Looking at the faces of these people who escaped the hell of war and found refuge in Munich, one thing becomes certain: Putin will fail in his plan to destroy this free country and its courageous people.
In the exhibition with photos by the artist Barbara Donaubauer, which opened on Thursday in the foyer of the district administration department (KVR) at Ruppertstraße 11, a photo of Svetlana Odarenko from Chernihiv can be seen among many others, it shows her with her son Kiryl and her mother Lidia. You don’t see the anxious moments they had to endure in the basement for a month while the Russians besieged the city in northern Ukraine and destroyed it with their hail of bombs. It shows her, with renewed confidence, on a sunny day in the courtyard garden.
Like many of the 20,000 Ukrainians who have found shelter in Munich, she is staying with a host family – the mother of photographer Barbara Donaubauer. She not only thanks this family from the bottom of her heart, but also the authorities, who reacted with great enthusiasm when the first special train with refugees arrived at the main station almost a year ago, on March 12, 2022.
KVR boss Hanna Sammüller-Gradl explained at the vernissage how much her department – especially the citizens’ office and the immigration office – was required to “help quickly and unbureaucratically”. This is still the case today: “The arrival should be made as easy as possible for the people.”
The exhibition can be viewed in the KVR foyer until the end of March.
(Photo: Lorenz Mehrlich)
Since the war broke out, almost 20,000 refugees from Ukraine, including third-country nationals, i.e. people without a Ukrainian passport, have registered at the Citizens’ Registration Office. Almost 16,000 Ukraine refugees are currently registered in Munich. That meant a lot of overtime at the immigration authorities, because they had to issue almost 17,000 residence permits for temporary protection. To date, around 90 refugees are advised at the authority every day.
But not only the people had to be helped, but also the pets that they had brought with them, more than 100 of them. It was possible to ensure that people could keep their animals even in the collective shelters. A separation, says Sammüller-Gradl, was not to be expected of these traumatized people, especially children. Then the KVR departments “Sachgebiet Tier” and the veterinary office were called upon to administer the rabies vaccinations and to organize food donations.
The professional fire brigade based in the KVR also had a lot to do. Not only did she have to set up 6,000 beds in the mess hall, she also had to organize the aid that went to the Ukraine. For the first aid transport to Munich’s twin city of Kiev, 14 containers were packed with bandages, medicines, diapers, sleeping pads and other items. All this took place in close cooperation with the social department, whose activities during this time were explained by Gerhard Mayer, head of the Office for Housing and Migration. The challenge: Accommodating the refugees in a city with an already tight housing market.
The photos are intended to show the confidence of those portrayed in the future
This would certainly not have been possible without the many host families. That’s why Svetlana hugged the photographer Barbara Donaubauer so warmly because she found shelter in her family. And because this woman, who has been volunteering in refugee aid since 2016, gives people from Ukraine a face. “It was important to me,” says Barbara Donaubauer, “to make them more visible and not to forget their stories”.
The stories of a murderous war and a tender hope. Oksana and Olga Rutta, both 17 years old, embody them. They had their picture taken on the shore of Lake Ammer and want to study tourism management after the preparatory college. Their next destination is then home: “There they will need young people like us to rebuild the country.”
The exhibition in the KVR foyer, Ruppertstraße 11, can be visited until the end of March during the usual opening times. An appointment, as is usual in the KVR, is not required for this.