Mar 23, 2022 9:47:45 AM

“War is always evil and bad”

Russia's attack on Ukraine began almost a month ago. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, over 2.141 million people fleeing the war have come to Poland. The whole of Europe lives on this topic and helps our neighbours as much as possible, beyond all divisions.

Our solidarity with Ukraine

We wish to express our solidarity with Ukraine. To all those who are suffering in this country. It is really tough for us to talk about it. Seeing these images, as well as all that is going on there and over our country's border, is incredibly emotional for us. We couldn't picture something like that occurring in a neighbouring nation. We have insightfully followed the terrifying events happening in Ukraine every day from the very beginning. Both of us come from Polish cities, Warsaw and Łódź, therefore naturally we were concerned about the safety of our families and friends. Indeed, it was extremely hard to get it off our minds after reading the news and seeing the terror in a neighbouring country.

What is fear?

We thought we knew what fear was, that we knew what suffering was, till the moment we saw people coming to our home cities with one small piece of luggage carrying their whole life, little kids coming in buses without their parents without any knowledge about what is really happening only keeping the passports in their hands along with the teddy bear. Seeing those people’s eyes and faces we came to the conclusion that we never felt real fear, never suffered. Not only was it heart-breaking, but also frustrating that we are so far from home, not able to help. The feeling of infirmity rose with every day, while seeing amazing actions organized in Poland, the engagement of people and the way they managed to unite to bring help to those in need. We came back to the Netherlands feeling extremely powerless in relation to the human tragedy happening in front of our eyes. Therefore we decided to take an action.

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Picture: Shutterstock

Take action

Inspired by that, we had to do more than just talk about it and share information on social media, therefore we started contacting polish societies in Zeeland and searching for donations points. In the beginning, we created a small collecting action among our friends and classmates. We were not expecting such positive feedback from everyone. Each person bring just a little which in the end resulted in 3 buses, which went to the voluntary aid points at the Polish-Ukrainian border.

After this huge success, we decided to join forces with Svetlana Vylkove, Green Office and the SDG Events of HZ, as well as University College Roosevelt and local organizations in Zeeland. Two points were situated in both locations of HZ, so that every student can engage in our action.

Sometimes even a small thing, makes a huge difference and can save someone’s life.

Julia-Antonina Majchrzak and Julia Kobylińska
Students Water Management