‘Scream to your MP’: New Zealand aid worker pledges to help Ukranians – Stuff

Its midnight in Lviv and Mike Seawright is in a hotel room, having given up the couch he slept on last night.

The New Zealander has been in Ukraine for two days, having crossed the Romanian border on foot then travelled by car to begin providing desperately needed aid to the Ukrainian people.

Thursday night, his first in the country, he was put up by locals. Now the couch is needed for their elderly parent displaced from Kyiv who left with nothing.

What sort of humanitarian would make a grandmother sleep on the floor?

READ MORE:* Russian artillery fire halts second attempt to evacuate civilians from Ukrainian city* The Cook Islands resort that is banning Russians* Ukraine under attack: How can New Zealanders help the people of Ukraine

DAVID WHITE/STUFF

ReliefAids Mike Seawright, warzone aid worker.

Its a rare light comment from Seawright who says hes been floored by what hes seen so far both in Ukraine and at its borders.

Its a statement with particular gravitas because the director of ReliefAid, which specialises in offering humanitarian help to those stuck in war zones, has seen a lot. For the past two decades he and his team have been working in conflict zones, delivering aid to more than 250,000 people.

He was heading to oversee operations in Syria when he changed course to Ukraine. There, he will be providing blankets and supplies to the thousands of displaced people sheltering in kindergartens and schools in freezing conditions, and recruiting staff to administer medical treatment.

Ukranians are doing a massive amount to help themselves, but they need help.

If donations and funding allows, his team of volunteers will also supply kits to people in the country's hotspots like Mariupol where a hospital was attacked and days of shelling have largely cut residents off from the outside world, forcing them to scavenge for food and water.

Some cannot leave and some will not leave...well be providing things, plastic, to cover blown-in windows, solar lamps and water containers.

MIKE SEAWRIGHT

Ukranians have been flocking to the Romanian border where some are waiting days to cross into safety.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, on orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Millions of people have fled the country and the UN has confirmed 549 civilian deaths, including 37 children. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher and a further 908 people have been injured.

Because hes only been in the country a few days, most of Seawrights observations come from what hes witnessed at the Romanian border, something he describes as a horrendous tidal wave of humanity.

The line of cars on the day he crossed stretched back three kilometres.

Thousands of people are crossing by foot, carrying children and pets. The dogs and the people are sitting out in snow, it would have been one or two degrees at most.

I heard of drivers waiting three days in their car. You think of that in practical terms: toileting, food, warmth. Forget comfort, how do you meet the basics of life?

A fenced corridor running between Romania and Ukraine is jammed with people waiting to get through. On the day Seawright crossed he and two others were the only ones heading against the flow.

Youre passing 80-year-old grandparents. I saw one woman with a 2- or 3-month-old baby crying in a pram. What is she going to do for 10 hours at the border?

MIKE SEAWRIGHT

More than 1000 Ukrainians have volunteered at this charity centre helping displaced families.

What was most noticeable was the emotions of those both waiting to cross and finally getting to the other side where aid organisations have set up.

The fear and the tension is palpable, you can literally see it on their faces, some are crying, many are stoic, but you can tell theyre just holding on.

Once in Romania people are weary, exhausted and grateful.

They're alive and if nothing else, survived an arduous journey, but their life will be uncertain now, and yet they're relieved.

Well-versed at operating in war zones, Seawright says the speed of the Ukranian displacement has shocked him. The UN estimates more than 5 million people could be moving in the next weeks if the war continues. He also says the world is yet to see how aid workers will be treated by Russia.

Experience has shown us they are deliberately and systematically targetted in Syria. Our offices have been bombed, two staff killed by snipers and aid convoys targeted. It starts with attacking hospitals and schools which is what were seeing in Ukraine.

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

An injured pregnant woman in the Mariupol maternity hospital attacked by Russian forces.

For now the ReliefAid team has enough money to get its operations started and are hoping New Zealanders will support them with donations. Anyone who does can be assured theyll be directly assisting people who desperately need help.

Seawright urges those who cant donate to make a noise.

Scream to your MP, scream on social media, conduct a social boycott, do whatever, but speak out because this is unacceptable.

If we don't say anything nothing gets done. The war needs to stop to end the humanitarian crisis.

A Givealittle page has been set up to support ReliefAids work in Ukraine. If youd like to donate, click on this link.

Read the rest here:

'Scream to your MP': New Zealand aid worker pledges to help Ukranians - Stuff