Browsed by
Category: Ukraine

Ukraine travel blog

Heading South

Heading South

Comments 2 comments

Our convoy of three cars, packed to the gunwales with boxes of food, pulled away from the curb and into the dim morning light. Leaving the city at 0730, we headed north initially, before turning south-west for the six hour drive to our destination: a small rural village that until recently had suffered eight months of Russian occupation. Ukrainian regional roadways are a mix of smooth dual-carriageway, patched up minor roads, and potholed spring-breaking tyre-destroying spine-compacting nightmares. We began on…

Read More Read More

Back in Ukraine

Back in Ukraine

Comments 0 Comment

The queue to board the train from Przemysl, Poland to Lviv, Ukraine, snaked out of the passport control building and through the carpark. I added myself to the end of it, checking the time and concluding that there was no way I could make it on board before the scheduled departure. Using mime, basic English and the word ‘Lviv’, I asked the bloke in front of me if he was also waiting to board. I indicated to where my watch…

Read More Read More

The Kindness of Strangers III

The Kindness of Strangers III

Comments 0 Comment

We had spent the day organising and delivering aid, and by early evening had worked up a hunger. On my mate’s recommendation, we decided to go to a Georgian restaurant for dinner. Being a Saturday night, the place was humming with patrons, and we were lucky to squeeze in to the last free table. My friends explained kihnkali to me: the traditional Georgian dumplings that look like little upside-down mushrooms. We ordered a plate of these and another couple of…

Read More Read More

Midnight Run

Midnight Run

Comments 2 comments

It was late afternoon before the three of us drove out of town with our load of medical supplies. Spring in Ukraine brings long days, and regional roads bring long miles of potholes, so we were glad of a few more hours of daylight. We swerved and bounced along, passing mile after mile of big open paddocks green with crops. In the little villages, dairy cows ambled along the road verge, pausing to pick at the lush grass. We slowed…

Read More Read More

Into Ukraine

Into Ukraine

Comments 0 Comment

A couple of weeks ago I left the Polish Ukrainian border at Medyka and moved a few hours north. Still in Poland, I have joined another aid organization which concentrates on delivering food and medical supplies inside Ukraine. Last week my boss and I headed to one of the larger nearby towns, with a list of goods required by several groups within Ukraine. From specialty shops to larger retailers, we combed the stores for the things on the list, stacking…

Read More Read More

Letting go

Letting go

Comments 0 Comment

I remember being told once by a psychologist that if you bottle sadness up inside, it will eventually overflow, sometimes after being triggered by something unexpected. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one bottling sadness by the six-pack on the Polish Ukrainian border. From our camp we began crossing into Ukraine in the early afternoon, providing hot drinks and food to those queuing for up to seven hours to enter Poland. Two huge rectangular tents had been erected to provide…

Read More Read More

Violence and Violins

Violence and Violins

Comments 0 Comment

ANZAC Day 2022 A mother and her daughter came to our charity stall after crossing the border from Ukraine. Despite being nearly a month into Spring, the evening air was uncomfortably cold. They accepted a seat beside the gas heater in our tent, grateful for the chance to rest somewhere warm after their wait to enter Poland. As with all the refugees we see, they have very little luggage with them. I can’t imagine having to triage the tangible pieces…

Read More Read More

From refugees to volunteers

From refugees to volunteers

Comments 0 Comment

Kateryna hurries through the crowd and up to our stand, where I am stirring breakfast foods on a two-burner stove. She is wearing a heavy jacket and a beanie, beneath which a thick blonde plait descends and rests on her shoulder. ‘Jeeem…’ she says, and then begins speaking Russian (around 30% of Ukrainians speak Russian as their primary language). She then switches to English: ‘Today I am working with the women and children and Mama is coming later and then…

Read More Read More

Heartbreak and Anger

Heartbreak and Anger

Comments 0 Comment

We are never sure what each day will bring on the Polish Ukrainian border. Sometimes the Ukrainians crossing to the safety of Poland come in steady groups, their wheeled suitcases rumbling on the pavers as they make their way past our stall. We call out ‘Chai, kava, kakao (tea, coffee, cocoa)’, and some come over, thankful for a hot drink after a long, cold wait to cross the border. Other days are quiet, with volunteers and NGO staff outnumbering the…

Read More Read More

Dignity

Dignity

Comments 0 Comment

The women, children and elderly leave Ukraine and enter Poland, carrying bags and trailing small, wheeled suitcases. Some have plastic pet transporters containing their cat or small dog. An unjustifiable and unnecessary war has forced them to flee their homes, sometimes leaving behind relatives too old to make the arduous journey to the border. Their fathers, uncles, brothers and sons have stayed behind to defend their country. The refugees arrive with very little, yet they hold themselves with dignity. Some…

Read More Read More