Romania receives every day a growing flow of refugees from Ukraine, who choose not to go to Polandwhere the monstrous traffic jams paralyze the border.
“We have heard that the queues are enormous and that it takes a long time” to cross the border, he explains to the AFP Ernest Lindhal, 30 years old.
This translator of Greek and Swedish nationalities, from Kiev, initially took refuge in Lviv, the main city in western Ukraine, before heading south.
Many are those who have had the same idea. The border police have registered only on Tuesday about 24,000 admissions, out of a total of 118,000 since the beginning of the invasion. And this Wednesday the influx was greater than the day before, confirmed an AFP journalist.
Two refugee camps have been set up, one in Sighetu Marmatiei and the other in Siret. Volunteers comfort new arrivals and they distribute blankets, tea, coffee, pizza slices and even “martisor”lucky charms traditionally distributed in early March in Romania to greet the arrival of spring.
Among the crowd are many women, with children in strollers, suitcases and wrapped in coats and hoods in the snow, which is falling hard.
go west
Most Ukrainians want to go further west as Romania is, along with neighboring Bulgaria, the poorest member of the European Union. According to the authorities, more than 68,000 Ukrainians have already moved on to other countries.
Natascha Zibrov, 43, does not plan to live forever in Romania. She, with her 20-year-old daughter and another 15-year-old, claims to have made a simple detour.
“It is terrible what is happening on the Polish border”, recounts. Through word of mouth he learned that some of his friends were blocked for two days with his young children, so he opted for the Romanian route, further south.
“My husband told me: Take the children and go,” she recalls. “He is a religious pastor, he has stayed to give spiritual support. And since he is also a welder, he helps to put up the barricades to ensure security in Kiev.”
At one of the tables where the sandwiches have been distributed, there is a student from Nigeria.
“I left Kharkov (northeast) on Saturday, I was very afraid to stay,” says 19-year-old Eugene Jumbo, who also traveled to Lviv and then spent six hours on a train to finally rent a car, for the equivalent of 240 euros, and drive for three more hours before arriving in Romania.
“The train stations were in chaos, they were packed,” he explains. “It is no longer possible to cross Lviv, I did not even try, I knew that here I would have more possibilities”, she adds.
The Nigerian does not know what awaits him in the future. “I’m exhausted, I’m going to rest for a few days,” he says, knowing that he still has a long way to go. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
