War in Ukraine – “My husband told me to take the children and leave”

Tents set up and tea, coffee or pizza delivered: Romania welcomes daily-growing refugees from Ukraine, preventing them from traveling to Poland, where monster traffic jams disrupt the border. Ernest Lindell, 30, explains, “We heard that the line was large and took a long time to cross the border. The Greco-Swedish translator, originally from the capital, Kiev, had fled with his partner to the south, taking refuge in Lviv, the main city in western Ukraine.

Many had the same intention. Border police, on Tuesday alone, recorded nearly 24,000, a total of 118,000 since the invasion began. Also on Wednesday, the AFP correspondent noted that the crowd was higher than the previous day.

Two camps have been set up, one in Siketu Marmadi and the other in Sirte. Volunteers comfort visitors and distribute blankets, tea, coffee, pizza slices and “martiser”, lucky amulets, traditionally distributed in early March, Romania, to mark the arrival of spring.

In the crowd, many women and children were packed in wheelchairs, shopping bags and wheelchairs, warm coats and colorful hoods, in the pouring snow.

Most Ukrainians prefer to stay in the West because Romania, along with neighboring Bulgaria, is the poorest member of the European Union. More than 68,000 Ukrainians have already fled, according to officials. Natascha Zibrov, 43, has not wanted to keep her luggage here for a long time. With his 20-year-old daughter and 15-year-old, he took a simple detour.

“It’s scary, on the Polish border,” she breathes. She learned by word of mouth that some friends had been stuck in their car for two days with two small children and were heading south. “My husband told me, ‘You take the kids and leave,'” she said, very emotional. “He is a pastor, so he provides spiritual support. Since he is also a welder, he sets up barriers to protect the suburbs of Kiev!

A student from Nigeria stands between tables served with sandwiches. “I left Kharkiv on Saturday and I was too scared to stay,” says 19-year-old Eugene Jumbo, who traveled to Lviv, then traveled six hours by train and finally rented a car worth the equivalent of 240 euros. Rolling for another three hours.

“The stations were chaotic, everything was very crowded,” he explains. “Can’t pass through Lviv anymore. I haven’t tried. I know I’ll have good luck here.” He still does not know what will come tomorrow. “I’m tired, I’m going to rest for a few days,” the young man concludes.