A quantity of 335 tons of food was distributed during the last two years of the war in Ukraine, by the Cluj Regional Food Bank. “Adevărul” learned the story of Daniel Crăciun, the representative of an NGO, who risked his life to bring aid to the Ukrainians.
Daniel Crăciun, from CHS, accompanied several humanitarian transports to Ukraine. PHOTO: CHS
“I was most impressed by the three-week-old child in one of the buses with Ukrainians that we were bringing from Siret customs to Cluj. War does not discriminate in its casualties. What was wrong with that child?”, says Daniel Crăciun, representative of the Charity and Humanitarian Support Association (CHS).
He arrived at the Siret customs on February 27, 2022, three days after the start of the war, when hundreds of desperate people entered Romania, leaving their homes and relatives behind.
The association's team set up their tent at customs and offered food to the refugees passing through customs, after many hours of waiting.
Noticing the increasing number of refugees and their need to be helped to reach big cities like Cluj-Napoca, where NGOs and authorities have prepared accommodation for them, but also in European countries, the Association rented several coaches to help transport them to their desired destination.
The refugees received accommodation, food and help in finding a quick route to reach their desired destination. The association transported more than a hundred refugees daily. On the way, the buses stopped at a restaurant for a hot meal.
Those who remained in Cluj were guided to places to stay, and those who wanted to reach the West were helped to buy bus tickets to continue their journey.
“At one point, several coaches were sent from Germany, paid for by various town halls and NGOs there, to pick up the refugees”says Daniel.
Caught in the bombing on the way to Kiev
The evolution of the conflict has determined the need to transport aid consisting of food packages especially to the cities affected by the war. The trucks were loaded with food received from the Food Bank, which received it from different donors, companies or individuals.
Daniel was in the first week of the war with one such transport bound for Kiev.
The horrors of war he saw during this transport and others that followed over time left their mark on him.
“When you see so much suffering it changes you. I felt a lot of humility and became much more grateful for all the things I have“, he confessed.
Aided roads in Ukraine were not without dangers.
“I was on my way to Kiev, in the summer of 2022, around July. After several hours of walking, we stopped for a coffee in the town of Vinita. At one point I heard several loud bangs. After the bombing stopped they went to see what had happened. Rocket screeds destroyed a building where a center of Ukrainian officers was said to be located. As luck would have it, no one was there at the time. The building was destroyed and all the surrounding blocks were left without windows. A few meters from the destroyed building was an intact cafe. The boss had told the employees to open the doors and windows so that the blast blast did not affect the windows“, says Daniel.
Men taken prisoner to have their blood drawn
He came to know many “weapon feats” of the Russian military from the locals. “An old woman, who lived in a village near Kiev, told me that a Russian soldier was surprised when he saw that he had a toilet in his house. Out of spite, he took the machine gun and emptied a magazine of ammunition into the woman's toilet, destroyed the woman's bathroom“, reports Daniel.
Another strange story he heard from a Ukrainian civilian who was taken prisoner and released after a few weeks. “He told me that he was sedated and held to have blood drawn probably for wounded Russian soldiers. He very vaguely remembers what happened during that period. After a while he was released and sent back home“, says the Cluj resident.
Daniel was in the last race last fall. Almost two years after the start of the war, the country has suffered huge destruction, he says. “Because they are industrious people, the Ukrainians who could, rebuilt what they could of their houses. In other areas, people moved into containers. Many containers were brought, because especially in the city areas, after the blocks were destroyed it was very difficult for people to find a place to live”, he elaborates.
Daniel noticed that what changed during these two years, besides the cruel destruction, was the mentality of the people. “Unfortunately or fortunately, people got used to this state of war. It has become a normality for them. The sirens sound the same as they did in the beginning, but the people have changed.”
The experience of helping the Ukrainians taught Daniel one very important thing: “Everything can change in a few moments, our whole life can change. He wants the Romanians not to forget that there is still a bloody war very close to us“
Daniel Crăciun stayed in touch with some of the Ukrainians who remained in Romania. “There are about 5-6,000 Ukrainians in Cluj. Many stayed here and opened different businesses. About 5-600 still need help, but most have ended up fending for themselves”he says.
