More than three million Ukrainians they were forced to leave for European countries, which plunged Europe into a dramatic situation. A condition that is already known in other regions of the planet, where over 82 million people are fleeing devastating and forgotten wars, climate catastrophes and discrimination. And if on the one hand there are these three million people who are leaving Ukraine, on the other hand there are between 11 and 12 million internally displaced persons, i.e. people who have left their cities and their jobs while remaining in the country. He made it clear Mykhailo PodolyakChief Negotiator from Kyiv and Advisor to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk just now stated that there are eight humanitarian corridors “agreed today by the Ukrainian authorities to extract civilians from cities besieged by Russian troops”. With the exception of the city of Mariupol, where according to the deputy prime minister efforts to bring humanitarian supplies continue to fail.
Where do those fleeing the war in Ukraine go? According to the latest figures from the Polish Border Police, more than 2.1 million people fleeing the war have crossed the border into Poland since the beginning of the conflict. On the only day of Sunday Arrived March 20th 33,800. “Hundreds of thousands of refugees have gathered at the borders with Poland, Romania, Moldova, Hungary in a few weeks and could surpass 4 million in a short time,” explains Oxfam. Up until a few days ago, 600,000 people arrived in Romania and 250,000 in Hungary, as well as Slovakia and the Czech Republic, although they have no borders with Ukraine. Indeed, the journey of many refugees continues even after they have reached the nearest countries. Three weeks into the Russian invasion, more than 350,000 people had arrived in Moldova, of whom 250,000 left for the West. About 55,000 refugees have arrived in Italy (particularly in Lombardy and EmiliaRomagna), where a Ukrainian community already lives, touching 250,000 people.
On the border between Moldova and Ukraine “After the outbreak of the crisis, we went to the border between Moldova and Ukraine deciding with colleagues what are the primary needs to intervene he says Sorinel Ghetau, Program Director of Oxfam Italy and we faced a dramatic situation that could get worse in the coming weeks, in a country that is already at the limit of its capacity to take in”. In fact, around 100,000 refugees have stopped in Moldova and are posing today 5% of the population “These are mostly women and children, old people or people with disabilities, who often arrive without money and documents because they suddenly have to flee. For this reason, we are preparing to give them access to basic services, Enabling housing and basic needs and not running the risk of becoming a victim of phenomena of exploitation, “adds Sorinel Ghetau. They receive, for example, the money they need to cover basic services or to be able to continue their journey to other European countries. On the Polish border, on the other hand Oxfam provides sanitation and clean water to improve conditions ments in the emergency shelters.
82 million people are displaced worldwide Stressing that the conflict “set Europe and the whole world back decades with its trail of death and pain,” Oxfam recalled over 82 million people are fleeing from devastating and forgotten wars, climate catastrophes, discrimination. Only in Yemen and Syria Almost 10 million people are still fleeing the war and its aftermath. As the pandemic continues to kill a population largely lacking vaccines and treatments, more than 33 million people lack access to safe water sources to meet their daily needs. In Yemen, over 80% of the population is still dependent on humanitarian aid. However, two out of three Yemenis cannot count on health services 18 million do not have access to clean water. “The war that began 7 years ago on March 26 Oxfam recalls shows no sign of an end, as does the massacre of civilians, which has had a tragic increase in recent months and has already claimed over 18,500 civilian casualties since 2015 . More than 4.3 million people, half of them children, have had to flee their homes to escape the increasingly bitter clashes. Hundreds of thousands of families are forced to constantly move along the front line in Marib to avoid attacks that do not spare civilian targets: refugee camps, hospitals, homes, schools, vital infrastructures. And the situation is no better in Syria, where “eleven years of conflict (this March) have yielded the most Serious refugee crisis in the world and killed hundreds of thousands of people. “One in two people in the country depends on humanitarian aid to survive and 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, explains Oxfam. “Fighting has stopped in many parts of the country and hundreds of thousands of people have returned to the devastated cities and without any services. Suffice it to say that 15.5 million Syrians do not have access to clean running water. There is a lack of schools, hospitals and water infrastructure, which are essential to prevent the spread of diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and Covid19”. In order to ensure basic services and clean water for as many people as possible, Oxfam Italia is therefore launching the fundraising campaign “Let’s save lives in emergencies”. Until April 9th it is possible to offer a contribution with a solidarity SMS or a call from a landline phone to 45584.