People without borders. Reportage from the Romania-Ukraine border
Thousands more people entered Romania from Ukraine through the Siret crossing point last night. Most of them were women and children, as men aren’t allowed to leave their country in wartime.
After waiting for dozens of hours in the cold for a barrier to be lifted, they reached Romania tired, heartbroken and disoriented. Despite the constant bustling, the air is heavy with emotion. Ukrainian women take deep breaths and dandle children in their arms with laboured movements. Like you find at any border, there’s an end and a beginning here. These people have escaped the imminent danger, but ahead of them lies a country they know next to nothing about. And they face an even longer journey to a place they’ll be able to call home.
These are days that the children will never forget. Sudden upheavals in life burrow deep into the memory. They’ll remember passing by a forest, the many cars and clouds of smoke, and the noisy and kind strangers who came from all over to greet them. Men and women who spoke a strange language, gave them toys and sweets, and patted them on the head. For thousands, the sequence of memories will begin with a border checkpoint shrouded in darkness but also a throng of friendly people. This is what Romania will mean to them.
The video has English subtitles.
