Six thousand kilometers by taxi to bring Ukrainian refugees to Spain

Photos by Caesar Manso. Video by Rebeca Mayorga and Juan Maza Calleja ///Madrid, 18 Mar 2022 (AFP) - After arriving in Warsaw on foot and by car fleeing the war in Ukraine, Khrystyna Trach, 22, could not find a way to go to Spain, where her sister lives. first need and returned to Spain on Monday with 135 Ukrainians from a refugee center in the Polish capital.” They are our heroes,” Trach told AFP shortly after the arrival of a convoy of 29 taxis to a church in central Madrid on Thursday morning, amidst the cheers of a group of people waiting for them. Most of the refugees are women and children who, like Trach, have friends or family in Spain. The group also included four dogs and a cat. They will soon have a protected status that will allow them to obtain a residence and work permit.” I'm going to look for work to have money to help my country and my family,” explained Trach, an orphan who left her grandparents in Kiev, where she worked as a TV salesman.She learned Spanish on a vacation she spent with a Spanish family when she was a little girl.The convoy, with two drivers per vehicle taking turns behind the wheel, left Madrid to Poland on Friday to travel the 6,000 km round trip.Among the taxi drivers were Romanian or Ecuadorian immigrants, too.Several drivers and passengers said goodbye with hugs and tears after touring Europe together.Among them, Olha Shokarieva, a woman who was on her way to Spain with her youngest son, leaving behind another son and her husband, who stayed in Ukraine: “fighting for our lives, for the independence of our country,” she narrated during the trip. - “Changed Lives” - People from all over Western Europe have taken to the road by car, or have gathered resources to rent buses, to help Ukrainians move to their new homes. The idea of the convoy came about during a talk about the war held by several taxi drivers while waiting for customers at the airport in Madrid. driver suggested going to Poland to bring Ukrainian refugees to Spain, several others signed up, said Jose Miguel Fúnez, spokesman for the Madrid Taxi Professional Federation who coordinated the operation. Soon they were joined by dozens of drivers.” The response was incredible, we weren't expecting this,” Fúnez congratulated himself.Javier Hernández, who led a couple and their 12-year-old son to Spain, explained that he could not sit idly by “watching the images of children, women” fleeing the bombardments.At first, the refugees were shy and did not leave the vehicle when the convoy stopped to rest, but then “they hugged us, they joked,” said this 47-year-old taxi driver.” In just one day, his life has changed, it's very exciting,” added Hernández, downplaying what he achieved: “It's nothing, it's driving a few days, which is what we do in Madrid.” The organizers estimate that the operation cost about 50,000 euros (55,000 dollars), mainly in fuel and tolls, paid by donations, mainly from taxi drivers.” We have fantastic people,” said Jesús Andrades, 38, one of the coordinators of the caravan, who was responsible for transporting three women.” Even some children of taxi drivers have come to give the money from their piggy banks,” Andrades explained. - “A grain of sand” - Taxi drivers in Madrid have a long history of helping in crisis situations. During the 2004 attacks in the Spanish capital, in which almost 200 people died, taxi drivers took the injured to the hospital. And at the height of the covid pandemic in Spain in 2020, they took care of taking doctors from house to house or the sick to hospital.” We are humble people. I precisely believe that the most humble people are more involved,” said Hernandez, who lived on the streets for a year after suffering a depression due to his divorce.More than three million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24, and Poland has welcomed most of them, according to United Nations data. Ukrainian car in Madrid helped select refugees for the convoy.Like other drivers who participated in the caravan, Nuria Martinez, 34, said she was willing to get back on the road to pick up more refugees.” Nothing can be done from the sofa at home, we have to put together a grain of sand,” said Martínez, who brought a mother and a two-month-old baby.ds/al/mg/jvb