“Ukrainian refugees are welcome in our city, whether they want to stay here or continue their journey to other cities in Poland or the rest of Europe,” the mayor of the Polish border town of Przemysl, Wojciech Bakun, told APE-MPE. (Wojciech Bakun), capturing the image from the border, where thousands of people from war-torn Ukraine arrive every day.
“Today and yesterday the situation was relatively calmer as fewer refugees crossed the border than 3-4 days ago, when we had 40,000-50,000 refugees arriving in our city on a daily basis,” said the Polish mayor, emphasizing that he is an ongoing humanitarian crisis. “We are already in the vortex of a humanitarian crisis. The situation is very dramatic. You can see it in the pictures from the field of business,” he said.
To the fear and agony of the people who arrive at the border, Przemil’s authorities and volunteers “respond” with a smile and statements of reassurance. “We tell them that they are safe now, that they have reached a friendly area. We are neighbors and we provide them with what they need. Food, toiletries and whatever else they need. I think they feel our friendship. They are welcome here even if they want to “We welcome them. If they want to continue their journey in Europe, we wish them good luck,” explained Bakun, in a telephone conversation that APE-MPE had with him.
The number of refugees increased tenfold in just 24 hours
In the first day or two, only 4,000-5,000 arrived in the Polish border town, according to its mayor, and today that number is ten times higher. “The refugees stay here for a few hours, rest a bit, eat, some take a shower and continue on their way inland to Poland or to other destinations,” he said, explaining that Przemil is a transfer town, a stopover in their journey. these people away from military operations.
“At the moment we do not have people living permanently here,” explains Bakun, but stressed that those who want to stay permanently in the city are welcome. “The (long-term) hospitality of so many people is a big business in terms of logistics and we should be better organized, but we are ready to do it,” he said.
“Many of those who come to the border, 80-90%, go to other cities within Poland. Especially in the first days of the crisis, they went to relatives or friends, targeted. There are also many German refugee support organizations, which are active in city and provide them with everything they need “, he notes.
“Before the war, some people said that operations would be limited to a single part of Ukraine. But we saw that the war had spread across the country and we were prepared for the worst,” he said.
“You can not support Putin and then come to the refugees”
Regarding the Scottish shower he gave to the secretary of the Italian Northern League, Matteo Salvini, the day before yesterday, for statements he had previously made in favor of Putin, he explains that what he tried to do was to explain to him that “this man (s.s. Putin) is dangerous for the planet “and one can not support him and then come to the refugees.
“Salvini supported Putin in Crimea and now he supports the refugees? I can not understand that, so I gave him the t-shirt (a T-shirt with Putin’s face that Salvini wore in 2015). “When he visited Moscow, I told him this, to visit the refugees in the city, and he explained to these people that you are a friend of Putin!” .
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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