They are hosted in Wroclaw by Robert and Hana Reisigowa-Kielawski, a university English teacher and head of human resources, who live with their two children. The couple didn’t have a spare room in the apartment, so they moved their 5-year-old daughter into their bedroom.
Russian-Ukrainian war: what you need to know
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humanitarian crisis. Indiscriminate Russian shelling has left Ukrainian civilians trapped and tens of thousands without food, water, electricity or heat in besieged cities. The UN said that the number of refugees who left Ukraine has reached two million.
“While we were waiting for their arrival, we were nervous,” Mr. Reisigova-Kilyavsky said. “We had no idea what physical and emotional state they would be in. I was wondering how we should behave in order to be as helpful as possible without overwhelming them. What questions should we discuss, and which are better left unsaid?”
One thing was clear from the start: they wouldn’t ask their guests how long they planned to stay. Their invitation did not expire.
But when asked if Mrs. Fedchik needed anything, she answered: “No, thank you. We’re only here for a few days.” However, as the invasion unfolded, it became apparent that those days could turn into weeks, and possibly longer.
Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainians on both sides of the border have faced uncertainty. In Poland, the government is preparing an emergency bill that will make it easier for Ukrainians to access the labor market and some of the social benefits available to permanent residents.
Commentators note that the warm welcome given to Ukrainian refugees contrasts sharply with the public’s reaction to the humanitarian crisis on the border with Belarus, which peaked in October. The government has not opened the border to these refugees, mostly from the Middle East, and has banned aid workers from entering the border region, a policy widely supported by Poles.
The Reisigow-Kelawski family, who had been involved in various refugee support programs for a long time, were disappointed.
“During this crisis, the government made it extremely difficult for Poles to help refugees, and, unfortunately, many people chose to turn their backs,” Mr. Reisigowa-Kielawski added. “The mass movement to help Ukrainians that we are seeing at the moment is huge and touching, but I get the impression that it is also associated with a sense of guilt that, as a society, we did not do enough back then.”