Traumatised and cold with nowhere to go: DEC warns of deepening refugee crisis on Ukraine’s borders

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) today warns of the deepening refugee crisis on Ukraine's borders as the number of people who have fled the country since the conflict began nears 3 million.  

Early arrivals were predominantly people who had decided to leave to stay with family in Europe, say aid workers, but in recent days people arriving have stayed in Ukraine until forced to leave as fighting has reached their homes. They are often traumatised from their experiences, arrive in freezing weather and have nowhere to go with few possessions. Local capacity for receiving refugees is also struggling to keep up with the numbers arriving. 

The Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal has raised £175 million to help people fleeing the conflict both inside Ukraine and on its borders, including £25 million matched by the UK Government. The need for humanitarian assistance is increasing as the crisis continues to grow. 

Around 2.8 million people have now fled Ukraine, with more expected over coming weeks and months. DEC member charities and their local partners are supporting reception centres at the borders to meet those fleeing Ukraine and are providing food, water, beds and bedding, hygiene products, medical assistance, information and help in continuing their journey. They are also providing trauma care, including psychological support, social workers, and child friendly spaces to help people recover from their experiences in Ukraine. 

Madara Hettiarachchi, the DEC’s Director of Humanitarian Programmes and Accountability, said:   

“The nature of the refugee crisis is changing. The first wave of people who fled the conflict in Ukraine mostly had connections and relatives in neighbouring countries. Now the people escaping have few family ties, have nowhere to go and are deeply traumatised from what they have seen and experienced. We are also seeing an increase in the number of unaccompanied children, and we can only imagine the fear and turmoil they are feeling.   

“The needs of these refugees is potentially far more acute as they have fled later, with fewer possessions and less resources. They are living in crowded temporary accommodation and need basic necessities - food and water. As the crisis unfolds, and the humanitarian needs deepen, the work of DEC charities is needed more than ever.    

“DEC charities and their partners have worked in the region for years and are experts in humanitarian response and are continually assessing the ever-changing situation to ensure aid gets to the people who need it most and where it is needed most.” 

Caritas, DEC member charity CAFOD’s international partner, has centres across Ukraine and is also supporting people who have fled the country with food, water, psychological support, shelter and means to continue their journeys to safety. 

Natasza Bogacz, working with Caritas Poland, a partner of CAFOD, said:  

“In the first week, many of the people crossing had family in Poland - many Ukrainians who fled the conflict in 2014 settled here. But now we’re seeing people who have stayed in Ukraine until they really had no choice but to run; people who evacuated in a matter of minutes. And they very often have no onward destination, nowhere to go. This seems to be the fastest-growing group.  
 
“It’s hard because we don't really know what's going to happen to them, especially the older people. Many of them are very vulnerable and weak, but also they're often in a very bad psychological state. Many of them have never been outside Ukraine before. They don't understand why this is happening.”  

DEC member charities are finding that older people and children are particularly vulnerable and many older people are in fact caring for the very young.  

In Moldova, the situation is acute as the country has the highest number of refugees per capita, with 230,000 refugees in a population of 2.6 million. 

Tatiana Sorocan, Country Director at HelpAge Moldova (partner of DEC member Age International), said: 

“The older refugees arriving in Moldova face chaos and uncertainty and their needs are changing every day. They are traumatised and unsure about their future, or their next moves. We are working hard to give them a sense of stability, while looking after their basic needs. Our primary focus is to ensure that they and those they are travelling with have enough cash to be able to buy essentials like food, medication, or warm clothes to protect them against the harsh conditions.  

“Many of the older people we are meeting are travelling with children. This care giver role is crucial to the stability of refugee families and means that they need money and aid to support younger members of their family too.” 

Age International is responding inside Ukraine via local partners and in neighbouring countries to support older people. It is providing emergency food and water kits, medical, hygiene and dignity kits and support in response to trauma that so many older people will be experiencing. 

Plan International has sent urgent response teams to Moldova, Romania and Poland to begin understanding how to best support children and will work with local organisations already delivering emergency relief, supporting them to focus on the mental health of children, particularly girls, and young people.  

Anita Queirazza, Plan International’s Global Lead for Child Protection Emergencies who has been meeting refugees in Romania, said:  

"Children have experienced serious distress, some of them have witnessed direct violence, others, even if they haven’t experienced direct violence, they have experienced disruptive changes in their family or in their community, they had to flee their home, they are separated from their families. 

“Children may have a lot of questions at the moment, and they might have trouble sleeping at night, they might have nightmares so it’s really important that parents know how to support children at such a difficult time, as children might display different behavioural reactions.” 

Dan Stewart, Save the Children’s Head of News on the border with Romania, said:  

“One of the biggest fears for children coming across the border is the long-term impact of the horrendous and traumatic experiences they've been through. 

“A mum told me that she and her three kids had had two minutes, literally two minutes, to leave their home when one of their friends suddenly had a car that could take them to the border. Two minutes to abandon your entire life and leave your home behind. Her nine-year-old daughter was really quiet and withdrawn and her mum said that sometimes she just starts crying.  

“Children are incredibly resilient and they can bounce back from so much, but they need help. And that’s why we’re scaling up rapidly across the region to make sure that more and more children get the emotional support they need to recover.”      

Save the Children is working inside Ukraine and neighbouring countries to help provide children and families with immediate aid such as food water, hygiene kits and cash assistance. They are also setting up child-friendly spaces and offering psychological support. 

As well as providing urgent assistance now, donations to the DEC will continue to be used to help support those whose lives have been devastated by the conflict in the months and years to come. More information on DEC charities’ response can be found here. 

ENDS 

 

Notes to editors:  

Media enquiries please call 020 7387 0200 or 07734 653616 (out of hours).  

Spokespeople available in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and the UK.  For more information or to request interviews in advance please contact: bguiton@dec.org.uk 

A general collection of images and video footage of DEC member charities responding as refugees arrive into neighbouring countries is available here.  

About the DEC: The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities at times of crisis overseas to raise funds quickly and efficiently. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and our mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives through effective humanitarian response. The DEC’s 15 member charities are: Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.  

Thirteen of the DEC’s 15 members are either responding or planning to respond in Ukraine or in neighbouring countries and will receive funds from this appeal. Some may work through trusted local partners. They are Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK and World Vision UK.  

Through UK Aid Match the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) gives the British public the opportunity to have a say in how the UK aid budget is spent whilst boosting the impact of the very best British charities to change and save the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. The UK Government match funded up to £25 million of public donations to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. This is the largest commitment ever made to a DEC appeal through UK Aid Match and will double the impact of public donations, ensuring that charities working on the ground can reach those in urgent need.  

UK Aid Match has increased the impact of a number of DEC appeals to help those in need around the world, including most recently to support people in Afghanistan through DEC’s Afghanistan Appeal in 2021. 

Enquiries about UK Aid Match and UK Government support for Ukraine should be directed to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Newsdesk. Please email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk.  

How to donate:  

• Online: dec.org.uk  
• Phone: 0370 60 60 900  
• SMS: To donate £10 text SUPPORT to 70150. Texts cost £10 plus the standard network charge and the whole £10 goes to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. You must be 16  or over and please ask the bill payer's permission. For full terms and conditions and more information go to www.dec.org.uk  
• Or donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office or send a cheque by post to Post: DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, PO Box 999, London EC3A 3AA.