Affiliates Travel to the Border of Ukraine
Jan Alberti – NE Ohio Chapter
Shopping for needs at the center (l-r): Pam Cibik,
Ken Palisin, Lita Sharone,
Jan Alberti (in rear)
Simple comforts. Small gestures. What else can we offer this river of people flowing out of their homeland, leaving lives with no certainty of any future? When the Northeast Ohio Affiliates first broached the idea of going to Poland to assist with the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the thought seemed outlandish. Language barriers, traveling in a foreign city, a country in crisis due to an influx of thousands of refugees—for many reasons this wasn't going to work. “Is that a possibility?” Texts flew back and forth. “IDK. Let's find out.” Affiliate Pam Cibik was the first to text, “Let's Go!!” With the support of our Affiliates, we pulled together a trip in two months for eleven people to travel to Warsaw and the Hebrenne crossing.
We landed in Warsaw on May 3rd and toured a center that afternoon. Global Expo Centrum Targowo Kongresowe, an exhibition center, is offering safe refuge for three thousand Ukrainians. This is only one of several locations in the city primarily staffed by volunteers. None of us were prepared for our first exposure to the real human crisis taking place in Warsaw. The sight is difficult to describe, difficult to take in. Large exhibition rooms, one after another after another, were filled with rows and rows of cots. Women, children, the elderly, babies and toddlers, and some men find refuge in a space with no privacy, no windows, and only a cot to call one's own.
The Center does an outstanding job dealing with the demands of large numbers of people who have very little resources and need material goods as well as emotional support. One could see grandmothers, mothers, and children everywhere— three generations that left their men fighting in Ukraine. Karolina Piskorz, a volunteer who has dedicated all her time to the Center over the past few months, told stories that touched all of us. A mother and son had just left their city under bombardment, and soon after their arrival, a fire alarm in the Center was accidentally set off, causing an evacuation of all the visitors. The son refused to leave despite encouragement from the staff. “What's the point?,” he asked. Helplessness and hopelessness are states of mind that are hard to battle. Karolina had spent that morning with a woman who had been receiving a daily text from her brother at the front. Then the texts had stopped; for three weeks, nothing from her brother. What does one do? Grieve? Keep hoping? What is more painful? The effects of trauma can be hidden for a time, but not forever.
Curt Alberti, Terry Kotalik, and Rick Kummerer construct basketball hoop for teens at Center.
Baby food purchased with grant from Maryknoll Affiliates
We were able to assist in several ways and our service was greatly appreciated. Among the many donations Pam Cibik had received were “fidget blankets.” These were distributed to the babies in the Center. A childcare room allowed us to facilitate play with a small group of boys. Through the use of play and army figures, the boys were able to play out their experiences in war and their feelings about what is happening to their country. One boy stated, “Russia will have a Ukraine without mothers and children.” A country without children is no place for anyone.
Many in our group helped organize material goods, a challenge all its own that needs constant attention at such a center. We also purchased many items and delivered these ourselves. Maryknoll Affiliates had granted us $500 to spend on baby food and baby formula. At a nearby box store, we spent many hours purchasing the multitude of items that were needed: adult and children’s clothing, flip flops, deodorant, backpacks, baby food, and sleeping bags. We were allowed carts to walk the items back to the Center and see that they got sorted and distributed. We also began the process of purchasing water heaters and getting them installed. Showers in large shipping containers are available, but hot water runs out quickly. Once the instant water heaters are installed, people will no longer have to wait hours for a shower.
At Ptak Warsaw Expo, another center outside the city, we spent a day sorting through donations and creating 1,400 “kindness bags” that will be handed out to those who are leaving for their next destination. It felt great to be able to do something so concrete.
Packing kindness bags at center (l-r): Rick Kummerer, Lita Sharone, Ken Palisin, Terry Kotalik, Curt Alberti, Amy Shaper, Jan Schuler
Ken Palisin and Lita Sharone show kindness bags.
Karolina allowed us to visit The Mothers' House, a home for mothers with babies and young children, located on the outskirts of Warsaw. On the day we arrived, several children were in quarantine because of “spots” on their skin. Our first thought was chicken pox! Later we learned that the doctor cleared them and diagnosed the condition as stress-related. He reported having seen many cases of stress induced rashes, explaining that the body tries to expel stress this way. Trauma impacts, again. The home contained fifteen children at the time of our visit. We were able to purchase two dryers; they had been washing for twenty-plus people daily with no dryers!
Pam introduces mom and baby to a fidget blanket at the Global Center
Our group continued on to the Hebrenne Crossing where Polish Humanitarian Action was stationed to receive refugees directly from Poland. We were housed and fed by this NGO while we assisted in welcoming the families as they entered Poland. This was intensely emotional—seeing bus after bus with families fleeing Ukraine, many leaving their country for the first time. The reality of the experience could be seen in their eyes, on the verge of tears. So many stories: I spent some time convincing a Mariupol woman that America was very angry and upset about what was happening to her country. She was tearful in her response, “I only wish I could tell my parents this.” She had left them hiding in Mariupol. One bus from Mariupol came through with sixty-six orphans. It hurts to know that these sixty-six children, orphaned before the war, will again lose their 'family' as they are placed with foster families in Italy. Another woman, clearly still in distress, held up her phone to play the recording of the sirens and the bombs that she fled from that very morning.
Pam and Jan assist girl with her tattoo at a Picnic in the Parking Lot
The small comforts—a cup of coffee, a gesture of welcome, and a nod of acknowledgment—to offset acknowledging that tragedy is still happening as homes are fled, accepting that nothing is certain from this moment forward.