May peace return
to Ukraine and people to their homes
In the middle of last year,
Vietnamese Catholics living in the United States donated humanitarian aid
through the Fu Shenfu Migrant Centre for Ukraine, which was attacked in
February last year and is still at war with the Russian Federation today. With
the money received, the Migrant Centre boughtfood, blankets, cleaning and medical
supplies in Poland, which were sent to Kryvyi Rihin
central Ukraine. The Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary have been working
there for more than ten years. Fr Jacek Gniadek SVD, director of the Centre
talks to S. Renata Puchała FMM.
O. Jacek Gniadek
SVD: Ten months have already passed since the war began. In a conversation we
had after the summer holidays, I asked what was needed for the people engulfed
by the war in Ukraine, Sister said that the war front was near Kryvyi Rih and
it was dangerous.
S. Renata Puchała FMM: This
was indeed the case then. Nowadays, things are relatively calm in Kryvyi Rih.
The Ukrainian troops have a good anti-air defense and are downing a lot of
Russian rockets. I have heard that they managed to knock down about 80 or so.
If they had hit the city, they would have wreaked havoc. The vast majority of
them do not reach their target, thank God. Missile alarms are heard every day,
even several times a day, and also at night. Thanks to good missile defense,
the city has suffered relatively little.
Sister then
mentioned the large number of internally displaced persons. Where do they come
from?
The refugees come
overwhelmingly from the Kherson region. From those areas that were occupied
until recently and today have been recaptured by the Ukrainian army. The
official number of registered displaced persons was 70,000, but unofficially
there was talk of 100,000. They were in a dramatic situation. Overnight they
were left with nothing over their heads. The houses were bombed. Everything
inside was destroyed. They fled as they stood. Often only with documents. And
sometimes even without documents. They looked for help wherever they could.
And they come to
you at the monastery....
Yes. They received food
parcels that we made together with volunteers. We gave to everyone who came
forward. They were solid parcels. So they came to us because they knew they
were getting concrete help. The big wave of refugees was biggest in the summer
and early autumn. Now there seem to be fewer of them. Every day, however,
individuals and sometimes whole families come forward. Most have returned to
their ruined homes and some have stayed here. People are returning to their
half-demolished homes. It is known that everyone wants to be at home. They are
trying to cope.
Do you have
accommodation at your monastery?
We don't have, but we work with the Saletins, who have a retreat house at the parish they run here. There we have directed refugees to stay overnight, sometimes whole families who have stayed for several days. However, our assistance is mainly ad hoc.
I heard about
the Kryvyi Rih refugee camps? What were these?
They were not organized
camps. Refugees were placed wherever they fell. Wherever there was any space:
in a school, in some abandoned buildings, workers' hotels, wherever. Later on,
the city tried to provide some kind of housing, so that they would not nomadize
on mattresses in halls. Most of them were given temporary housing. There is a
law here that says that for the first year refugees don't pay rent. It is not
the same as in Poland, where there is a high level of assistance, but despite
the prevailing poverty, the state is trying to help.
A lot of people
have fled from Ukraine across the border to Poland. How many refugees have left
from the Kryvyi Rih area?
Quite a few people left at
the beginning of the war. Among them were also our parishioners. Some returned
after a few months, some stayed. A lot of people left the town, mainly for
Poland. Most, however, do not want to leave. They want to stay here despite the
difficult conditions and despite poverty.
This is
understandable. Everyone prefers to stay at home...
The material situation has
deteriorated a lot. Prices have skyrocketed. People have lost their jobs.
Workplaces have been destroyed. The war has affected everyone.
How big is the
town?
Kryvyi Rih has a population
of 700,000. There is one Catholic parish with about 100 to 120 regularly practicing
Catholics.
The front is
retreating and hostilities are moving away from the town. This gives you hope
that the war will end.
They say that hope dies
last. Patriotism has awakened among the people and an incredible fortitude is
evident. We can see that something very positive is happening in the people.
Heroic! We are seeing the morale of the army high, and this really fills us
with hope. The fighting spirit is still there in the Ukrainian people.
We are talking
together today because the Migrant Centre has brokered donations from
Vietnamese Catholics from the United States. Why from the Vietnamese? Because
the Migrant Centre has been providing pastoral care to the Vietnamese Catholic
community in Poland for 20 years, and this is how they got in touch with us and
asked for help.
It is amazing that the Vietnamese from the United States thought of us on the other side of the world. We thank them for their help. During a war, everything is needed. First and foremost, food. Followed by cleaning supplies, which are very expensive here. Bedding, mainly for the refugees, as they were left with nothing. They had nothing to cover themselves with. What we get is all gone immediately. Everything is needed. The problem is that there are not enough of these things and there are many needs. There are no things that are not needed here. Medical supplies too. The army was very happy to receive pressure strips to stop bleeding. We have been helping them since the beginning of the war. Once, at the beginning of the war, they came to us themselves when the army was not yet well organized and supplies were not reaching them. We have such good friends in them now. They are very grateful for any help.
Sister Renata,
thank you very much for talking to us. I was not able to go personally together
with the aid to Ukraine. We changed the date of the transport twice. I did not
see Ukraine during the war myself, but this conversation allows me to better
understand your situation in Kryvyi Rih and your needs. It is the beginning of
the New Year. According to Franciscan custom, I wish you good and peace. I
promise my prayers. May peace return to Ukraine and the people to their homes.
God bless you!
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