Nearly 35,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Italy since the start of the war and citizens’ initiatives are multiplying to prepare for the reception of tens of thousands of others or to send essential goods to Ukrainians stranded in their countries. In the economic capital, our correspondent met two women who embody the particular affection of the Milanese towards this community of Eastern Europe.
Slender silhouette, sunny face, strong character, Cristina Castelli, president of a humanitarian association, linked to the Catholic University of Milan where she directs the Research Unit on Resilience, is preparing to return to Poland to entrust boxes of medicine at Caritas in Lublin; city located at the gates of Ukraine.
” I’m going in a motorhome with a student and two drivers, because the road is very long. I’m 80 so I shouldn’t be doing this trip, but I think it’s important to set an example for young people. Furthermore, I have gained a lot of experience since the war in Kosovo and I know how humanitarian aid works or does not work.Cristina explains. Bringing medicine to a refugee camp on the border with Ukraine is an absolute emergency. »
Mobilization of the Milanese
In the economic capital where a large part of the Ukrainian diaspora lives and works in Italy and where demonstrations for peace are linked, the other major emergency is the unaccompanied minors arriving in Italy. Viviana, 40, project manager in the social sector, is the mother of two boys aged 8 and 13. She got in touch with the Ukrainian parish and the juvenile court in Milan to accommodate two Ukrainians.
” To give a strong signal of solidarity, we decided with my husband to welcome unaccompanied children. I have already contacted the school in my neighborhood. We will try to make them live a normal life full of love. »
A good number of refugees have found accommodation with relatives or friends. And in Milan, more than 1,000 families have already offered to host Ukrainian refugees. A surge of solidarity that the professor, Cristina Castelli explains in these terms.
” I think it’s due to the fact that the Ukrainian community in Milan is the largest in Italy. These people, who have been established for years as home carers for elderly parents, have helped many Italian families. (There are 246,000 Ukrainians, 80% of whom are women, to live in Italy, Editor’s note). It is thereforeexplains Cristina Castelli, a form of restitution, of recognition of the good they have done and their contribution to the well-being of Italy. »
The largest Ukrainian community in the European Union expects the arrival of at least 800,000 refugees and the government says it is ready to meet the most urgent needs.
► To listen also: Poland: refugees from Ukraine continue to arrive day after day