In April, Lisa Long, Youngstown Area Jewish Federation financial resource development director, and Nancy Burnett, Jewish Community Relations Council advisory board chair, traveled to Poland to help aid relief efforts following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
They took more than 600 pounds of supplies, as well as nearly $6,000 donated by community members, with them. Federation allocated $35,000 to the relief effort and community members donated close to $5,000.
While in Poland, they visited a grocery store/shopping center turned refugee center; welcomed refugees at the Medyka border area, one of eight entry points from Ukraine into Poland; paid for breakfast for refugees at the Warsaw JCC; and more.
Long and Burnett shared their experiences with the community at a Lunch and Learn April 25.
Poland Reflections
By Nancy Burnett
JCRC Advisory Board Chair
Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed with the problems of the world. How do we even begin to repair the crises witnessed on social media and the news? From crimes against humanity to gun violence, from drugs to COVID, each day seems to present us with situations which have no simple
solutions. How do we balance being grateful for what we have with our compassion for those who have nothing?
Having just returned from Warsaw, Poland, and the Ukraine border, Lisa Long and I are forever impacted by what we witnessed. My thoughts are still with those who shared their heartbreaking stories of escape and with those we just witnessed as they trudged across the border to safety holding nothing but a bag of hastily gathered belongings and the hands of their children. Their faces reflected shock and confusion and uncertainty. The only tears we witnessed were the tears of the volunteers and professionals who daily
heard the same heartbreaking stories from hundreds of refugees in an unending succession of mostly women and children.
There was Bella, an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair who still remembered the bombs of the Second World War and her family’s escape to safety. Now 80 years later it was her son who got her to the border of Poland to be re-located in Israel but then had to return to save the rest of his family and his country.
There was Lilli, a surgeon, who arrived at the border with her two daughters and their dog. From a comfortable life, she woke up to bombs destroying buildings around her. Hovering in her basement, she made the decision to flee, leaving her husband and all their belongings behind as she drove for 14 days to safety. Her hope is to make their way to Canada.
There was the elderly woman, nameless to us, sitting alone at the desk of an aid worker, shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, trying to prove she was Jewish so she could make Aliyah to Israel.
There was the Expo Center, a cavernous building lined with cots and dark with only skylights to provide interior light. Children’ playrooms had been created in one corner of the building where children played noisily with volunteers from Israel while mothers were off elsewhere seeking documents and arranging plans for relocation.
What lies ahead for any of them? Most want to remain in Poland near the border so they can return to reunite with husbands, boyfriends, parents, grandparents. Regardless of when the war ends, the crisis will be ongoing. Their Ukraine journey begins by making the decision to flee and gathering only what can be carried.
The actual border crossing at Medyka, Poland is alive with activity. Other than the absence of Ferris wheels and rides, it resembles the midway of the Canfield Fair. There are tents lining the walkway with the smell of French fries and popcorn in the air. The very first tent proudly flies an Israeli flag with Jewish Agency volunteers in blue vests welcoming each bewildered refugee, never asking if those crossing are Jewish, and simply offering to all comfort and transportation to safe lodgings as decisions for their future are being made. The names and faces change, but the stories are the same. They have left their homes and their daily routines. They are uncertain about their future and face many decisions - and they are scared.
The term “crimes against humanity” doesn’t do justice to what is happening. Our personal travel problems - all our luggage and relief supplies were lost by the airline and then our return to the United States was delayed - seem minuscule to the plight of the families who no longer had any luggage to lose and whose return to their homes was no longer possible.
My balance comes from the outpouring of support our community and communities across the country have contributed. It comes from the selfless volunteers and professionals who work tirelessly to ease the suffering they witness. It comes from those who suffer the most but who take time to thank all those who provide the help they so desperately need.
I am eternally thankful to the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation for renewing my sense of humble gratitude, for reminding me of the pettiness of my annoyance at insignificant inconveniences, to put into perspective what my sheltered and safe life affords me.
What can we do to help those who are suffering in Ukraine and around the globe? Our Youngstown Jewish community is small, but it is impactful. Our Federation and its agencies touch lives daily. Our seemingly meager contributions provide hope to those who have given up hope, here in the Mahoning/Shenango Valleys and Israel and Africa - and now Ukraine. If you currently contribute to the Annual Campaign, thank you; if you don’t, please consider it now.
The world needs us.