Chocolate, muesli bars and toothbrushes. As the Ukrainian refugees get off their bus, completely exhausted, they each receive a welcome package from volunteers. Nearly 20 hours of travel across the Polish-Ukrainian border are now behind the women and children, along with days of uncertainty about whether their escape to Germany would really work.
Over and over again, the departure from the border was delayed. There were problems with the registration and, in the end, the computer systems at the border broke down. There was therefore an overwhelming sense of relief among the refugees and their supporters after their arrival in northern Cologne.
Linda Mai, one of the organizers who brought these refugees to the West German city, is visibly excited. “This is a special day for all of us. The children immediately ran to the playground. One of them said to me, ‘It’s so weirdly quiet here. “There are no crying sirens at all,” he said.
A refugee center created from scratch
Mai is one of the many people in Germany who help refugees from Ukraine. But the pharmacist, who came to Cologne from Ukraine 20 years ago, also became the voice of Ukraine in the city.
The chairman of the board of the German-Ukrainian aid organization Blue and Yellow Cross organized peace demonstrations with thousands of participants in Cologne and made speeches calling for solidarity with her country of origin. And in a day-and-night campaign, he has set up the city’s largest aid center.
“I find it difficult to sleep right now, I wake up at night and then I get up and start working again; that’s a way for me to deal with my pain,” he said. “I am incredibly grateful to all the people who have had nothing to do with Ukraine before and now help here. I believe the good Lord sent us these great people, especially the young ones. This willingness to help is overwhelming and simply amazing.”
The Blue-Yellow Cross is the first point of contact
Before the war, the Blue and Yellow Cross humanitarian organization organized carefree summer vacations for Ukrainian orphans. They brought young people aged 8 to 16 to Cologne, where they went to the zoo, boarded trains at the Phantasialand amusement park and visited Cologne Cathedral.
Since the start of the war on February 24, the organization has become a gathering place for baby food donations, first aid kits and sleeping bags. In its 1,600-square-meter warehouse, dozens of volunteers sort out the aid packages that arrive every minute.
Every day, five trucks depart from Cologne in the direction of the Polish-Ukrainian border, where goods are loaded on Ukrainian trucks and transported to the war-torn area. Hundreds of tonnes of goods have already landed in Eastern Europe and that is just the beginning. More transfers of Ukrainian refugees to Germany are also planned.
Linda Mai’s mother and sister are still in Ukraine. When asked about her hopes for the coming days and weeks, she fell and the 47-year-old’s voice began to tremble. “I hope that so many Ukrainians do not have to die now because a dictator wants to achieve his personal goals. This crime must stop – now. My country is on fire,” he told DW.
“I’m doing something useful”
The Ukrainian citizen Viktoria, who asked not to use her last name, is one of many who spontaneously decided to help. In recent days, the young medical student was staying with friends in Cologne, where she was helping in the warehouse from 8 am to 8 pm Her job is to organize the collection and distribution of medicines and dressings for Ukrainian hospitals.
“It gives me strength to do this, it’s a bit like a cure for me. I’m not sitting at home now and crying, I’m doing something useful,” he said. “It also gives my family and friends in Ukraine the strength to get up every morning. Because they know we fight for them every day here in Germany.”
Victoria now exceeds its limits. continues to work shifts in a hospital where he is on duty.
“On Thursday last week, I was on duty at the hospital when I received a message from my mother: ‘We are being bombed. “I love you.” And then I had no contact with her for 30 minutes and I thought she was gone. That was scary. Since then, I can not even watch what day it is, “he said.
With tears in her eyes, Victoria talked about how she came to Germany three years ago. Today, he speaks almost perfect German. But now her life has changed. “I hope this war will finally end. And I finally see my parents again,” he said.
According to data published by the Federal Statistical Office from 2020, 263,300 Russian nationals were registered in Germany. And because of the large number of German nationals who have moved here from the former Soviet Union because they have German roots, it is estimated that 3.5 million people living in Germany speak Russian.
The next day, Victoria approached a fellow assistant who told her she had a Russian friend. He asked her if she thought she would be willing to forgive Russia one day. “Every day a little less,” she told him. “There is just too much pain.”
This article was originally written in German.
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