Croatia – welcoming Ukrainian refugees

CNZD (Centre for Missing and Exploited Children) is helping over 350 people who have fled Ukraine to Croatia. In a short space of time, this trial member group of the Emmaus Movement has opened a centre for children traumatised by the conflict, and an information centre for refugees.

The Children’s Corner – a safe space to rest and integrate

CNZD specialises in supporting child and teenage victims of trauma, and right from the start of the conflict in Ukraine the organisation opened a Children’s Corner (children’s centre), and is hoping to be able to open two others in the near future. The facility is managed by a teacher, psychologist and an interpreter, and enables 15 children, who are traumatised by the war, to be given support every day (70 children have registered to date). The centre’s aim is to provide counselling for these children, and lay the foundations enabling them to integrate into Croatian society and the local education system.

Accompanied by their parents, the children spend a few hours a day at the centre, and can have a rest, enjoy a hot meal, and speak to the association’s psychologist. They can also follow online lessons in Ukrainian. The parents remain at the centre while their children are being supported by the team in order not to reproduce separation trauma. A few weeks on, progress is already being made, and the children no longer feel the need to return to their parents as often as before.

The Information Centre – playing a crucial role in integrating Ukrainian refugees

This centre is unique in Croatia and is managed by CNZD. It offers refugees all the information needed to integrate: asylum applications, entering the labour market, registering for Croatian language lessons, administrative formalities advice, applying for benefits and to join the health insurance scheme… In the space of three weeks, close to 400 people have passed through the centre, which is managed by a lawyer and an interpreter employed full time by CNZD. Open from Monday to Friday, the centre also relies on volunteers, who work shifts to provide this service for refugees. Many regions in Croatia are drawing inspiration from the model created by CNZD and are opening similar centres.

A couple and their five children arrived at Osijek in the first days of the conflict. The parents speak fluent Croat because they lived in Bosnia-Herzegovina for many years, and have been hired by CNZD as interpreters. The team has nicknamed them the “stars of CNZD” because of the many media interviews they have done.

Ukrainian refugees in Croatia

Croatia has taken in over 13,000 people from Ukraine, and some 300-500 people arrive every day. Close to 95% of them are women and children. Housed in hotels, youth hostels or flats, they are given three meals a day and the toiletries that they need.

Ukraine and Croatia have strong links because of their shared history (Ukraine was one of the first countries to recognise Croatian independence in 1991) and their very similar languages. Croatia was at war from 1991-1995, and consequently has recent experience of armed conflict and the resulting traumas. The siege of Mariupol is a painful reminder of the 87-day siege of Vukovar in 1991. The city was razed to the ground by bombing. The Croatian people’s reaction is living up to the close links between the countries: everything possible is being done to help Ukrainians enter the labour market and access education, and each person needs to feel safe and welcome in Croatia.

Defending human rights / Migration News

The Balkan Route – supporting the Emmaus groups

A discussion with Maria Luisa Testori, the leader of the Italian community Emmaus Erba, and a Councellor of Emmaus International. She tells us about the campaign launched in Italy to support the initiatives run by Emmaus in Bosnia along the Balkan Route.

Emmaus Italy has been supporting the Bosnian group Emmaus-ISF for many years. What are the origins of this solidarity connection?

Emmaus Italy (and subsequently Emmaus France and Emmaus International) rallied round to help refugees in the Vukovar region when the civil war broke out in the former Yugoslavia in 1992. We continued to help the refugee families who were trying to return home after the war. At this time, a partnership got underway with a group, an offshoot of the Red Crescent, which joined forces with Emmaus and took the name of ISF (International Solidarity Forum). The various initiatives undertaken stemmed from this focus on the migrant question.

We hear a lot about the migration crisis on the Balkan Route. Can you tell us what is happening at the moment?

According to the data recently provided by Leila S from ISF, the number of migrants has dropped from 29,196 in 2019 to 15,488 in 2021. This drop in the number of people travelling through Bosnia is also caused by the reopening of the Hungary-Romania route, as highlighted by workers on the ground. However, the situation in Bosnia is still disastrous and concerning with an increase in family arrivals since the Taliban took control in Afghanistan. The Lipa camp has been rebuilt following the 2020 fire, but the migrants do not want to enter it, preferring to live in hiding in squats in the woods closest to the border. In addition to destroying makeshift camps, lately the police have also banned the outdoor distribution of food.

Emmaus Italy has therefore launched a campaign in support, can you tell us more?

