20 kilometers from Warsaw is the largest Ukrainian refugee center in all of Europe. “There are 2,000 people living here,” they tell EL MUNDO. “Shock” at the Shakhtar hotel, Madrid’s rival tomorrow in the Champions League, where they have relatives in the country.
For the southwest of warsaw nace ‘The Route of the Heroes‘, named for ‘The Miracle at the Vistula‘ of 1920, that is, the victory of the Polish army over the Soviet. It is the country’s main road, modernized under the name ‘S8’, and connects the capital with Wroclaw (Wroclaw). It is significant that after 20 kilometers driving along that asphalt that honors the memory of those heroes, now appears on your right the largest Ukrainian refugee center inEuropathe PTAK Humanitarian Aid Center.
It has not been just any Monday for them.
Los 83 missilesaccording to the Ukrainian army, which Russia has launched on the centers of Kiev, Zaporiyia, Lepolis, Dnipro, Mikolayev, Zitomir, Ternopil, Jarkov, Khmelnitsky, Kropivnitski, Poltava, Sumi y Vinnitsa have also resounded in the temporary home of the Ukrainians in Poland. “Every missile is a stab to the heart“, admitted, with few words, a couple of gestures and the help in the translation of one of the attendees, a mother who spent the morning with her children at the entrance of the center.
“Here they live right now 2.000 personas“, one of the monitors explained to this newspaper. They call it “little ukraine“. The industrial estate of 150,000 square metersPreviously used as an area for exhibitions, events and congresses, it has been sheltering refugees since the end of February. can hold up to 25.000 people at a time, always under the coordination of the Polish government, and it was full during the first months of the war. In total, it is estimated that there are more than seven million refugees ukrainians around the world, one and a half million of them in Polandaccording to data from UNHCR. “You can imagine how the morning has been…”, they say. Their mvileskeys to maintaining communication with relatives who have remained in Ukrainian territory, fumed throughout Monday to read the latest informations and exchange video calls with Ukraine.
The children, meanwhile, play without really knowing what is going on. The fuel station and the McDonald’s that are attached to the wall of the PTAK are the new step of your house. In the makeshift refugee center they are given shelter, information and are guided to other cities or countries in Europe. “Some are here for a few days but there are families who have been here for weeks“. Next to the industrial area there are several bus stations that dozens of families use every morning, especially mothers with their children, suitcase in hand, to cross borders to their destination again. “Germany“, is the goal of a mother with four girls and two suitcases. A whole life.
“You want to sleep in freedom, so do we”
Back in Warsaw, the Regent Hotel of the capital, with more comforts, serves as ‘home’ of Shakhtar Donetskrival this Tuesday of Real Madrid on the Champions League. The expedition of the Ukrainian team, which ‘lives’ in Lviv but he is homeless (“we are nomads,” he said Igor Jovicevic in an interview with EL MUNDO), also woke up this morning with the news of the bombs on Ukrainian territory, where the families of the players and the coaching staff still reside. “we are shocked“, Jovicevic replied to this newspaper. “Who can think of football right now?”, they valued in the hotel.
Later, at a press conference, the coach and the goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin put words to the frustration of the Ukrainian people. Because they, before soccer players, are human beings. “Sometimes there’s not much to say, sometimes with a pat we are united. We are in this disgrace all together. They have their family there, I’ve seen them crestfallen at breakfast. We will have to find the strength to fight because when the match starts, unfortunately, nobody is going to remember the people. That’s football,” Jovicevic summed up. “We have to be like the military, give people light and help Ukrainians not to think about war,” said Trubin.
Both offer help:Let’s end this war. This is very cruel, it’s not just football, we’re talking about life. You want to sleep in freedom and so do we. Help us.”
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