a second convoy of GSCF firefighters leaves Pas-de-Calais on Tuesday
As the war continues to rage in Ukraine, the French Disaster Relief Group (GSCF), a northern association made up of firefighters, is preparing to make its second trip there, to the border with Poland. This Tuesday evening, a convoy will leave from Gonnehembetween Béthune and Saint-Omer, filled with medicationsmedical equipment and basic necessities.
A wire board, fifteen volunteersseasoned firefighters, accustomed to intervening in areas affected by natural disasters. This new mission will be led by the president of the GSCF, Thierry Velu, firefighter in Pas-de-Calais, assisted by Gentil de Passos, firefighter in Vernonin the Eure, who was already on the trip a week ago.
18 hour drive
“For the first mission“, says Gentil de Passos, “we had no base, it was a discovery. We went through Belgium, Germany, Poland, to arrive at the Ukrainian border, Polish coast. 18 hour drive“. In their luggage, a tons of drugs, generators, sleeping bags, hygiene kits. “We were the only French people there. The fact of seeing us, of knowing that we had traveled so far, people were moved. When we gave the drugs to the medical staff, some started to cry“.
I had never seen that kind of look
The GSCF acted in a advanced medical center installed by the Poles. Gentil de Passos was tagged with “the gaze of these women and children. I had never seen that kind of look, even in areas of natural disasters. It wasn’t fear, but a haggard look, which seemed to ask ‘what am I doing here?’ Many children were crying because their fathers remained in Ukraine. They are super nervous“.
Not bad for a little guy like me!
On the way back, the GSCF dropped off a couple of Ukrainian students, who had family in France: “they were lost at the station, without a pass, without anything. We were able to bring them back. On one satisfied people on the spot, and on one put two people warm. Not bad for a little guy like me!“
This Tuesday evening, a second, larger convoy is heading for Ukraine, Gentil de Passos will still be on board: “we’ll waste less time this time, because I have all the contacts there. And then it will be power 10 compared to last week. It will be yet another adventure“.
Call for donations
The GSCF always needs your donations: all you need is connect to the NGO’s website.