John’s travel to Poland
As planned, we left Groningen Thursday morning 05:00 hours and drove the approx. 1200 km to Krakow, Poland to drop off the supplies (everything except the medical equipment/instruments and first aid supplies) we had with us. We had been given an address at a very central location and the crew there was helpful and appreciative of the donation. We found a Carrefour supermarket and restocked the bus with new supplies. Primarily with painkillers, bandages, and canned food….the cashier happened to be the tiniest woman in, if not all of Eastern Europe, then certainly in Poland….and I felt very sorry for her having to lift all of the heavy goods we kept loading on to her belt😊……with the newly loaded bus we carried on for another 200km to a small village where I had booked a hotel for the night (so we would arrive well rested at the border the next morning)….unfortunately the hotel kitchen and bar was already closed so we had to continue on stroopwafels and biscuits (which had been our breakfast, lunch and dinner that day.)
Prior to our arrival at the hotel, I was called by the family whom we were meant to provide transportation. The daughter told me that the journey from Ukraine to Rzeszów, Poland has been so demanding for the mother that she wanted to stay there for a number of days to gain strengths to continue her journey. Hence, our plans of transporting refugees had to be adjusted. I called the Fast Lane Ukraine organisation whom I had already been in contact with and gave them the update of the situation.
The next morning, my brother and I drove the remaining 100km to the border area (Przemyśl/Medyka) and off loaded the supplies at an address we had been provided. Later that day, the goods would all be taken into Ukraine. Just as we had emptied the bus, I was called by Fastlane Ukraine with the request to bring 5 refugees to two addresses in the Netherlands. Both families were to be picked up in Warsaw. Before departing my brother and I decided to go to the supermarket one last time to buy a couple of boxes of energy bars and gels (cyclist food) and head to the border crossing to Ukraine to see if we could give it to someone there.
Most Ukrainians crossed the border walking and although it was painful to see exhausted people, carrying no more than one suitcase/bag and a child on the other arm, it was better organised than I had imagined. That is, as they crossed the border they went through a corridor of boots/stands where various NGOs were offering information and providing them easy to consume food and water (we gave out supplies to one of these NGOs). Part of crossing refugees had arranged to meet with friends or relatives and were guided into one lane whilst those without pick-up arrangements were guided into a separate lane and directly into a coach taking them to the city of Przemyśl. Here, they were brought to a temporary refugee camp where they can stay for a couple of nights until they continue their journey. It felt good to see that Ukrainians were taken to this camp (a previous exhibition venue) where they were police protected from the traffickers, who also operate in the area.
Having dropped our supplies, we headed towards Warsaw. It wasn’t more than 400km, but the roads were narrow, not very well maintained and lead though a number of small towns so we ended up arriving late at the hotel we had booked for the night. During the day I was in contact with the two families (Inessa and Elena) and we had agreed to meet at our hotel the next morning.
We prepared food and drinks bags for everyone and Saturday morning both families (Elena plus 12-year-old daughter and Inessa plus mother and sister), arrived well on time. They were accompanied by either friends or a host family. Partly, to ensure that they were in good hands stepping into our bus and driving away with two strangers, and to support with the language. Both Elena and Inessa had a prearranged address in the Netherlands (Nijmegen and Dronten) where they wanted to go…..and off we went for another 13 hours drive.
Inessa, (unfortunately) sitting all the way in the back of the bus, spoke a bit of English and the rest spoke Ukrainian, Russian and some Polish. Luckily, both Natalja and Anna were stand-by on the phone in case we had a communication challenge. Thanks to both who I called during the ride. Natalja was helpful in explaining to Elena that I would take them to the address of her cousin and not drop her off somewhere at a station in the Netherlands. Anna helped me with calling a fuel station and cleared out a situation where I had left the area without paying for the fuel. I’m not sure what she said but I imagine it must have been something along the lines of me being Danish, coming from the least corrupt country in the world and having the bluest eyes you can image…..so he would never even think of stealing fuel…. 😊😊😊. Either way it was agreed that we would stop at the next fuel station and pay for the fuel there.
The trip back went very smooth, we only stopped 3 times for short breaks so we arrived around 21:00 in Nijmegen and dropped off Inessa and her family. The hosting family seemed like friendly people who will help them as much as possible. After Nijmegen, we drove to Dronten which is only an hour away from Nijmegen and brought Elena and her daughter to her cousin (the cousin had lived in NL for many years). They hugged each other very intensely and tears sprang to their (and my) own eyes….it was a very emotional moment and at that point I realised how much it meant to them that we had provided a bit of help bringing them together.
With an empty car Simon (my brother) and I could drive the last good hour back to Groningen, shared a beer and reflected on the experience.
In addition to the very emotional moment between Elena and her cousin, this journey has helped me gain bit of insight to what I already suspected…..the Ukrainians are seriously strong people, even under the most challenging conditions they hold their head high and don’t give up.
Best regards,
John
