WARSAW, Poland – Warsaw’s mayor is appealing for international help as the city becomes overwhelmed by refugees, with more than a tenth of all those fleeing the war in Ukraine arriving in the Polish capital.
Some seek to wait out the war or settle in the city, while others merely use Warsaw as a transit point to head further west, turning the city’s train stations into crowded hubs where people are camping out on floors.
“We are dealing with the greatest migration crisis in the history of Europe since World War II. The situation is getting more and more difficult every day,” Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said according to AP.
To be sure, the welcome Warsaw has given Ukrainians as the nation struggles to resist Russia’s military operation is wholehearted. Across the city, people have mobilized to help by collecting donations and volunteering at reception centers. City monuments and buses fly Ukraine´s blue-and-yellow flag to show solidarity with the neighboring nation.
But the challenge is enormous. Much of the burden so far is being carried by volunteers taking time off work, a situation not sustainable in the long run.
Trzaskowski noted on Friday that psychologists, giving just one example, had been volunteering to help refugees but soon will need to return to their jobs.
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