Hanoverian fetches refugees from Ukraine – “We can’t do more”
Hanover. Don’t just watch, but lend a hand and help where you can – that’s what Martin Schörnig has set himself. The bus driver out Hanover didn’t hesitate a minute when the Diakonie asked him if he would like to drive an aid convoy to the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The plan: bring relief supplies and take refugees from the Ukraine back to Lower Saxony. The “NDR” has the man out Hanover accompanied on this emotional journey. Martin Schörnig was particularly affected by one family fate.
Hanover: Bus driver wants to help – this call changes everything
The war in Ukraine has shaken the whole world. People from all over want to help those who have lost everything within a few days and are fleeing the horrors of war. Some collect aid supplies, others bring refugees to Germany. Many a place to stay offers one, again others spend money. The wave of willingness to help is huge.
Martin Schörnig is someone who also wants to help. When his phone rang and the Diakonie waited for him to drive an aid convoy, it gave him goosebumps. “It gave me a really chill down my back, that was really crazy,” he says in an interview with “NDR”.
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This is the city of Hanover:
- State capital of Lower Saxony
- was first mentioned in 1150 and received city rights in 1241
- is around 204 square kilometers in size and has 536,925 inhabitants (as of 2019)
- Sights: Hannover Adventure Zoo, the Maschsee, the Herrenhausen Gardens
- one of the leading trade fair cities in Europe
- Mayor is Belit Onay (Greens)
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Hanoverians experience a wave of helpfulness
After the call, everything happens in one fell swoop. The bus driver called for donations on Facebook and Co. and the very next day hundreds of Hanoverians brought numerous relief supplies to him. Clothing, baby things, canned food, medicine, hygiene items… the list is long. And it’s enough for two buses!
The journey from Hanover to the Polish-Ukrainian border in Przemysl takes 15 hours in total. Once there, the relief supplies are unloaded. Then it’s on to the train station. There, numerous families from the Ukraine are waiting to come to Germany. Most want to get out of there as soon as possible.
This fate is particularly close to the Hanoverian
The team around Martin Schörnig also notices this. Because although the families who can ride are registered, children and women run straight towards the bus – for fear of not being able to get a seat. Pictures that touch the bus driver deeply.
Above all, the fate of a family affects him. Because shortly before she gets on the bus, the grandmother disappears without a trace in the chaos. Volunteers and the police search for the old lady for more than 1.5 hours. Vain. Her son, his children and his wife decide to go with them anyway. “They are all desperate and no one really knows what’s going on,” says Martin Schörnig, summarizing the situation.
+++ Ukraine war: Pregnant women and unborn baby die after attack – their picture goes around the world +++
Bus driver from Hanover close to tears – “We can’t do more”
The families go to a youth hostel in Berlin. You can stay there for now. In safety. “We can’t do more,” says the bus driver. He’s obviously close to tears. And the stories still resonate. Especially that of the family that grandmother had to leave behind at the border.
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More from Hanover:
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At least there is good news for them! Because the next day the grandmother showed up again. You can now also travel to Germany by bus. “It was such a big deal, such great suffering, what we really experienced there,” says Martin. “We’re so happy they’re finding each other, it’s really great,” he says.NDR“. (Abr)
You can find all current developments relating to the war in Ukraine in our news blog (this way).