children who travel alone, but there can be critical moments when they are separated from their families. You have to analyze where and pay special attention to them », he points out. Examples of this abound in Medyka and the nearby Przemysl train station: mothers looking in terror for their children after losing sight of them when asking volunteers for information, and children left waiting for their relatives in a few minutes of danger. Even if it’s just to go to the bathroom.
“You have to work with governments to register and protect children, but also to take care of their mental health”
James Elder, Unicef spokesman, shares the concern about trafficking, but stresses that the psychological trauma is not going to be a minor challenge: “A million children have already arrived, of which 700,000 are in Poland. We must work with governments to register and protect them, but also to take care of their mental health, because they have lived through horrific situations. Cecon adds yet another need: “We don’t know how long the war is going to last, and the humanitarian crisis will always get longer. Therefore, it is essential that children continue schooling.
global threat
However, all the experts interviewed by EL CORREO agree that adolescents and young women are the ones who are most at risk. Like Olena, 17 years old and from a town near the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Blonde, slender and with light blue eyes, she fits perfectly into the European beauty canon and would be of great value to sexual exploitation networks. But she is not particularly worried about the mafias. “I think the people are good, they are helping us a lot,” she says in English.
That confidence, logical after escaping from the bombs and receiving all kinds of attention, can be counterproductive. «We cannot think that, since this is Europe, there are no mafias here like those in other less developed places. Traffickers are all over the world. We have seen it with the migrants who arrive in Spain or Italy from Africa, and with what also happened in the Balkans”, analyzes Cecon.
Therefore, it is key to offer women a livelihood during the time they are outside Ukraine. “A gender perspective is necessary for this crisis. There is a need for protection against sexual exploitation, feminine hygiene and health, psychosocial support for family separation, maternity, and also a way for women to earn a living », she adds.
At the border, there are already NGOs that are working in this direction: some offer specific help for women who arrive, others focus on children. All emphasize the need to overcome the tendency to give treats. “The needs of the refugees are going to change when the emergency phase ends and they are going to last a long time. For this reason, you have to have well-trained people taking care of them, “says Elder. What everyone fears is that the humanitarian crisis will become chronic. “It will depend on how long the war lasts and how the country ends up after it,” Cecon concludes. Among the refugees, the hope is one: “That this ends quickly and that our family lives afterward.”
«The main problem is, and will be, accommodation»
“That people in Europe have mobilized to lend a hand is magnificent, but it has to be done correctly,” says Francesco Cecon of Save The Children. Perhaps riding in a van with material and traveling to the border in search of refugees is not the best formula. “It is better to support organizations that are on the ground and know what the needs are at any given time. People think that food and blankets are needed, but this is not the case, “says UNHCR spokesman Chris Melzer. They all stress that the material needs are covered, as well as the health needs. “The main problem is, and is going to be, accommodation,” explains Melzer. For this reason, many Polish families have prepared rooms that they make available to the Authorities to accommodate refugees. “The key is to avoid that our presence is not counterproductive,” says Cecon, referring to the Europeans who arrive at the border.
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