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Not That Far from Home
What It’s Like Hosting A Refugee from Ukraine
On International Women’s Day, I went to Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (central train station) to meet M., a young woman from Kharkiv, Ukraine.
As the first waves of refugees from Ukraine arrived in Berlin, the city’s volunteer organizations mobilized. They very quickly organized chat groups, Telegram channels and Facebook teams to set up a welcome and information center at Hauptbahnhof, arrange for accommodation, further transport to other cities, clothing, food, medical needs, pet needs, and needs tailored to LGBTQI and BIPOC groups.
One of the very first to jump to action for accommodation was the Facebook group Host A Sister, a group originally developed for solo female travelers to find safe accommodation as they explored the world. My niece alerted me to Host A Sister’s efforts, and I immediately added my name a spreadsheet with my contact details, type of accommodation available, how many people I could provide shelter to, and for how long.
Almost immediately, I received emails from the organizers looking for accommodations for families, mothers and children, small groups of people traveling together, and just as immediately other women able to host larger groups jumped to the chance to help. Eventually, I was matched with M., a third-year med student…
