A convoy of volunteers from Cork have been successful in their attempt to cross the Polish Ukrainian border in order to meet up with a cardiologist who was waiting on six tonnes of medical supplies and aid they had gathered via donations from the public.
Dr Anastasia Koloka made the journey from Kyiv in to the neutral zone in order to pick up the supplies but had to wait two days to meet up with the Irish volunteers after Polish officials ramped up security at the border crossing in Medyka amid ever increasing conflict in Ukraine.
Volunteer Christy O'Donovan, of Cork Humanitarian Aid, which is comprised of volunteers from a search and rescue background as well as charity workers in the Penny Dinners soup kitchen, says that he has never witnessed scenes like those he has experienced in recent days.
“It has been like a horror film it is so bad. There are people everywhere walking around with just the clothes they have on their backs. I have been in a few war zones (delivering aid) and I have never seen anything like this. The movement of people is unbelievable and it is so, so sad,” he said.
"All the local Polish people and charities are feeding refugees and looking after them. We have been giving kids sweets and doing the best we can for people passing us. I have been in Bosnia and Kosovo and nothing could have prepared me for this."
Soul destroying
Mr O’Donovan said that Dr Koloka had hired a truck to meet them in “No man’s land.”
“This woman sat there for two days in a truck waiting for us. The queues were soul destroying. We tried to enter the neutral zone twice on Friday night for roughly five hours at minus five degrees and then all day today. We stubborn Irish people have now completed our mission. The goods are en route to Kyiv (with Dr Koloka).
“It has been a long couple of days but nothing compared with the suffering of the proud Ukrainian people. Our hearts are with them and we will definitely be returning again.”
The ten volunteers were joined on their trip by journalist Donal O’Keeffe from the Echo newspaper in Cork. Mr O’Keeffe spoke to Dr Koloka who said that there was a massive shortage of medical supplies and baby food in Ukraine.
"Our friends from Ireland have saved many lives with the supplies they brought to us. We are very thankful to all the people who travel thousands of miles to save the lives of Ukrainian babies."
Meanwhile, Caitriona Twomey, who heads Cork Penny Dinners, was part of another successful delivery by the group. She and other volunteers delivered seven tonnes of aid to Redemptorist priests in Le?ajsk in south eastern Poland. They also dropped off €2,000 worth of aid at the refugee reception centre which is located in the train station in Tarnow.
Inspiring
Ms Twomey said that the support from the people of Cork was incredible.
“The amount of support and good wishes was phenomenal. As always. People were so nice.
The sheer amount of support that we have received as been truly inspiring and heart warming. Seeing people respond in such numbers by donating items and even sponsoring the fuel for the journey has just been simply amazing.
It is important to have a plan and people to meet you. You don’t leave anything to chance. You have back up plans. It’s about keeping it as simple as you can.”
As a youngster Caitriona often packed humanitarian aid in a warehouse in Albert Quay in Cork city as her late mother Breda Lynch was a 'regular' on humanitarian aid missions in war torn areas.
"She was in places such as Mostar, Split and Medjugorje bringing aid and medicines out to hospitals. She wouldn't have expected any less out of me but to do the same for the people in Ukraine. Nor would my late father."