des réfugiés ukrainiens accueillis sur le tarmac de l’aéroport Bordeaux-Mérignac
Olena and Gennadiy’s children have been ‘crying every night’ since the Russian army invaded their country
They must be cared for in a gymnasium in downtown Bordeaux before being received in reception centers or families in Charente or Vienne. “They come from all over Ukraine, book Baptiste Mandard, deputy director of Asylum. These are people who fled the war and came by their own means to Moldova. As the A 319 airbus chartered by the HiSky company got off, some were carrying their pets, a boy was hiding behind an Anonymous mask, an old lady couldn’t hold back a few tears. Refugees are considered “vulnerable people”, because of their age or because they are parents.
“Show the solidarity of the French”
Those of Olena and Gennadiy “wept every night” since the Russian army invaded their country, says the father. This is not the family’s first long forced trip. Originally from Donetsk, they had to leave their home in 2014 when the Donbass fell prey to war. Exiled to Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, where they thought they were safe, they had to pack their modest bags again a few weeks ago. Destination Moldova therefore then France this week that Gennadiy thanked at length in front of the journalists and from which his great-grandfather was from, he proudly specifies.
A consular mission must focus in the days to come to define where exactly the couples or families welcomed this Thursday in Bordeaux come from. After getting off the plane, they were taken by bus to the Saint-Jean station area where a gymnasium has been converted into a “Hub” to accommodate them for a night or two. The objective is to reduce the Bordeaux stage as much as possible and to transfer them as quickly as possible to a more permanent solution.