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.

Statement on the situation in Ukraine, 3 March 2022

For over a week Ukraine has been bravely facing an invasion of its territory by Russia. We reiterate that we stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian people, victims of unjustified aggression that violates international law.

Regardless of what one might say or think about the origins of this war, one thing is clear: it is a new, dramatic and terrifying demonstration of the imperialist policies that have been developing since the end of the 20th century.

Our movement, created in the aftermath of the Second World War, works with the most excluded people in over forty countries. Over the last thirty years, we have sadly been eyewitnesses to these developments around the world. We have observed the development of inequalities in the distribution of wealth, the cynical and endless intensification of policies of exclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable people, especially those in exile, along with the rise of nationalism and fundamentalism, fostered and exploited by unscrupulous leaders.

The war in Ukraine is now affecting Europe, and we welcome its unanimous and effective response. The generosity of people is evident and we hope that this solidarity, expressed in the dark hours of this conflict, will continue in building a Europe of peace, justice and sharing.

It is with this hope that we wish to address this message today to the European institutions and the Member States of the European Union.

Like the Emmaus groups, which have been practising unconditional welcome since their creation, we call on you to unconditionally welcome all the people fleeing this conflict. We call for open borders, full respect for the principle of non-refoulement and for a broad application of the refugee status. We condemn, in particular, the refoulement or differentiated treatment of people according to their nationality or origin.

This protection must also be offered to all those who, in Russia or in other countries involved in this conflict, are fighting for peace and democracy and, as a result, are suffering repression.

Lastly, there is an urgent need to seek, by all available means, a de-escalation and an end to this conflict. We express our full support for all members of civil society in Ukraine, Russia and other countries who advocate peace. The road to peace is not always the easiest, quite the opposite. In the words of our founder, Abbé Pierre:  “It is not from violence, mobilised to change others, that peace can emerge. But (…) from genuinely applying oneself (…) in the service of the welfare of all. Abnegation of people; and of nations”.

Patrick Atohoun, Chair of Emmaus International
Carina Aaltonen, Chair of Emmaus Europe

The  members of Emmaus Europe’s board, meeting on 24 February 2022, condemned the Russian attacks across Ukraine.

These attacks have escalated since the Euromaidan protest movement for democracy and the Ukrainian people’s resistance to Russian control.

The representatives of Emmaus Europe’s 17 member countries stand shoulder to shoulder with the two Emmaus groups in Ukraine: Oselya in Lviv, and Nasha Khata in Drohobych. The Ukrainian Emmaus groups work on a daily basis with the most deprived people, who are likely to be even more adversely affected by this conflict.

These groups, and the Emmaus groups on the borders of Romania and Poland, are also dealing with displaced people and refugees who are starting to arrive. In Europe, we must all prepare for the economic and energy supply repercussions of this war from an era that we believed long gone.

Emmaus is a pacifist movement and stands alongside democrats, whether in Ukraine, Belarus or Russia, where people are willing to be arrested in order to protest against the dictatorship and war wrongfully being fought in their name.