First of all, there is the feeling of helplessness, to which people react very differently. Some withdraw, others start ranting, there is loud protest and silent help.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many forms of aid have been organized with unprecedented speed and professionalism. For example, in just a few hours, the internet platform “ukrainehelpberlin” became one of the central German coordination points. Volunteers who are willing to pick up war refugees at the Ukrainian-Polish border, for example in the small town of Przemyśl or at the Medyka-Schehyni border crossing, either in a private car or in a rented multi-seater.
There are also those who want to provide accommodation for war refugees. Here you can get an overview of planned demonstrations or which aid organizations are on site. Just like the Ukrainian Red Cross, which according to its own statements has recorded an increase of more than 1,000, mostly young, helpers since last Friday. There are also those like the doctor Sergei Fortunjew- Steuer from the aid organization “Ukraine-Hilfe-Berlin”, who has been collecting medicines, hygiene articles and medical equipment for Ukraine for years. But his commitment has never been more in demand than now.
Tennis player Switolina donates prize money
And then there are initiatives like that of the 27-year-old Ukrainian world-class tennis player Elina Switolina, who announced that she would donate all her prize money from the upcoming tournaments to the Ukrainian armed forces and people. She wrote this on Twitter in a “letter to my home country”. The boss of the Japanese online trading giant Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani, would like to donate the equivalent of almost eight million euros for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Not to forget the offer of many railway companies to transport Ukrainian war refugees free of charge if they show their ID. All donations, somehow. And they come impressively fast.
At the Polish Pilecki Cultural Institute in Berlin, however, donations in kind are expected every day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. For example, power banks for mobile phones, warm clothing or camping stoves are urgently needed. Caritas, Malteser, Diakonie and Mission Lifeline are also in constant use – often directly on the Ukrainian borders in Romania, Slovakia, the Republic of Moldova or in the middle of the war zone. For example, the Malteser relief service is currently building a tent camp for refugees in the Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
Of course, there are also charlatans who try to jump on the bandwagon of digitally networked willingness to help around the world. The hacker collective Anonymous was forced to point out that no donations were being collected in its name. Corresponding claims are “disheartening and sick”. In order to separate the black sheep from the white ones, it helps to look on the website of the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) to see which organizations have already been given a “seal of approval for safe donations” for their efficiency and transparency.
There are also other non-profit initiatives, such as the Austrian Volkshilfe, which has been active in Ukraine for 16 years and has now collected more than 112,000 euros in just two and a half days in an online campaign. And there are the relief efforts of the Christian churches, which have maintained friendly relations with the churches in Ukraine for years – unlike with the Russian Orthodox Church, which is in fact a state church. “Overwhelming” is the solidarity, that’s how the head of the church welfare organization Caritas International, Oliver Müller, summed up the situation. Also thanks to the internet.
What is the real use of the support?
And yet it remains with many, the feeling of powerlessness, sadness and helplessness. Such a huge demonstration as Berlin saw on Sunday is impressive. But what use is the support as long as there are still only a handful of people in Moscow who dare to publicly say “No war!” to call?
“It’s a huge willingness to help,” says Peter Mucke, Managing Director of “Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft”, which, together with “Aktion Deutschland Hilft” and in cooperation with the “Action Alliance for Disaster Relief”, donates to well over 20 DZI-certified German organizations distributed for their aid projects. “In the first few days we have already received 2.8 million euros from online donations alone, not counting bank transfers. The willingness to help is really striking this time.”
However, from experience with previous fundraising campaigns – for example after the earthquake in Haiti or the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 – Mucke knows “that it is above all the long-term consequences that civil society has to bear. And we are certain: the consequences too of the Ukraine war will be devastating for years to come”. It is now necessary to have funds ready for this.
And so the collection continues, also in Romania, where people are also distributing food, blankets and medicine to the 80,000 refugees who have already landed there. But the Ukrainian state bank has also set up a website for those “who want to help the Ukrainian army in the war against Russia.”
“From our point of view, politics alone is responsible for military aid,” says Peter Mucke, Managing Director of “Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/.”For us, it’s now primarily about the people to support those suffering the consequences of the attacks.” And probably everyone who donates has the hope of helping to alleviate at least a little the incredible pain of millions of those affected. The hope of getting a grip on the feeling of one’s own powerlessness.