Jeff Walsh
It’s the weekend. Somewhere in a small town in Ukraine, there is a two-level brick house with a freshly cut lawn in a nice, quiet neighborhood. Ms. Kovalenko is admiring her garden full of orchids, tulips and marigolds. Her friendly neighbor, Ms. Bondarenko is also busy with her garden of blooming begonias and daffodils. Ms. Bondarenko said “it would be nice if you could join me for some tea”. This has been a lovely weekly ritual for the two neighbors for the past 5 years. Ms. Kovalenko opts for the Oolong tea while Ms. Bondarenko likes Jasmine tea with a shot of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Pleasant conversation ensues.
Later Ms. Kovalenko will take her beautiful golden retriever for a nice walk around the block. A little later she will take five-year old George and six-year old Georgina to go see that new American Top Gun movie that everyone is raving about. Ms. Kovalenko’s husband gets off work in a couple hours and said he will be joining you and the kids at the movies. It was a great day. As you go to bed that night, she has trouble sleeping because of loud, jarring noises in her dreams. Startled, she comes to know those noises are real and in real time.
As Ms. Kovalenko turns on the television, she sees images of her neighborhood, town, country and countrymen under attack. Debris is falling in chunks through a large hole in the living room ceiling. Shaken, she looks outside and sees giant craters in the roads. Her neighbors are carrying weapons. As Ms. Kovalenko goes back inside to process it all, there is a knock at the door. The neighborhood watchman tells her that she has three hours to gather her family, her pets and her belongings she thinks the family can carry for a 5 hour walk to the country border. Her husband will stay and fight. Her life will never be the same.
One in 95 people in the world are forced to flee their country. Half of the refugee population are children. Medecins San Frontieres/ Doctors Without Borders reports there are 82 million refugees in the world due to violence and war, natural disasters and persecution. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) puts that number at 100 million refugees. 85% percent of refugees are being put up in developing countries. Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and Myanmar have the most displaced citizens worldwide. Targeting hospitals, synagogues, churches and the unarmed civilian population are by definition – war crimes causing worldwide strife and mental cruelty, famine and abject poverty.
This was my second time working with refugees. We need to support the world’s refugees in every way we can. Refugees add to a country’s value both culturally and economically. In the U.S, for example, a 55 page draft study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2017 found that between 2004 and 2015, refugees contributed $63 billion more than the cost spent on refugees by local, state and federal governments.
At the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in February, 100,000 refugees crossed into Poland daily- a number not seen since World War II. The kind spirit of the Polish people cares about the general well-being of their fellow Slavic brothers and sisters by welcoming the Ukraine people into their hearts and their homes. As of July 2022, 7.5 million Ukrainians have sought refuge across international borders, 3 million of those refugees have been welcomed by friend and comrade Poland. Grassroots efforts by charities, NGOs, local businesses and individuals have channeled their resources to open user-friendly reception centers that allow Ukrainians to get jobs and apartments in Poland.
I was in Warsaw, Poland last June, July and the first week of August. I am a second-year graduate student and Coverdell Fellow with the Stevenson Center at ISU. I am a former Peace Corps Volunteer and former Army Medic. I spent 4 weeks volunteering with Polski Chernowy Krysys (Polish Red Cross), Centrum Edukacji I Rozwoju (UNICEF), and and the Global Expo Center Modlinska. My main volunteer commitment is with the Polish Red Cross where I worked at a refugee center which dispenses one-time cash assistance to arriving Ukrainians. With UNICEF, I taught various classes to Ukrainian children ages 9-17. The Global Expo Center is a massive “way station” with booths for every category of support, including job information, housing information, medical assistance, veterinarian care, and more. The volunteer atmosphere in conflict zones such as this were extremely informal and required volunteers to be flexible and willing to help with whatever they’re tasked.
The crisis was a 24/7 total immersion experience for me. I listened to all the personal stories and accounts on Warsaw’s trams, buses and subways. I experienced laughter and tears in Warsaw’s clinics, hospitals, restaurants and cafes. Of all the time I spent volunteering, one particular story stands out. I met a woman named Oksana through the Warsaw International Church. At a café in Warsaw’s old town, she told us that she just arrived and that she was unemployed. We met her special needs son. The next day, I took action. I took a trip to Warsaw’s Central Train Station. I knew of a volunteer station there. I took photos of the refugee job board there and sent them to Oksana. The next day I went to what is known as a “Blue Dot Center”. The Blue Dot Center is sponsored by UNICEF and UNHCR. The social worker I met with told me it is the ideal “safe space” for Oksana’s special needs son. A win/win for Oksana and her son on both days.
As someone who is half Polish who grew up with second generation Ukrainians in Illinois, it has been an interesting experience to explore my Polish roots, connect with the country, and meet wonderful people in the process. Displacement by wars and natural disasters are tragic experiences. Through volunteers’ willingness to show up and provide support, I hope the American volunteers were able to spread some cheer and comfort as we volunteer our time and love.