The Russian invasion has pushed Ukraine to the brink. The eastern European country is staring at an unprecedented crisis that has threatened its existence.
Amid all the chaos, international cadre of volunteers of Indian-origin have emerged as ‘saviours’ of fleeing Ukrainins in the face of Russian shelling. They are working on the frontlines of the refugee crisis in Poland.
One of the volunteers of Indian origin Yogi Trivedi, who is providing help to refugees, said he’s overseeing safety and security of refugees coming across the border.
Trivedi said he is helping them with settling in and provide hot vegetarian meals.
Above all, several other volunteers of Indian origin are offering them emotional support in times of their trauma.
The mission is being spearheaded by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha of BAPS has about 25 volunteers from the US, Britain, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Poland.
At the insistence of the Indian government, they worked initially with Indian students evacuating from Ukraine but their work has metamorphosised into a programme helping everyone fleeing the Russian onslaught.
Meanwhile, India has repatriated most of the estimated 20,000 Indians stranded in Ukraine.
Once most of the students were rescued, members of the organisation realised that there were huge number of Ukrainians and other immigrants coming in from that side and they didn’t have basic amenities available with them.
Refugees were reeling under shortage of warm clothes and food scarcity fell them while it was snowing in Poland.
According to UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemay DiCarlo, the number refugees fleeing Ukraine had reached 2.5 million.
At such a crisis period, the rescue team members, wearing their yellow vests with a sketch of the Akshardham temple in Gujarat, rushed to the help of refugees of all nationalities at three border points, Budomierz, Korczowa and Medyka.
Trivedi added despite providing refugees essential warm clothes, gloves, sanitary supplies and hot meals, they were showered with emotional comfort they needed the most.
The suffering people needed “love and warmth that was necessary to help them recover from that trauma” of their wartime mental trauma.