Link | Volunteers: In Poland, Ukrainian refugees are the most generously received, non-Ukrainian or neglected

The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi intern Lin Yuxuan

"All of a sudden, I heard Ukrainian everywhere!" Jagoda, who is currently studying at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, told the www.thepaper.cn. "They have a lot of people, which can be seen near my house. They have the flag on their backpacks. I could tell they were refugees because they were dressed differently and they didn't speak Polish. ”

According to UNHCR data, more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24. As a neighbor that shares about 530 kilometers of border with Ukraine, Poland is by far the country that receives the most Ukrainian refugees. In just three weeks, more than 1.8 million Ukrainian refugees crossed the border, with more than 400,000 of them pouring into Polish capital Warsaw and second-largest city Krakow.

On March 11, 2022, local time, Poland, local volunteers played with Ukrainian children at the high school gymnasium where Ukrainian refugees were resettled.

From the Port of Metica to Krakow

"Some refugees are reluctant to leave the railway stations in Warsaw and Krakow," Marcin Damek, a Pole who is now a doctoral student in history at Nanjing University in Poland, mentioned to The Paper a phenomenon observed by Polish volunteers, explaining, "Some because they don't want to be resettled in small cities or rural areas, or they are waiting for a train to Germany." ”

Darsyn's home is in Rzeszów, the capital of the Carpathian Voivodeship on the southeastern polish border. About 90 kilometres east of Rzeshów is Przemyśl, and about 10 kilometres east of the Medyka crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border – less than 100 kilometres from Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine. In an interview with NPR, mayor of Przemehill, Mayor Wojciech Bakun of Przemehill said about 1,200 to 1,500 refugees enter the city through the border every hour.

The cities of Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Lviv, Kiev, can be connected in a line on the map. "As far as I know, Ukrainian refugees can take the train from Kiev to Przemyşl via Lviv, some decide to stay, others continue west, to Rzeszów or Krakow." Dasin said he speculated that this might be why most refugees chose the Medica port to enter Poland. Rzeszów and Przemyńl became important transport hubs for the transport of refugees.

At the railway station in Rzeszów, Da xin saw adult refugees asking Polish volunteers for information such as itinerary, food and accommodation, and a hall inside the station was transformed into a children's play area. "I passed through Krakow not long ago when I took the train to Warsaw, and I think the situation in Krakow is much more severe than that of Rzeszów."

On March 15, local time, hundreds of refugees lined up outside the Consulate General of Ukraine in Krakow because they had lost their identity documents. Jagoda, who attends school in Krakow, told The Paper, "It's an unusual sight for such a large crowd to be in Krakow. ”

"A lot of people I know volunteer, bring food to refugees, or help prepare temporary housing." Jagoda said the old buildings at Krakow Central Railway Station and the abandoned "Kraków Plaza" shopping mall on Aleja Pokoju Street have been converted into temporary settlements. The mall, which closed in 2021, has been vacant since then and was originally scheduled for demolition later this year.

The people around Jagoda are all in action. One of her uncles brought food to the border for the refugees, and then picked up some refugees from the border. Another uncle rented an apartment to a refugee family. Her brother's elementary school has been collecting school supplies for Ukrainian students. "Everywhere there's changed." Jagoda said.

Among some of the Polish people interviewed by The Paper, a teacher said that volunteer work is unpaid and that "we will continue to do it as long as the situation requires." ”

"Generous welcome"

Compared to previous European refugee crises, Poland's attitude towards Ukrainian refugees from the private sector to the official seems to be different. According to a social media post by the Polish Border Guard, on February 26, the day after the Outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Polish Border Guard opened all border crossings to refugees. Upon entry, refugees will receive leaflets in four languages listing information on all resettlement centres. In addition, the Polish government has also abolished the quarantine and COVID-19 negative certification requirements for entry into Poland from Ukraine and announced that it will vaccinate Ukrainian refugees against COVID-19. The European edition of the American political news site Politico summed it up as a "generous welcome."