Emmaus Italy is particularly mindful of the migration crisis, as our country is significantly impacted by this phenomenon. Our longstanding links with ISF have made us go above and beyond the initiatives that some Emmaus groups were already running in order to foster a shared commitment by the Emmaus Movement. Along these lines, we launched a fundraiser in 2020, which continues to this day. This campaign aims to raise awareness about the migration crisis and provide funding for a tangible grassroots initiative. Emmaus-ISF helps thousands of refugees every year by providing them with meals, clothing, and the opportunity to have a wash or charge their mobile phones. They do everything they can on a daily basis to deal with the refugees’ most urgent needs.

You have supported the publication and distribution of the book The Game, whose title refers to migrants’ attempts to cross the Croatian border. How is this book an important testimony?

At one point our paths crossed with Pietro Floridia, a theatre director, and Sara Pour, an Iranian illustrator. In Bosnia, Sara, who speaks Farsi, collected the story of one of the many young people who have attempted “the game”, and the account became an illustrated book. At Emmaus Italy, we decided to publish it, as we are convinced that culture is also a form of support, a language that can even reach children.

Bosnia Herzegovina Defending human rights / Migration Italy News

Solidarity with Ukraine

Many of you are supporting our friends from Ukraine and the neighbouring countries, and enabling them to help others. A big thank you to everyone for rallying round in the Emmaus way.

We are receiving a lot of questions about the best way to help. If you want to help, you can find here the main needs of the groups on the ground, and how to best meet them. You will also find answers to frequently asked questions and the information sent to all the European groups.

We also regularly share news from the groups on our Instagram account @emmauseurope and on the internal Facebook groups of Emmaus International (Act Emmaus) and Emmaus France (Emmaüs en Mouvement).

If you do not receive our emails, please sign up on the homepage of the member area. As all European groups are registered, please check your spam or any folders that filter your incoming emails or mark these emails as priority messages.

Information for clients and donors

Many of you are holding solidarity sales, with the profits being donated to the Ukraine Fund. We sincerely thank you for doing this.

Here are some posters to raise the awareness of the general public about the groups and work of Emmaus in Ukraine and on the Polish and Romanian borders. Equally, you could use the posters to inform customers wanting more information about how we use the funds. We have also included the Emmaus Europe logo if you need it for your communications.

Download the posters

Ukraine solidarity contact person

Emmanuel, solidarity coordinator: emmanuel.rabourdin@emmaus-europe.org

Bank account details (“Ukraine Fund” as the reference + groups’s name)

General information

Solidarity with Ukraine: Emmaus is taking action

Emmaus groups across Europe and worldwide are taking action to help the Ukrainian people.

A “Ukraine solidarity” emergency fund was swiftly set up by Emmaus Europe in order to meet the needs of the Emmaus groups in Ukraine, Poland, and Romania. All Emmaus Movement organisations can donate to the fund. Some groups have arranged or planned special solidarity sales. The funds raised are enabling the Ukrainian, Polish and Romanian groups to purchase the emergency food and other supplies (hygiene kits, medicines, beds, etc.) needed to support the people fleeing the conflict zones.

The funds raised are also being used to financially support the Ukrainian communities (Oselya and Nasha Khata), as all their income-generating activities have been stopped since the start of the conflict, yet the groups still need to be able to continue housing and supporting companions, helping the homeless in the Lviv region, doing outreach work, and handing out food. Lots of second-hand goods have been transported to the area: furniture, beds, crockery, domestic appliances, kettles, toys, sleeping bags, sheets, blankets, bath towels etc.

In a joint press release on Thursday 3 March, Emmaus International and Emmaus Europe reaffirmed “that we stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian people, victims of unjustified aggression that violates international law.” Both organisations are calling on the EU institutions and the EU Member States to “unconditionally welcome all the people fleeing this conflict” and “we call for open borders, full respect for the principle of non-refoulement and for a broad application of the refugee status”, while stating that “we condemn, in particular, the refoulement or differentiated treatment of people according to their nationality or origin.”

Emmaus International, Emmaus Europe and Emmaus France are also taking part in a third sector grouping for solidarity with Ukraine, aiming to coordinate initiatives to support the Ukrainian people, mobilise civil society, and challenge European politicians.

People are being called on to protest in Paris and in towns throughout France on Thursday 17 March. Click here for information about the demonstration and the third sector grouping’s demands.

The Emmaus Movement is once again demonstrating that welcoming victims of brutality and injustice, wherever they come from, is at the heart of its work, just as the principle should be at the heart of society’s values.

Defending human rights / Migration News Ukraine