Reflections on the journey

We need to start with the deaths and injuries of people in a missile attack on a civilian aid convoy in Zaporizhzhia, just a day after we were there, also in an aid convoy. Let's be clear that this is an act of murder. Unfortunately, the murderer, Putin, will get away with it, as he has so often before. However, this will not stop us (and others) from continuing to deliver humanitarian aid and transport refugees to safety. This is, ultimately, why Putin won't win this war, because the people here have too much spirit and determination to give in, as he would like. Each murder seems to make the will of the Ukrainian people stronger - and ours. 

And so on to our reflections of the last three days, Bob to start. In our work we seldom know at the outset what the outcomes will be. We make contacts, we try to gain people's trust. For anyone of a certain age and nationality who remember "Only Fools and Horses," we are the "wheeler dealers," wanting the best "rewards." These rewards are not for us, but for the people who receive the aid that we can source and deliver.

I write this next bit as an air raid siren sounds in Kyiv, where we are, unashamedly, spending a couple of days of relaxation, whilst also trying to make some contacts and decide on our next steps.

We always say that the Ukrainian people are the story. And so, in our minibus going to Kyiv, people were in something like stunned silence for the first day, having left their home areas in the early hours and experienced various traumas. Several people told us that they had no homes left. However, after a night of rest in the quiet and safety of the Baptist refuge, the van was full of chatter, which was wonderful to hear. Children played "tag" in the service station car park on rest stops.

One of the evacuees in our minibus was a woman about our age, who speaks perfect English as she was an English teacher. She lived near Mariupol and said that she had stayed there for 7 months but couldn't take any more of the fear and stress, and so was going to live with her son in Kyiv. She has two sisters who live in Russia but, unlike some families who have been torn apart by the war, she said that she gives her sisters the real story and tells them not to listen to Russian propaganda.

An 18 year old boy in one of the other vans also had perfect English because he has been studying in the USA. He is due to go back there but may not be allowed to leave, he said. Until recently, males over 18 studying abroad were given exemptions, but there were so many people faking international courses that this is no longer guaranteed. It depends on the border guard. And so he will try his luck.

A noticeable difference, the further south and east you go, is the number of checkpoints, staffed by the army or police. These checkpoints often came up with hardly any warning as we are hurtling along - and we really do go at a pace as the distances to travel are so vast. 

The last checkpoint was on the outskirts of Kyiv, where our van was pulled over and everyone had their documents checked. There was a hold-up with one of our female passengers, which we discovered was because she was born in Russia. The official took her mobile phone and went through all her recent chats and calls. I suppose you can't be too careful. 

Another reflection: we are driving a van with refugees, to whom we are complete strangers, and foreigners to boot, whose best effort in Ukrainian is asking for a coffee with milk! These people are trusting us to drive them safely to their destination, which is an incredible responsibility. The responsibility was only fulfilled when we arrived at the railway station in Kyiv, with hugs and handshakes to say goodbye to people we may never see again, but who have had an impact on us, and maybe vice versa.

One of Bob's last reflections is really simple. The last thing to die is hope. He saw ordinary volunteers in the World Central Kitchen tent in Zaporizhzhia, just doing what they do: giving out kindness, simply and effectively. In our experience they are always there, where they're needed most.

One final request. We have been contacted about a woman with cancer, who is need of an expensive drug, "Cetuximab." If anyone can source and/or fund this, please let us know. 

If you are able to support what we are doing with a donation, please do so via:

PayPal. Open PayPal and, when asked for name of payee or email, enter trawden4ukraine@hotmail.com. 

The collection box in Trawden community shop.