Photo: Jennifer Fox.
Isaccea, Romania (River Danube border between Romania and Ukraine)
As the war in Ukraine rages on, the situation on the borders has changed, and in many ways for the worse. Over the last few months, the number of refugees crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border has declined after a large initial influx in the first few weeks of the war. Nowadays, the refugees are mostly staying on the Ukrainian side, in communities such as Reni and Ismail, as families can remain together (men cannot leave Ukraine) and stay in more familiar surroundings rather than leaving for foreign lands.
Now the most pressing issue is that hundreds of trucks have been blocked for weeks, waiting on both sides of the border as Ukraine has lost access to its sea ports. Trade has since moved on land to transport the grain and goods that are urgently needed in the rest of the world, in particular sub-Saharan Africa. But shipping is strangled at small border crossings like Isaccea, which are poorly equipped to deal with massive cargo traffic, with only a few trucks able to fit on the small ferry crossing the Danube between Romania and Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the summer heat is making the situation worse, with truck drivers sitting in their hot cabins with little access to drinking water, toilets, and a place to rest. Makeshift showers were recently installed by the Maria Andreea Association, a small NGO operating from Romania, which is also bringing bottles of drinking water donated by a supermarket. A Canadian volunteer, David Taylor with Blue Team International, organized the digging of a well at the refugee support station in the village of Orlivka (Cartal), where the ferry departs for Romania, with fresh water now flowing freely and allowing people to cool off.
Volunteers sponsored the digging of a well in Orlivka, a village on the Ukrainian side of the Danube. Photo: David Taylor, Blue Team International.
“A few tents, where drivers could rest, would make a huge difference,” says Alina Vâlcu, with the Association Maria Andreea, which brings donations from Romania into Ukraine to help refugees, truck drivers as well as an institution for disabled children and a nursing home.
In recent weeks, three Ukrainian truck drivers have died waiting to cross and another one was severely injured when he fainted and fell from his truck, breaking his spine, said Vâlcu, one of the few volunteers still operating on the border. She collects supplies from various small donors, including Go Fund Me campaigns and takes them to Ukraine, using a truck donated by US non-profit Community Organized Relief Effort.
Alina Valcu delivers sanitary supplies to an institution for disabled children in Ukraine
The summer heat in Eastern Romania is making the journey for refugees (and truckers) much harder, even perilous.
Anne Bull, another Canadian volunteer, has been working since April at the Refugee Support Station in Isaccea, offering refreshments but also basic supplies like baby food, SIM cards and sanitary items to refugees crossing the border. Sponsored by Centras (a Romanian NGO) and manned by volunteers from Canada and the USA to Denmark and Romania, the tent-based station is an important oasis for refugees and for truckers as well – many of whom also travel with their families for fear of leaving them behind and becoming separated.
The comfort and warmth and temporary normality that a hot, homemade coffee can provide cannot be understated, but in this weather the most appreciated is “an icy cup of sun-brewed sweet tea, a special touch started by another Canadian volunteer and former cook who made a simple syrup out of lemon zest and sugar,” Bull said. Sometimes, however, cheering people up is just as important. An American volunteer showed up with a bag of dollar store crowns, and presented them dramatically to many refugee “princesses” – bringing smiles to the faces of stressed out kids who have been forced to leave their homes.
Ukrainian refugee kids wearing their Dollar-store “crowns” gifted by an American volunteer at the Isaccea Refugee Station. Photo: Anne Bull
Aid is trickling in slowly, while needs grow – and change
In Ukraine, the situation is getting worse. Several small communities like Reni or Ismail have been flooded with refugees coming from southern cities like Melitopol, Mariupol or Kherson, which have been occupied by Russian troops. Institutions caring for disabled or orphan children, nursing homes and hospitals are struggling to cope and depend on humanitarian assistance even for basic necessities like food and sanitary supplies. The war is taking a toll on Ukraine’s ability to take care of its vulnerable groups.
This is happening just as aid is drying up. At the start of the war, on my first trip to Isaccea, there were hundreds of volunteers and many NGOs helping, but as the war dragged on, the initial enthusiasm faded and the number of volunteers and organizations diminished. World Central Kitchen, an NGO founded by famous chef José Andrés is still at Isaccea (and at the Bucharest train station), feeding people who are crossing into Romania. Other groups, like World Vision, have left, leaving behind their tents, which are now manned by volunteers with small community organizations who are working hard to fill the widening gaps.
The much-promised international aid has been slow to come. According to a report by Humanitarian Outcomes, cited by The Guardian, more than 2.5bn euro has been donated to Ukraine-related humanitarian response efforts. However, the review concluded that about 85% is being held by international aid organizations who are scarcely present in Ukraine and have yet to spend the majority of the money.
The report found that while “informal” Ukrainian volunteer groups and NGOs are providing “virtually all” humanitarian aid, they have received only 0.24% – or 6.15m euro – of the direct donations.
So, for now it is up to small groups like Alina, David’s and Anne’s NGOs to carry on helping people, with the assistance of community organizations, families and friends, as well as volunteers on the Ukrainian side, and people from the small villages on the Danube, who are doing everything they can to help their fellow citizens who have taken refuge in their communities.
Donations arrive at Nursing Home in Ismail region. Photo: Facebook page of Asociatia Maria Andreea
Authorities could also do more. Lately, Navrom, the Romanian state-owned company operating the ferry to Ukraine at Isaccea, has decided to no longer transport humanitarian aid free of charge. The bureaucracy should be simplified to unblock the borders. Customs should dispatch additional personnel to the border and move traffic faster into the country. Paperwork should be expedited and new checkpoints should be organized in areas where there are better facilities like rest stops with toilets and showers, instead of keeping drivers in inhumane conditions on the border.
