In Poland, Ukrainian refugees are finding hope amid a challenging exile

“Dzien dobry!” the Ukrainian children nearly shout with enthusiasm as we enter the room. As I walk into what recently served as a bank’s corporate headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, approximately 20 children between kindergarten and fifth grade lean forward in their school desks. They smile and wave at me and the dozen or so other visitors touring the makeshift refugee school.

Fearful of badly mispronouncing the Polish greeting in return, I smile back and say, “Hello!” Even more excited that they get to practice their English, the children blurt out in near-unison, “Good morning, friend!”

Searching the faces of the children in the room, I am amazed at the resiliency and cheerfulness of these innocent children. Most of these children have not seen their fathers in months. At such a young age, being suddenly separated from a parent must be very traumatic.

And yet, room after room of Ukrainian schoolchildren smile and wave and give greetings as we walk by.

Visiting Poland last month, I asked to visit one of the Ukrainian refugee camps that I thought must surely litter the countryside. “We don’t really have them,” my tour guide replied. Instead, Poland has opened its homes to people fleeing neighboring Ukraine. Poles with Ukrainian relatives are hosting them, but many Poles without Ukrainian relatives have taken Ukrainians into their homes, too. Those Ukrainian refugees who aren’t immediately welcomed into people’s homes are greeted with housing, education, and jobs arranged by charities and the Polish government.

The school I am touring is run by the Polish Center for International Aid and funded in large part by the Polish government. Ukrainian schoolteachers among the refugees have been hired as teachers for the makeshift school. Children are taught in their native Ukrainian language, with teachers introducing the students to the Polish and English languages as well. The goal is for the children to not fall behind in their education, and be able to reassimilate back in Ukraine after the war. If they can’t return to Ukraine, the goal is to prepare the children to assimilate successfully in Poland or learn enough English to assimilate successfully in other countries.

While the children spend the day in school, their parents — predominantly mothers — are either working in jobs found for them in Warsaw or are similarly learning the Polish language and customs.

Amazed at this hospitality, I asked, “Doesn’t this mass influx of Ukrainian refugees create burdens, problems, or resentment here?”

“Burdens and problems, yes,” the school’s host replies. “Resentments, not yet. What Ukraine is going through has happened to us in Poland before, and we know it could still happen to us again. That’s why so many Polish families have taken Ukrainians into our own homes. We hope Ukrainian refugees will quickly assimilate and be able to support themselves here soon.”

Despite the children’s smiles and cheerful greetings, life is difficult for refugee families in this foreign land. After leaving the former bank headquarters, I tour another facility, run by an American charity called Humanitarian Innovation Group, which serves as both temporary housing for newly arrived Ukrainian families and a school for Ukrainian children. Each family’s living quarters are essentially a small cubicle in the equivalent of a high school gymnasium. Privacy is at a minimum, living quarters are spartan, and there are very few amenities to ease the families’ plight. On the plus side, there is food, shelter, and safety.

Financed by private donations, the group aims to provide a bridge for refugees to find a successful new life in Poland. Most families find a source of income and private living arrangements within 60 days of arriving at the charity’s facilities.

In the meantime, the scenes are heartbreaking. Children’s artwork lines the walls. The drawings are a mix of unicorns and whimsical dreamscapes drawn by the younger children, and stark, brutal war scenes drawn by the older children. Elderly Ukrainians wander around with stunned, resigned looks on their faces. Most realize they may never see their homeland again.

Poland is willingly making sacrifices and performing an incredible service by helping Ukrainian refugees in this way. Even so, the horror of war remains front and center.

James Taylor (JTaylor@heartland.org) is president of The Heartland Institute.