Features
Letter from Poland
Putin’s war on Ukraine is producing a huge impact on neighboring countries as well. This letter is from Marta, a Polish woman who lived in California for about a year as a teenager, an au pair with an academic family. She is now back in Poland, a marine biologist with a family of her own.
This is terrifying time. We can see victims of this stupid war everywhere now. There are many (thousands) people, refugees, mothers and children, elders coming to every larger city in Poland. People organize help, go to the borders to transport the most deprived, prepare food at the help spots, clothing and blankets and so many other activities are undertaken. Many people offer their homes, rooms to stay. I am really proud how people act in this hard situation.
Unfortunately, the government support is not enough. There is a need for school, pre-school for children, work for their mums, psychological and health care for so many broken human beings.
In my girls’ school there is a temporary help and stay point in the gym for 120 persons. These people will be relocated after 7 days. They are asked to agree for relocation to other countries in western or northern Europe. But it is difficult because of language problems or need to stay as close as possible to their husbands and sons who are in Ukraine. We try to help there as volunteers.
Karina has Ukrainian twin classmates. She wanted to invite them during winter holidays to play (it was at the end of February). I chatted with their mum and she told me that they are in Ukraine for holidays. Luckily, they were in the central part and decided to come back. They spend 5 days in the car, two days at the border because of huge traffic. Now, they are safe. Uff!
I feel very bad. I feel like we watch his evil play on the TV screens, let him destroy people lives, homes, hospitals, the whole cities. He doesn’t care about his people, about all the sanctions. They don’t hit him directly and they will not stop him. Ok. He lost his black belt in judo - it might have hurt him. But that’s it.
Yes, we are afraid of war coming closer and closer. The situation resembles 1939 so much. Don’t you think so? We were just starting to recover from the pandemic crisis and now this.
