Support Ukrainian Refugees

Dear Friends,

I’m asking all of my friends to help me directly support a refugee transit center in Przemsyl, Poland, right near the Ukrainian border. This place is making an enormous difference in the lives of innocent Ukrainian people, almost exclusively women and children, who are escaping a war zone and looking to start a new life in a safe place. This transit center is run entirely by volunteers who have come from all over the world to respond to this crisis.

The Ukrainian people who pass through here arrive with all of their possessions packed into a couple of bags looking to start a new life.

It works like this:

After crossing the border, they are greeted at this former shopping center, transformed into a refugee transit hub, by volunteers who speak to them in Ukrainian or Russian, register them with the center, provide them with an ID, and refer them to any services they may need, including:

Understand that all volunteers are here entirely on their own time and their own dime. They simply showed up and offered whatever services they could provide. It is an enormous effort of collective, spontaneous generosity.

The Ukrainian people passing through here are relocated within 1 to 3 days, the vast majority within 24-hours. This is a transit point between their old life before the war and the new life they are about to start. I was amazed to see all of this activity and see people moving on to new lives and receiving so much care and support every step of the way. The one common denominator that I witnessed throughout every step of the process: Dignity.

Two months ago, this Tesco shopping center was sitting vacant, awaiting a renovation. How is it possible that it was transformed into a transit hub providing services that allow the people passing through here to transition from a war zone to a new life in a new country within 48 hours?

Here's the story:

As we are all painfully aware by now, Ukraine came under attack on February 24, 2022, causing hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian women, children, elderly and disabled people to flow over the border into Poland. That number has now surpassed 3 million.

One of the border crossing points is Przemsyl, an old, beautiful, small city in the southeastern part of Poland, a few minutes from the Ukrainian border. The enormous influx of women and children fleeing war created chaos here, but the local people rose to the occasion.

An entirely new immigration system needed to be put in place immediately. A Tesco shopping center was identified as an appropriate place. The local government worked to provide the space and some basic infrastructure. But a place like this doesn't function on its own.

As the refugees flowed in, volunteers from around the world were right behind them. One of these volunteers was Karina.

Karina is a biologist from Denmark who had to take time off work while recovering from minor surgery. Watching the news at home made her realize that she had time to help.

She arrived at the former shopping mall, now a makeshift immigration center, and immediately identified a need: the floor was so dirty you couldn’t even see it. “Give me ten people, and I’ll get this place clean.” She got it done and continued to solve problems and take on additional responsibilities, putting practical systems in place that empowered her fellow volunteers. This intelligent, talented woman intended to make a brief trip here, make her contribution, and then go back home. Over a month later, she was now running the center.

Thanks to Karina’s leadership, the transit center began functioning more efficiently. All of the various entities housed within, staffed entirely by volunteers, all coordinated and collaborating to make the refugees' journey escaping war as seamless as possible.

The volunteers who Karina has been coordinating have all come here independently. They’ve never met each other before, but now they’re working together to provide temporary housing and safe passage for newly arrived refugees.

Here's one example of someone I've met inside the transit center:

Olivia is a psychiatrist from Ireland who drove here in a van with a friend. Olivia sets up the flights and finds a person from her database of contacts who will meet the arriving refugees in Ireland, assisting them with the appropriate paperwork, finding housing, etc. Olivia and her partner in this endeavor are doing this entirely on their own. They are independent citizens who are responding to the outbreak of war and whose sole intention is to create safe passage for the innocent women and children caught in the crossfire.

I’ve been able to do little things to help, as well. Here's one example:

I met Katya and her six children as they waited for a bus that would take them to an airport where they would take a flight to Norway. All of them were in surprisingly good spirits. Katya assured me that they would not view themselves as victims and that they would make the best of whatever life has in store for them. I asked Katya if they needed anything before getting on the bus, which was about to arrive. We communicated through Google translate on our phones. Katya pointed out that two of her boys needed new shoes and a warmer jacket. Peter and Joseph are about 9 and 6 years old. I sized them up and ran into the room where the donated clothes were kept. I found a jacket and boots that wound up fitting Peter pretty well, but I misjudged Joseph, so I brought him back with me, and we found a pair of boots and a jacket that seemed to do the trick. We met back up with their mom and siblings, and a few minutes later, they were getting on the bus. I've stayed in touch with the mom, and they are now in Norway, where they have already received some free medical assistance and are in the process of establishing new lives there.

But I was only able to provide this help to Katya and her family because I was able to plug into an existing, efficiently functioning system. A system that didn't exist a couple of months ago. It now only exists because of people like Karina. From our personal and professional lives, we all know that an organization like this doesn’t exist or function efficiently without someone exceptional behind the scenes. Karina is now coordinating volunteers driving medicine, food, and other supplies into hospitals and refugee centers inside Ukraine. People are asking her to help coordinate new centers.

If we support people like Karina, they can provide the structure and resources needed to support the thousands of Ukrainians passing through this transit center and moving on to new lives.

So many of my friends have asked how they can help. Most people cannot simply pick up and come here to help out. My goal was to come here to help in small ways and meet and identify people who can help on a larger scale.

Any donation you make will go to one of two places: directly into the hands of the people doing this work or directly into the hands of a Ukrainian family that is in particular need.

Any donation you can make is greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Thank you so much!!

Love,

Michael Lupinacci

PS: I am doing this inspired by the people in my life who have shown me love and support when I needed it, including my parents, my extended family, and my friends, particularly Barbara and Mayer. In addition, I am guided by the actions of Daniella and DeeDee. If you'd like, please tell me if there is anyone in whose honor you are making your donation. Thank you.

Some more pictures to tell the story.

Elsa was helped by one of the vets:

Every night the cots are moved so the floor can be swept and mopped.

This little guy and his auntie enjoyed a good night's sleep here.

Deanna and Anastasia, sisters who showed me pictures they took of their town in Eastern Ukraine before they left. They were about to board a train at the local train station:

An example of free travel and special trains made available specifically for refugees:

The devotion of people to their pets was quite moving. One woman and her mom turned down a short flight to Spain to spend two days on a bus because their dog couldn't fly, and volunteers shuttled pet owners to the train station where they could get free inoculations.

Trish, an American volunteering with World Central Kitchen:

A group of Italians drove their truck from Modena and do what Italians do, offering free pizza around the clock for refugees and volunteers:

This organization, Tel-Lviv, (referencing the name of the nearby Ukrainian city that we all now know) was started by a Yoni, a young guy from Israel who helped me communicate with Katya and her family by speaking Russian (which almost all Ukrainians understand) and translating it into English for me:

A group of young people who were nice enough to play a game of soccer with me in the hallways of the center:

This amazing 14-year-old Ukrainian boy was volunteering as a translator between Ukrainian and English while waiting a few days for his trip to Ireland, where is he now safely living with his mom:

This little girl and her family made safe passage through and are now in Germany:

The universal language of art: