Volunteers and Refugees Work Together

Volunteers and Refugees Work Together

They hope that the war, “the stupidest thing in the world” will end soon

(ANS – Lviv, Ukraine – April 20, 2022) – A few days into the second month of an absurd war, the emergency is gradually becoming a daily occurrence for the many Salesians and many more displaced Ukrainians welcomed into Salesian works in Ukraine and neighboring countries. For some time now, their bewilderment has given way to other feelings: resignation, anger, frustration – and for many the time has now come to make room for a positive attitude, commitment, and collaboration. It happens especially to the youngest.

The proof is the several Ukrainian youngsters who collaborate with the Salesians of Bibrka in western Ukraine, a few miles from Lviv, in gathering the supply of wood for heating. “In the last month, since we have been hosting evacuees from Kharkiv, Kiev, and other cities, we have consumed a lot of it and now we need it to heat the house,” says Fr. Jozef Nutskovskyy, a Polish Salesian from the Krakow Province, pastor of the local Salesian church.

“This is how Ukrainians work, for themselves and for others: they are the refugees who are loading the wood,” Fr. Roman Tsyganiuk adds with admiration; he also a Salesian of the Krakow Province but was born in Ukraine. The loaded logs are then taken to the Salesian house, where, always in an atmosphere of collaboration, they will be cut into smaller logs and partly used immediately and partly kept for next winter. We hope that by then the war will be just a faded memory.

This is also the hope of Wlodzimierz, a Ukrainian boy from Zhytomyr, who is currently in the Salesian works of the Warsaw Province. Until recently, he went to school, met his friends, traveled, as all young people do. Now, he told Fr. Wojciech Akacjusz, he was forced to “travel” to Poland for the first time, together with his grandmother a and a younger brother.

He is pleased to be at the Salesians. “I go to school and have already gotten several good grades, and I’m happy about that. We spend our days playing, talking, watching movies, and reading books.” But in his heart are deeper desires, for peace, and to be reunited with loved ones left behind in Ukraine. “I wish for peace for my country, so we could return home safely. I hope it will be soon and that I can meet my relatives!” Wlodzimierz’s mom is still there, having moved only a few miles outside of Zhytomyr, and he hears from her every day.

“All our ‘guests’ long to return home; they want to be with their loved ones; they dream of the life they had before the war. War is the stupidest thing men can do, especially in our times!” said Fr. Akacjusz.

While waiting for the war to end, Salesians around the world continue to commit themselves to the needs of the people affected by the war. For its part, the province of Hungary announces that it has sent new economic aid to the Krakow Province to help it cope with the reception of refugees, an operation in which it is also engaged by giving hospitality to some dozens of refugees in its facilities, in Budapest and elsewhere. Also, the volunteers of the Hungarian Salesian Youth Movement continue to provide volunteer service at the border with Ukraine, from which an estimated 600,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the country so far.