70 including children, women, and older people from Ukraine. Waiting hungrily for the most filling meal of the day - dinner. Unfortunately, there is no dinner. At the first sound of the news, I immediately jolted out to help...because I know how the refugees felt. I felt it in my bones. I have experienced it and have seen many go through it.
It wasn't clear at first who these refugees were. But it didn't matter. I too am a refugee. We all are in the same boat. On the way to the shelter I got the news it was a group of 70 Ukrainian refugees, and the pain I felt for them became a little more personal.
It is still not clear if the catering team backed down last minute because the government has stopped funding them or if they had some unforeseen issues. In any case, it is not acceptable. A notice before a few days would be the bare minimum. But the notice only came a few hours prior to dinner time.
I have been trying my best to be of help to others. Among the many gifts I have is that I can act as a translator for the Ukrainians who don't speak English (English is very widely spoken in the Netherlands), and I have a healthy body to move around quickly and be of assistance. In the last week, I have helped a Ukrainian lady find a job as a cook, as well as gathered a group of Ukrainians to join Dutch classes in a spot close to our shelter.
"When you want to help, more help arrives." I have since made acquaintance with a very nice lady here who is blessed enough to help me make these things happen. She was the one who cooked all this food for the 70 hungry mouths in her own house. Along with her, we took the food and drove down to this shelter.
Day by day, it is only getting harder for all of us. Busses are no longer free, and children are often sent to school by themselves. Trains were never free for me coz I always got denied the free passes except for one time. But now they are completely not free for all the Ukrainians. And now even catering companies are taking a walk?
Upon reaching the shelter I realized this was where I was first going to be placed. Only after I learned about the conditions inside did I realize how lucky I got when I was placed in a different shelter. Here people share their rooms with 4 to 6 others. Imagine couples, strangers, or families sharing a room with others...The "children's zone" is a small corner in the hall, with hard tiles and a steel beam for the toys rack - right next to where everyone eats on plastic tables.
But no one complains. For most, this is a hundred times better and safer than their own homes back in Ukraine. We were able to bring in rice with vegetables, salads, and "grichka". One lady even came up with a huge smile and thanked us for the grichka because it is a traditional food. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to cook up meat on such short notice.
After dinner, I helped another lady find a job. She and I will be going on Monday to the office to see if we can get a contract for her. Another family needed help with registration, but since everything is closed today, I showed them how they could do it on Monday themselves.
I had goosebumps all over my body. I really can't explain how it feels to be hungry, homeless, and hopeless. We sat among them for some time, taking in all the smiles and trying to understand how we could get in touch with the catering company and see if they'd come back.
Recently I got extremely busy and am left physically drained at the end of each day. Along with that, I'm trying to help others with jobs, find my own job, go around as a translator, and trying to build a youth community for the kids here. I'm losing track of time, and managing it all efficiently has become a challenge. Hell, I haven't replied to many of you in my DMs either, and now you may understand why.
Tomorrow at noon I'll be back in the kitchen again. By afternoon the food will be ready and we will bring the food to these Ukrainians on time for dinner.
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