One year later. Over this year, we have been wondering every single day what the day would have been like and what was on the news from Ukraine. Above all, we have been wondering when it would have ended. “Every morning we wake up and are overwhelmed with negative news that trigger us. We all feel close to the drama that people are experiencing in Ukraine. We do it too while our heart keeps beating in Africa. Solidarity is lived where life calls us, where history questions us to testify our being human and Christians”. One year ago, on March 23rd, Father Dante Carraro used these words to display CUAMM intervention in providing assistance to neighbouring populations.
CUAMM’s work started in the city of Padua at the outbreak of the war, with the support offered to the Ukrainian children welcomed and hosted in the Minor Seminary of Rubano, in collaboration with the Diocese. Followed by an evaluation mission, CUAMM commitment was then launched in two areas: Chernivtsi in Ukraine, on the border with Romania and Chisinau, in Moldova.
In Ukraine, a logistic and healthcare intervention has started. In accordance with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, CUAMM is ensuring the provision and distribution of essential medicines to 42 healthcare facilities in 9 Oblasts/Regions, with a particular focus on mothers and children. Moreover, medical devices, foodstuff and essential goods were delivered along with material and equipment to cope with extreme cold weather. Psychological support has also been offered to the population harshly hit by the conflict. A few data are enough to offer a idea of the great commitment: 4 ambulances donated, 1 mobile clinic, 60 heated tents, over 2,200 food kits delivered, 6,500 displaced people assisted beside a broad distribution of medical equipment (drugs, gloves, gauze, masks, medical devices) for a total of 1.8 million euro of aid granted. A intervention realized with the collaboration of the local association VRB, already committed to assist refugees from Donbass and managing to reach the riskiest places and the people most in danger. A new CUAMM warehouse has recently been set in Kiev to bring as much material as possible to the most affected areas.
A year after the outbreak of war, the situation remains tragic. The images that arrive are in the public eye. According to the UN figures (IOM and UNHCR), there are more than 5 million internally displaced people in Ukraine and more than 8 million refugees in other European countries. Behind each number, there are people with their lives, hopes, broken dreams; there are chronically ill patients who need continous care as recently diagnosed patients.
“When the war started we didn’t understand what was happening. When seeing coming Ukrainians refugees like us, who were fleeing from the border areas such as women, elderly, children, many of them came alone with written on the back the name, phone number and date of birth, so that who welcomed them had some information… It was heartbreaking. Our life is suspended and children go to school intermittently. Every time the siren sounds, we need to stop any activity and seek shelter in a safe place. When the light goes out, the darkness that surrounds you is absolute. We had a normal life that was wiped out all of a sudden, from one day to another”, said Natalia, co-founder of the VRB association.
In April, CUAMM’s commitment was extended to Moldova. Moldova is a very poor country on the borders with Ukraine that has welcomed almost a million refugees since the breakdown of the conflict. In the country, Italian doctors and nurses alternate from Italy to offer their expertise in 2 reception centers where approximately 300 refugees are assisted. A small intervention has recently been launched in Poland where around 1.5 million refugees have been accomodated over the year. In the cities of Warsaw, Krakow and Przemysl CUAMM has offered UNICEF volunteers working at the “Blue Points” some training activities. A total number of more than 100 operators took part in the activity focusing on psychological, healthcare and legal assistance.
A work made possible thanks to the support of institutions and companies such as OCHA, AICS, UNICEF, Caritas, Veneto Region, UHF, Gilead, together with many citizens who offered their time to help the Ukrainian population.
Solidarity is a full circle. Throughout the year in fact, since the beginning of the war, CUAMM volunteers have been engaged right in Padua, at the Immigration Office at the Police Headquarters where a increase in Ukrainian requests and accesses was registered after the Russian invasion.
“Chernivtsi has remained one of the few cities which have been untouched by bombardments. For this reason, displaced people continue to arrive and the situation is progressively getting worse – says Michele Soci, CUAMM project manager in Ukraine –. Electricity cuts now leave most of the neighborhoods with a lack of light and heating. It happens even for more than 16 hours a day and temperatures below zero are sorely testing the population. What is most frightening is the fact that people are getting used to a situation that has now become normal. Displaced people come and go, synchronously with the bombardments. They come with the hope and the need to soon return to their homes. Somehow, you still pretend that everything is as it was before, while all around the dark, the cold and the sirens constantly prove you the opposite”. Unfortunately, the war continues and so do the needs.
