The country, which has become the main exit point for those fleeing the war, provides accommodation in nine border areas
«I cannot believe it, we are in Poland, we have left with what we are wearing and without knowing if we will return one day». Artium is devastated. The lost gaze on the tracks of the Przemysl station, a Polish town in the southeast of the country on the border that has become an improvised refuge for thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the war. His dog, Virgina, who respects the owner’s pain and hardly lets herself be noticed, pulls his hand without much impetus. The Polish authorities raise to almost 50,000 the number of refugees in the first 48 hours of war, 5,000 of them have passed through the Przemysl station.
“The first day there was a wave of people, but on the second day there were hundreds, it’s being less chaotic at this point,” says Olga, a volunteer for a local group that has organized itself to welcome newcomers. “The reason? The Ukrainian forces stop the trains and go wagon by wagon looking for men between the ages of 18 and 60 to take them to the ranks, that is why so few men are seen, “explains this young woman who, like the victims of this tragedy, did not expect to see his city turned into a refuge for the neighbors. Przemysl is a quiet place, a tourist destination to escape from the big cities, but now it is also the heart of the Polish reception of war victims.
In addition to regular trains, “special services” are added, the last of which arrives 340 minutes late. “And we are lucky with these delays, because whoever has come by car can spend ten hours in traffic, it’s horrible,” says Leonard, who breathes with relief when he sets foot in Poland and counts the hours to catch the flight that takes him back to the United States, the country where he has lived for a few years. “The war surprised me on a visit and I don’t think I’ll be back for a good season. Putin is crazy and is capable of anything », he sentences before getting lost on the platform among his fellow passengers.
Neighboring countries – Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Romania – have turned to help the refugees. The Polish territory is the main refuge, it has removed the need for biometric passports and has opened nine reception centers along the 535 kilometers of border. There, the newcomers are provided with food and a place to sleep or transport to points in the country where they can have relatives. There are also doctors and psychologists. The Minister of the Interior, Mariusz Kaminski, assured that they are willing to welcome “as many as there are on our borders”, but did not dare to give an estimate. Kaminski also said that they have a device ready to receive “thousands of wounded” if necessary.
Pain and memories of 2014
The stories in the waiting room of the station are repeated. Confusion, fear, uncertainty and pain, a lot of pain. Natasha looks at you with teary eyes, she is very aware of what happened in the country in 2014 and 2015, then she lived in the west of the country, and that is why she has not hesitated to take her daughter and get on the first train in which has found banknotes, which is no easy task. “In Lviv the planes fly over the city, we hear explosions and we know that they can come at any moment, that is why we have left”, crying forces him to stop. “We have left the grandparents there, they have not wanted to leave their house,” she says, unable to finish the sentence.
OTHER SHELTERS:
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Mass exodus.
The migratory flow of Ukrainians is constant and would exceed 70,000. -
Moldova.
Around 20,000 people have arrived in Moldova. Of these, 386 have applied for asylum. -
Romania.
More than 10,000 refugees have arrived in Romania. 3,600 have continued to other countries such as Bulgaria. -
Slovakia.
The Slovakian border, which has registered some 7,500 entries, has four new reception centers.
The station is also a meeting point for those who leave the country on foot. Billy reviews the last hours of his life and he can’t believe it, it seems like a movie. Despite the US recommendation to leave the country, “I trusted the Ukrainian government’s call for calm and now I regret it. After 14 kilometers walking and a night in the open, I catch my breath again. In Ukraine there is no longer a safe place », he declares.
The vast majority arrive in Poland, but there are also those who go the other way. This is the case of Igor, who returns home “to fight for the fatherland”, he says proudly. He had a shaved head, a camouflage backpack with the national flag and without much desire for words, like the three companions who accompany him and who do not want to speak to the press. They come to fight an enemy with incomparable strength leaving behind the heat of the Przemysl station.