According to the British newspaper "Guardian", Poland will set up a fund of 8 billion zlotys (about 11.5 billion yuan) to provide each refugee with a one-time assistance of 300 zlotys (about 434 yuan). The Polish government also plans to introduce an aid package to provide food and temporary accommodation for refugees, and to take measures to allow refugees to work legally in Poland, obtain health insurance and social support.

Poland's Deputy Minister of the Interior, Paweł Szefernaker, said a few days ago that he would provide a National Identity Card Number (PESEL) for Ukrainian refugees who want to live in Poland for a long time. This number is bound to information such as school, visa, tax payment, social security, etc., and is essential for individuals working and living in Poland.

"In a way, they have the same rights as Polish citizens." "They can get their kids to go to school in Poland," Darcy said. At present, Poland's primary, secondary and university schools accept a number of Ukrainian students, and some universities offer scholarships. However, some legal issues in education have yet to be resolved by the Government. At present, many Polish governments have also begun to recruit Ukrainian-speaking teachers among refugees to expand their teaching staff.

In the face of the continuous influx of refugees, some foreign media pointed out that the affordability of Polish cities is facing great challenges. Jagoda told The Paper that there was an article about the overwhelmed public transport in Krakow, and she did see buses that may have been "borrowed" from other cities. "The car was red and yellow, so I guess it was a Warsaw bus."

Since Ukrainian President Zelenskiy issued a general mobilization order on February 24 prohibiting men aged 18-60 from leaving the country, most of the Ukrainian refugees arriving in Poland are women and children. In addition, the COVID-19 vaccination rate in Ukraine (35%) is also significantly lower than in Poland. All of the above factors pose challenges to the work of volunteers.

"Most of the time, refugees get the most basic things, like food, water and medical assistance. Volunteers sometimes bring other supplies, such as clothes. Jagoda told The Paper, "What refugees need every day is different. Sometimes milk powder or diapers are needed, and sometimes certain types of medications and first aid materials are needed. But we don't always have creams, the right sized diapers, or baby food. ”

Refugee groups of non-Ukrainian origin have attracted much attention

Notably, not all of the refugees fleeing Ukraine have Ukrainian citizenship, and more than 76,000 of them are foreign students, mainly from India, Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt. Previously, a number of foreign media reported that black students were treated unfairly on the Ukrainian side of the Polish-Ukrainian border, and there were also refugees of non-Ukrainian descent who were denied service or left out in the cold in Polish cities.

Samuel George, a 22-year-old Nigerian international student, and friends drove from Kiev to the Polish border, but were forced to get out of the car 10 kilometers from the border by Ukrainian officials and ended up walking for 5 hours to enter Poland, the Guardian reported. Some analysts say that racial discrimination against refugees of non-Ukrainian origin, although not systematic, is true, whether in Ukraine or Poland.

"From the perspective of these international students, they suddenly have to go to Poland, there is a long queue, and they do not speak Polish, and when they enter the country, a tension is likely to cause misunderstandings." "For example, those African students who speak French. ”

Kalina Czwarnóg, a spokeswoman for the Polish NGO Fundacja Ocalenie, said the foundation would establish a support system to help refugees of non-Ukrainian origin. "They are one of the most vulnerable groups at the moment and need extra support." Tsvanog said.

Recently, European countries' attitudes toward Ukrainian refugees have stood in stark contrast to those of Syrian and North African refugees. France's far-right presidential candidate, Zemour, has also raised controversy over the double standards of refugees. Zemur said Ukrainians with family ties to France should be granted visas, unlike those fleeing conflict in Arab countries. "Now everyone understands that Muslim immigrants are so different from us." In an interview with Al Jazeera, Serena Parekh, a professor at Northeastern University, called for a focus on commonalities rather than differences: "They don't look like us, but despite this, they deserve our help." ”

Responsible editor: Zhang Wuwei Photo editor: Shi Jiahui

Proofreader: Ding Xiao