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Gallery|In Pictures

Photos: Romanians jump into action for Ukrainian refugees

From the emergency services to everyday Romanians, an open-armed and compassionate embrace awaits those fleeing war.

Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Ilie Poroch-Seritan, the spokesman of the Territorial Service of the Border Police (STPF) Suceava, pushes the wheelchair of a disabled woman who crossed the Siret border from Ukraine with her daughter. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
By Omar Havana
Published On 14 Apr 202214 Apr 2022
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Suceava county, Romania – After Poland, Romania has seen the second highest influx of Ukrainian refugees since the war began on February 24, with Russia’s invasion.

Upon arriving at the Siret border, their documents are processed efficiently, which comes as a relief having waited in lengthy queues to leave Ukraine.

“We are the first to see them after they say goodbye to their fathers, husbands, brothers. It is very hard to see this scene, the least we can do for them is to process their documents in the shortest time possible, so that they finally feel at peace and safe,” Ilie Poroch-Seritan, spokesman of the Territorial Service of the Border Police (STPF) Suceava, told Al Jazeera.

After collecting their passports, a few metres away they are welcomed by dozens of policemen, firemen, volunteers and everyday Romanians, keen to help in any way possible.

In sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall, they do not hesitate – they carry the refugees’ suitcases, give them a hug or a hot coffee. They take children in their arms to tents set up by volunteers and organisations. They escort these people fleeing war to one of the many free transport options that await.

“Coming here, and seeing all the people helping us, giving us food, makes us feel loved. I cried as soon as I crossed the border, I didn’t expect this from the Romanian people,” said 58-year-old Tatiana, who left Kyiv with her daughter Alona – and her two cats.

On International Women’s Day, March 8, hundreds of flowers were given to the women who crossed the border.

“I thought I would not receive flowers this year, I have just said goodbye to my husband on the other side of the border, and arriving here and receiving this yellow flower with a smile touched my heart. I could not stop crying,” said Oksana, a 37-year-old English teacher who arrived from Kharkiv with her two children.

Poroch-Seritan said: “Romanians are characterised by our solidarity and this situation amplifies that quality; everyone is motivated to make the people arriving from Ukraine feel safe. We are policemen, but first of all, we are human beings.”

Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Firemen help carry the luggage of a family who arrived at the Siret border in Romania after fleeing Ukraine. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
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Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Kateryna, 90, is helped and comforted by volunteers after her arrival in Romania from Ukraine. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
A policeman plays with a boy through a bus window as his six-year-old sister Alexandra watches on. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
An emergency services volunteer cuddles 18-month-old Katya as she cries in heavy snowfall. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
A customs officer helps a family with a pram as they pass through passport control at the Siret border crossing. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Ukrainian refugees put their suitcases in a bus; several transport companies are offering free rides to Romanian towns and cities to those fleeing war. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
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Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
A volunteer helps a mother and daughter board one of the fire trucks that takes Ukrainian refugees free of charge from the Romanian border to other towns. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
A young volunteer prepares food and drinks at a tent. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
An elderly refugee stands with her belongings packed in plastic bags while Ukrainian mothers and their children are seen in the background. The volunteer-run tents allow Ukrainians to rest, warm up, eat, drink and organise their onward journey. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
A couple of medical students from India living in Kharkiv rest in a sports hall set up by local authorities to receive people fleeing Ukraine in Milisauti, Romania. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Mattei, 4, sleeps while his mother leaves cookies near him donated from a Romanian pastry shop in a sports hall in Otopeni, far from the border crossing. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Volunteers give a Ukrainian refugee a hot meal. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Newly arrived refugees wait in one of the reception halls of the Suceava train station for a train to Bucharest. Volunteers and priests organise aid, donating food, clothes, drinks and free tickets to travel to Romania's largest cities. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
Dozens of Ukrainian refugees wait to board a train for Bucharest at the Suceava train station. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Romania
The Odeon theatre in Bucharest is illuminated in the colours of Ukraine's flag, a symbol of support for the Ukrainian people. [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]


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