Unicef: 365 giorni di guerra in Ucraina

A quasi un anno dall’escalation della guerra in Ucraina il 24 febbraio 2022, una generazione di bambini ha vissuto 12 mesi di violenza, paura, perdita e tragedia. Non c'è un solo aspetto della loro vita su cui il conflitto non abbia avuto un impatto, con bambini uccisi, feriti, costretti ad abbandonare le loro case, a perdere un'istruzione fondamentale e a vedersi negati i benefici di un ambiente sicuro e protetto

On 17 April 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Danylo, 12, and his mother, Liudmyla, 39, embrace as he visits her in the hospital for the first time since she was injured a month ago, by flying shrapnel when their home was hit during fighting. Their village – and specifically their street – was a site of fierce fighting for over a month, and today the area is almost completely razed. “Before the war, I didn’t know any of the sounds of fighting,” says Danylo. “Now I can hear the difference between missiles and shelling, or outgoing and incoming.”

Danylo remained at home during the siege with Liudmyla and his grandmother, Nina. Liudmyla remains in the hospital where surgeons initially fought to save her life and continue to fight to save her foot, which may need to be amputated. Their cat, Lyzunia (Ukranian for ‘the one that licks’), was hit by shrapnel in her shoulder and had her whiskers burnt off. On 21 March, the family’s house was destroyed and burnt during fighting. Danylo and his grandmother had fled three days earlier, and today live at the home of a family that temporarily took them in. “They’re not relatives and we don’t know what’s going to happen,” says Nina, her voice shaking. “We have nowhere to go, and Danylo’s mother is about to get out of hospital. We don’t have money, we don’t even have food. It all burnt … This is like a bad, bad dream I never wake up from.”

Danylo cries upon seeing his mother. “I want to raise money to pay for her medical treatments and for her prosthetics.”

Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine starting on 24 February, Chernihiv, close to the border with Belarus, was under siege, leaving the city with no running water, food, electricity or communications. Aerial bombardment and shelling destroyed schools, hospitals, homes and bridges. Fighting raged in the suburbs and half of the 140,000 residents risked their lives to escape. Those who remained lived in makeshift bomb shelters for w

On 1 August 2022, during a visit to the Blue Dot site at the Refugee Accommodation Centre in Warsaw, Poland, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas stands with members of the Blue Dot staff while meeting with children and mothers living at the centre.

The Warsaw Refugee Accommodation Centre is the largest in the country. This Blue Dot was established in April to provide basic services to transiting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Initially it offered sleeping areas, food courts, medicine centres, family support centres, registration support and all other services. UNICEF works with the municipality of Warsaw to strengthen the capacity of the existing services and establish additional services for the protection of refugee children. Most Blue Dot staff are Ukrainian, which increases trust among refugees who arrive here.

UNICEF and UNHCR have established 11 Blue Dot hubs in critical locations in Poland including border crossing points, reception facilities and highly transited locations such as transport hubs. Blue Dots provide refugees with relevant information, child protection services, mental health and psychosocial support services, child-friendly spaces and mother and baby areas. So far, UNICEF has reached nearly 50,000 refugees through Blue Dots, including some 21,907 children.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is visiting Poland in her capacity as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to meet with women and children who have fled Ukraine and to witness first-hand UNICEF’s response in providing services and support that keep children learning, healthy and safe, and help them handle the potentially distressing experiences they have been through as a result of the war. UNICEF’s principal focus in Poland is on expanding opportunities for education – formal and informal – for up to 500,000 children, because the chance to learn in a safe space, together with friends and teachers, doesn’t just deliver education but also brings a crucial sense of stability

On 16 April 2022 in Ukraine, Danylo, 12, holds his cat, Lyzunia, as he stands in the ruins of his family’s home in Novoselivka, on the outskirts of Chernihiv. The village – and specifically Danylo’s street – was a site of fierce fighting for over a month, and today the area is almost completely razed. “Before the war, I didn’t know any of the sounds of fighting,” says Danylo. “Now I can hear the difference between missiles and shelling, or outgoing and incoming.”

Danylo remained at home during the siege with his mother, Liudmyla, and grandmother, Nina. Liudmyla was hit by shrapnel and severely injured. She remains in the hospital where surgeons initially fought to save her life and continue to fight to save her foot, which may need to be amputated. Their cat, Lyzunia (Ukranian for ‘the one that licks’), was hit by shrapnel in her shoulder and had her whiskers burnt off. On 21 March, the family’s house was destroyed and burnt during fighting. Danylo and his grandmother had fled three days earlier, and today live at the home of a family that temporarily took them in. “They’re not relatives and we don’t know what’s going to happen,” says Nina, her voice shaking. “We have nowhere to go, and Danylo’s mother is about to get out of hospital. We don’t have money, we don’t even have food. It all burnt … This is like a bad, bad dream I never wake up from.”

