The Russian invasion of February 2022 has reshaped every aspect of life in Ukraine. For the country’s Roma community—a distinct ethnic group with an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 members in Ukraine—the impacts have been uniquely devastating. Already facing uphill struggles due to widespread racism, poverty, overcrowded housing and limited access to education and healthcare, the Roma people’s daily challenges only intensified when full-fledged war began. An estimated 50,000 Roma people have now crossed the border to Poland to escape the conflict.
“When we carried out needs assessments at the Ukraine–Poland border in February 2022, we quickly identified that refugees from the Roma community were especially vulnerable,” says Simge Memisoglu, Poland Country Director at International Medical Corps. “As they crossed into Poland, Roma refugees faced double stigmatization—both as refugees and as members of a minority group.”
Some didn’t have Ukrainian documentation, such as birth certificates and passports, which complicated the process of seeking asylum and registering for assistance in a new country. Without Ukrainian documentation, it was unclear whether they could ever return home. Moreover, for many of the women who had previously worked in family trading and selling, this was their first time looking for employment and childcare outside the home. Tackling these difficulties—in addition to language and cultural barriers and discrimination from the host community—made settling in Poland a challenging experience for Roma refugees.
“We realized that most of the other services set up to help refugees didn’t cater to the unique needs of Roma people,” says Simge. “They weren’t responding to the increased discrimination that Roma people were experiencing, to the fact that they might not have the same documentation as other refugees, or to the fact that they had less access to helpful information and advice about their situations.”
To bridge this gap, International Medical Corps partnered with Poland’s Central Roma Council (CRC), which has unparalleled local expertise about the challenges faced by Roma people in the country. We strengthened the CRC’s capabilities by training their staff, supporting services like mental health consultations and a telephone advice helpline for Roma people, and supplying resources such as translators. Thousands of displaced Roma people benefitted from these services throughout our partnership, as well as from our co-organized educational sessions for children and training sessions for adults on such topics as self-advocacy and intercultural communication.
Caring for Nadia and her family throughout tragedy
When the war broke out, 35-year-old Nadia lived in a rural Ukrainian settlement with her husband and their 11 children. When they heard planes overhead and bombs exploding in the towns nearby, Nadia and her children frantically threw some belongings into bags and fled their home on foot. The youngest children were too young to walk very far, so they flagged down a passing truck and begged the driver to take them to the border. Initially, he was reluctant to help the large family, but eventually welcomed them all on board and took them to Ukraine’s western border.
The border crossing points were packed with people waiting for hours in the bitter February cold. International Medical Corps had sent mobile teams to the Ukrainian side of the border to provide medical and mental health services and to distribute non-food items and COVID tests. On the Polish side, community groups had set up tents serving hot food and drink for the new arrivals.
Once the family crossed the border and arrived in the Polish town of Korczowa, the troubles for Nadia’s family continued. To settle in Poland, the family needed a lot of help getting their documents in order. Nadia had never been able to get Ukrainian birth certificates for her younger children, who were born at home, and her older children had never been enrolled in school. To make matters more complicated, Nadia was two months pregnant at the time.
Fortunately, International Medical Corps and the Central Roma Council were there to help. The cultural assistants immediately organized housing and essential supplies for the family, and worked with them to get all the documents they needed to obtain their legal status as Ukrainian refugees in Poland. As a result, the children could enroll in kindergarten and school, and Nadia could start looking for a job.
However, the stressful experience took its toll on Nadia’s body, and she suffered a miscarriage. One of the cultural assistants stayed with Nadia at the hospital to translate, look after her and ensure that she received the care she needed. We also provided psychological support for Nadia and her family, helping Nadia through our self-advocacy training to build her confidence and look for a job.
Thanks to this assistance, Nadia and her family were able to build a new life in Poland. Despite the horrors her family experienced, Nadia is grateful that she and her children are now safe, supported and have a place to call home.
Supporting Rada and her family with documentation, healthcare and more
When Rada and her six-year-old daughter, Jana, reached the train station in Warsaw after fleeing the fighting in Ukraine, they didn’t know where to go next. Rada felt completely hopeless. They had no friends or family in Poland, and though Jana had disabilities that required constant medical care, Rada wasn’t sure how to get help.
After a few nights of sleeping at the train station, Rada and Jana were directed by local authorities to a humanitarian-aid and refugee-relocation center in Nadarzyn, where they were joined by three of her other children—including her two pregnant daughters, who were 16 and 18 years old. Because Rada had seen International Medical Corps and the Central Roma Council working in the relocation center, she approached the team, and we quickly began to provide assistance.
To get six-year-old Jana the medical care she needed, the team translated her medical documents from Ukrainian into Polish, set up medical consultations and helped translate for the family. We also helped the family find housing and employment for Rada, and provided clothes and hygiene kits to get them started in Poland.
Soon, the family faced another challenge. Because one of Rada’s pregnant daughters was just 16 years old—too young to have full parental rights in Poland—Rada would need to take custody of her grandchild. It was a difficult situation for anyone to navigate—especially a family that was already facing the obstacles of a language barrier and an unfamiliar legal system.
So, with our support, the Central Roma Council helped Rada find a legal advisor who helped her family navigate the legalities and arrange the custody situation. Together, all these efforts helped the family settle in an unfamiliar country—and regain their hope for the future.
“I am grateful for all the help I have received from International Medical Corps and the Central Roma Council,” Rada said. “We have received healthcare and housing support, and I now have a job. I can finally dream of a good life in Poland with my family.”
Helping Larysa and her family assimilate into Polish culture
Shortly after the conflict forced them to flee their village, Larysa, her four children, her cousin Regina and Regina’s seven children crossed the border into Poland, where they decided to build a new life. However, none of them spoke Polish. Though there are similarities between Polish and Ukrainian, the two languages use completely different alphabets, and the families were afraid that they would struggle to integrate.
They needn’t have worried. International Medical Corps and the Central Roma Council team helped the families find a home and enroll the children in schools. The children frequented the CRC’s integration room—a safe space where community assistants teach Roma children Polish and help them with homework and recreational activities. They also teach children about Polish culture and etiquette, and take them on educational trips. This has helped Larysa and Regina’s kids improve their knowledge of their new country and make new friends.
We also supported the careers of Larysa and her husband, Viktor, who joined the family a few months later. Viktor found a job doing garden maintenance, and Larysa is volunteering in the community—both are picking up the language successfully.
Another priority was helping the families get their documentation in order to stay in Poland, as most of the children didn’t have passports. International Medical Corps and the CRC cultural assistants helped them obtain the necessary documents and a PESEL number (the Polish equivalent of a Social Security number) for each family member, and supported them through the applications for state-sponsored child benefit.
Now, despite the many obstacles that they faced on arrival, the extended family is successfully learning Polish and building a happy life. Larysa is delighted that she can give back by volunteering in her new country. “I am very happy that I can help other people in need,” she said. “This would not have been possible without the support of International Medical Corps.”
As the war rages on, International Medical Corps continues to provide a range of lifesaving services to people affected by the war in Ukraine. From healthcare, to mental health, to protection, to water, sanitation and hygiene services, our teams are there, helping civilians and supporting the country’s healthcare system.
Our work is possible because of people like you. To help us continue supporting the world’s most vulnerable people, donate to International Medical Corps today.