News

August 17, 2014

Refugees in “Pilgrim” ask God for peace

Today in the adaptation center at the Charity Fund “Pilgrim” over 50 migrants from hotspots of the East of Ukraine. The fund actively takes part in the help to the refugees since hundreds of people come to Mariupol from Lugansk and Donetsk area. Because of the war actions in the east of Ukraine many people get killed from bombing and shootings of living quarters, many of them lose their relatives, children become orphans, more and more people are left without roof under their head, they have no possibility to provide their needs and even simply to defend themselves. Those who managed to leave their place where there is the war zone now have almost nothing along.

The Charity Fund “Pilgrim” started rendering financial help to those who had to become migrants here. And later the management of the Charity Fund “Pilgrim” decided to use one wing of its building of the adaptation center for the migrants. Presently the migrants of the age from 1 to 65 years old live here 0 from Gorlovka, Lugansk, Popasna. One of the first people who arrived here was the family from Popasna – aged couple with grandchildren. They told how they were hiding in the cellar and how their neighbors were killed and how horrible it is to be there where there is bombing and shootings, and how powerful the explosive wave is.

Irina Matyushina: “There were just several rooms for refugees in our center, now we try to fix other rooms to prepare them to make them available for giving opportunity to live there for more refugees. The last family we received has to fix their room themselves since we dint have time to finish it. These people are so frightened; they can’t sleep at nights and are scared to be outside. It is scary and painful to listen to their stories and none of them supposed it would be so seriously dangerous until the explosions were heard right next to them. We urgently need beds, pillows, mattresses, blankets as well as food and a fridge since these people don’t have any finances to live on”.

People keep arriving, they change each other, some of them leave for their relatives and new migrants take their places. They can’t come back home yet this is why they try to find a job, some of them already work. Some of the kids are officially in the local nursery school and those who are a bit older are getting ready to go to school here. Many volunteers help people leave the hotspots, some of them are rescued by their relatives and some of them have no place where to go.

Irina Matyushina: « We don’t know yet how long this forced evacuation will last, but these people need help and shelter and we try to do our best to give it to them. They dream and ask God to send peace, they want to get back home and they are ready to rebuild their houses, if only shooting stopped.”