The American Jewish Committee (AJC) undertook a three-day group visit to Poland to show solidarity with Ukrainian refugees who fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
With many of the refugees seeking safety in Poland and neighbouring countries, AJC CEO David Harris said that the organization was there to “bear witness.”
“We will not stand on the sidelines while this tragedy unfolds. One man, megalomaniac President Vladimir Putin, has created this human drama of biblical scale, turning the lives of millions of Ukrainians upside down. Putin is guilty of war crimes,” Harris said while visiting a refugee reception center in Dorohusk, Poland, which sits on the border with Ukraine.
Harris praised the work of Polish volunteers who have been setting up tents, providing basic sanitary and food supplies, and opening their homes to refugees.
“What’s amazing is how the Polish people have organized to help,” Harris said.
Harris said of a Warsaw train station where refugees are receiving humanitarian relief and guidance for resettling: “It’s inspiring. It’s the true meaning of humanity.”
While in Warsaw, the AJC visited two sites run by the Jewish community.
They also met with Wojciech Kolarski, State Secretary at the Office of Polish President Andrzej Duda, with Israeli Ambassador Yacov Livne, and local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Community of Warsaw, JDC, and the Jewish Agency.
Noting that over 1.5 million Ukrainians have traveled to Poland by car, by bus and on foot – and with numbers expected to rise as the Russian invasion continues – Harris called the refugees “largely people stunned.”
“At one moment they were living in their homes in Ukraine. The next moment they are here in Poland, beginning an uncertain new life, and, in many cases, they had to leave with nothing,” he said.
“Poland has welcomed the lion share of refugees,” Sebastian Rejak, acting director of AJC Central Europe, said.
While others have gone to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova and Romania, Rejak wondered when Western European countries will do their part.
“Will other European countries step up? We need the solidarity of western Europe in accepting refugees,” Rejak said.
Harris added that he heard “powerful and heartbreaking” stories from the Ukrainians he encountered. “The refugees we met believe Ukraine will win this war. They are fighting not only for their homeland. They are fighting for their lives.”