The executive vice-president of the Cluj Food Bank, Andreea Bobiș, claimed that the amount of aid consisting of non-perishable food has decreased significantly, although there is still a need for aid. “In the beginning, the mobilization was extraordinary, but slowly things changed. Now we have reached about 30% compared to the situation at the beginning. People forget that very little distance from us is a cruel war“, the vice president claimed.
The Food Bank is preparing for the Easter collection and in addition to donations, there is a great need for volunteers, says Andreea.
335 tons of food
“This month marks two years of war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. And also in February, on the 6th, we commemorated one year since the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Two extreme situations in which the involvement and help provided by individuals, companies and non-governmental organizations that mobilized in large numbers and in an emergency manner stood out“, says a statement from the Food Bank.
In these situations, the Food Banks, in contact with NGOs and international institutions, played an extremely important role of collection, distribution, centralization and support.
The Cluj Regional Food Bank has been collecting and distributing food for Ukrainian refugees since March 2022. Since the first month after the outbreak of the conflict, more than 6 tons of food have been collected and offered in 23 partner stores in Cluj, Alba, Sibiu and Bistrita-Năsăud.
During the last two years of conflict in Ukraine, other donations made by companies to the Cluj Regional Food Bank, especially with distribution to refugees, reached over 335 tons of food distributed through 21 associations.
At the national level, the Food Banks received numerous products from the European Union – from companies and other food banks in the EU: Greece, France – to distribute further to the refugees who arrived in Romania; it's about over 134 tons of food.
In addition to food, more than 960 kilograms of clothing were donated by a partner of the Romanian Food Banks and distributed to NGOs dealing with refugees.
The Food Bank is a solution in crisis situations: It's easy to jump in to help when the need is greater”
“I have always considered the Food Bank as a solution in crisis situations. Over the years we have proven how true this is. We create a bridge between food or non-food donations on the one hand and a large database of associations on the other. Thus, it is easy to jump in to help when the need is greater.
We were surprised to see how companies came to us specifically to donate products for refugees, for example. In addition, too many NGOs deviated from their daily work because they wanted to help people affected by these crisis situations”says the executive vice-president of the Cluj Food Bank, Andreea Bobiș.
Andreea Bobiș says that the challenge they encountered in these situations was the short time element and the need for great mobilization.
“How do we get to where the need is greatest? Which are the NGOs that can reach those in need? We cannot offer food directly to individuals, we need these associations to help in turn.
The joy was that we always found solutions and never stopped helping. We took risks sometimes, we went to Ukraine in a van, we went through flood affected areas to reach those affected so we could help them. Thank you to everyone who got involved, without their help we would not have been able to reach so many people in need“, emphasizes the executive vice-president of the Cluj Food Bank.
Solidarity figures in emergency situations from recent years
The Cluj Regional Food Bank took stock of the last few years:
– 5 supermarket chains organized food collections especially for refugees from Ukraine, after the first months after the start of the war in the neighboring country
– 6,596.43 kilograms of food collected for Ukrainians in 23 participating stores in March 2022
– 335,164.32 kilograms of food products were donated to the Cluj Regional Food Bank from companies, with distribution especially to refugees in 2022
– 134,548.29 kilograms of food was received countrywide from companies and other EU food banks) to pass on to refugees
– 960 kilograms of clothes received for refugees
– 1 humanitarian convoy of the 9 Food Banks from Romania arrived in the Republic of Moldova
– 21 associations distributed food and clothing for Ukrainian refugees in Cluj, Alba, Bistrița-Năsăud and Sibiu counties
– 2 associations distributed food for the people affected by the earthquake in Turkey
Other emergency situations in which the Cluj Regional Food Bank intervened in July-August 2021: floods in Roșia Montană, Ocoliș, Ocolișel, Runcu, Lunca Largă.
Donate via SMS to 8845 with the text HRANA
Next, anyone who wants to get involved can make a monthly donation of 2 euros per month, by sending an SMS with the text HRANA to the number 8845. Thus, each donor helps to save from waste an amount of approximately 9 kilograms of food/ month, food that reaches NGOs that serve people in need from Cluj, Alba, Sibiu and Bistrița-Năsăud counties.
The Federation of Food Banks in Romania includes nine Regional Food Banks in Bucharest, Cluj, Roman, Oradea, Brașov, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Galați.
This is a large national network of solidarity available to society, charities and the most vulnerable among us, a bridge between the existence of surplus food and those who need food most.