“We come here every day,” Danylo says. “We clean Lyzunia’s wounds, and search the rubble for things we can salvage. I had a coin collection I wanted to keep, but it must have melted in the fire.” He continues, “I have so many good memories here. My favorite room was my mother’s bedroom.” Crying now, he says, “It was always warm there, and it was good to be with Mum. She used to rub my back and we loved hanging out watching comedies on TV.” Danylo hopes to raise money for his mother’s medical treatment.

Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine starting

On 2 August 2022, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas visits a summer camp in Warsaw, Poland.

The idea behind the camps, which are implemented in cooperation with Polish municipalities, is to help integrate Ukrainian children into their new environment. By involving them in different activities and exposing them to Polish culture, Ukrainian children will be better prepared for the start of a new school year.

This summer camp is organized by an NGO partner, Unbreakable Ukraine, and engages 150 children aged 6-14. Children take part in catch-up learning, educational games, skills development activities, Polish language classes, as well as outdoor sports activities.

The current cohort has started only a couple of days ago, so the children are still getting to know one another and have just started learning Polish language.

About 600 children are currently in summer camps taking place in Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Rzeszow

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is visiting Poland in her capacity as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to meet with women and children who have fled Ukraine and to witness first-hand UNICEF’s response in providing services and support that keep children learning, healthy and safe, and help them handle the potentially distressing experiences they have been through as a result of the war. UNICEF’s principal focus in Poland is on expanding opportunities for education – formal and informal – for up to 500,000 children, because the chance to learn in a safe space, together with friends and teachers, doesn’t just deliver education but also brings a crucial sense of stability, normalcy and hope to war-affected children.

«I bambini in Ucraina hanno vissuto un anno di orrore», ha dichiarato Catherine Russell, direttore generale dell’UNICEF. «Milioni di bambini vanno a dormire al freddo, spaventati, e si svegliano sperando che questo conflitto brutale sia finito. Sono stati uccisi e feriti bambini e molti hanno perso genitori, fratelli, sorelle, case, scuole, parco giochi. Nessun bambino dovrebbe mai subire questo genere di sofferenze».

La guerra ha avuto un impatto devastante prima di tutto sulla salute mentale dei bambini: si stima che 1,5 milioni di bambini sono a rischio di molti problemi di salute mentale come depressione, ansia e disordini da stress post-traumatico, con effetti potenzialmente a lungo termine.

La crisi economica poi ha comportato un pesante impoverimento di moltissime famiglie tanto che la percentuale di bambini che vivono in povertà è quasi raddoppiata, arrivando a toccare l’82%, particolarmente per quanto riguarda i quasi 6 milioni di sfollati in Ucraina. La guerra ha interrotto l’istruzione per oltre 5 milioni di bambini, e questo accade dopo due anni di apprendimento perso a causa della pandemia da Covid-19.

Anche l’accesso ai servizi di base è crollato: sono oltre 1.000 le strutture sanitarie danneggiate o distrutte da bombardamenti o attacchi aerei che hanno ucciso o ferito gravemente il personale medico e molti pazienti, tra cui bambini. Migliaia di questi in fuga dal conflitto non hanno ricevuto vaccini essenziali contro malattie pericolose come polio, morbillo e difterite.

Catherine Russel sottolinea quindi che finché la guerra non finirà è prioritario occuparsi della salute mentale e psicosociale dei bambini attraverso azioni adatte all’età per fornire cure nutrienti e costruire la resilienza e dare loro l’opportunità di esprimere le proprie preoccupazioni,

Per questo l’Unicef continua a chiedere un accesso umanitario sicuro, rapido e senza ostacoli, la fine degli attacchi ai bambini e alle infrastrutture su cui fanno affidamento, tra cui scuole, ospedali e sistemi idrici e igienici; di evitare l’utilizzo delle scuole in questo conflitto e di fermare l’uso di armi esplosive nelle aree popolate, direttamente responsabili dell’uccisione e della mutilazione di centinaia di bambini. Soprattutto, l’Unicef continua a chiedere la fine delle ostilità.

Dal 24 febbraio 2022, l’Unicef, grazie al supporto della comunità internazionale, ha fornito aiuti per l’apprendimento a 770.000 bambini, ha coinvolto 1,4 milioni di bambini nell’istruzione, fornito supporto per la salute mentale e psicosociale a 2,9 milioni di bambini e persone che se ne prendono cura, garantito servizi di risposta alla violenza di genere a 352.000 donne e bambini, dato accesso all’acqua sicura a 4,6 milioni di persone, fornito servizi per l’assistenza sanitaria a 4,9 milioni di persone e garantito assistenza in denaro a 1,4 milioni di persone in Ucraina e 47.494 famiglie nei paesi vicini.

A dicembre 2022, l’UNICEF ha lanciato l’Appello annuale per l’Intervento Umanitario: necessita di 1,1 miliardi di dollari per continuare a fornire supporto e azione su tutte queste linee per risposte ai bisogni immediati e a quelli più a lungo termine di 9,4 milioni di persone, tra le quali 4 milioni di bambini, dentro e fuori l’Ucraina. Aiuti di questo tipo garantiranno una preparazione tempestiva per ulteriori sfollamenti interni e movimenti di rifugiati. (Foto Unicef)