CHISINAU, Moldova: Thousands of Ukrainian children who have found shelter in hastily converted housing facilities across central and eastern Europe are struggling to come to terms with their new reality as refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of their country.
According to figures released by UNICEF on Tuesday, children account for about half of the more than 3 million Ukrainians who have fled their country, mostly for Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova, since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
Countries bordering Ukraine have provided sanctuary to a seemingly unending flow of refugees, and their authorities are facing the additional, monumental task of providing long-term mental care to traumatized Ukrainian children.
Over the past 20 days an average of 55 children have been fleeing Ukraine every minute and the trend is unlikely to change as Russian forces continue their advance. New arrivals are expected to overwhelm underfunded and poorly managed public schools in tiny Moldova, but also in relatively affluent Poland — the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union — where classes are held in Polish, which most Ukrainians do not speak.
Psychologists say young Ukrainian refugees appear unable to comprehend the longer-term nature of their absence from home and separation from their fathers, who are forbidden to leave Ukraine in order to fight in the war.
Some insist they are on a short vacation or a school break, said Irina Purcari, a school psychologist working with Ukrainian children at the biggest refugee center in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau.
Upon arriving at the center, “most children are alarmed, reluctant to make contact,” Purcari said. ”But we take the first steps to win them over and lower their anxiety levels.”
Purcari said children speak of their fathers “not in the context of hostilities,” possibly as a way create a sense of calm and feel that their life is in order.
For 34 year-old Ukrainian Tamara Bercuta, her first full night’s sleep after many weeks happened on Monday when she and her children arrived in Chisinau. She watched her 10 year-old daughter and 4 year-old son draw in a corner of the town’s biggest refugee center that has been converted into a play area. Like many other children, her son first reached for crayons in the colors of his country’s flag — blue and yellow.
“It is very bad when there is a war, a (mortar) shell hit a roadblock, many people died,” Bercuta said, recalling the horrors she and her children had witnessed during their flight from Mykolayiv, the strategic Ukrainian city that witnessed fierce battles for days.
“At home I was afraid because we were constantly (hiding) in corridors and in the basement,” her daughter, Liliya, interjected.
In Poland, which has taken in more than 1.8 million refugees from Ukraine, there are growing concerns about how to integrate those who elected to stay rather to relocate to other countries as they have friends and family there.
Before Russia’s invasion, around 1.5 million Ukrainians lived in Poland.
On Wednesday, in Przemysl — a normally sleepy Polish border town of 60,000 — trains continued releasing scores of refugees.
Among them was 41-year-old Svitlana Bibikova, from the Kyiv region, with her three pre-teen children in tow. Along the way, she said, every noise, even the sound of the train braking, made her kids tremble with fear. Her 11-year-old daughter, Dasha, recalled the first morning back home when she was woken up by the sounds of exploding Russian rockets and mortars and how her “mother said that the war began.”
“We might stay here until it is over and then we will return home,” her 10-year-old sister, Arina, rushed to add.
Nadia Chernenko, 33, from the Dnipro region in central Ukraine, said she tried protecting her children by not mentioning the war and telling them that the loud booming sounds “were just firecrackers exploding and that everything will soon go back to normal.”
Still, she added, “I am afraid that they have been scarred” for life.
In a six-story business center in central Warsaw that serves as a home for the most vulnerable refugees, Irina Panasevicz, an Ukraine-born volunteer, said her days consisted of endless calls to day care facilities and schools to find places for newly arrived children.
“Kids have big problems to adapt in classrooms because classes are conducted in Polish and most children from Ukraine do not speak Polish,” Panasevicz said.
Despite the obstacles they face, Ukrainian children of different ages mingled and played in a long hallway outside Panasevicz’s office in the building they now call home.
For them, what was a normal childhood a few weeks ago has been supplanted by the fear of Russian soldiers.
“Russia is making war with Ukraine, we want Russia not to take us,” said 7-year-old Bogdan Kolesnik, wiggling nervously on his mother’s lap.
“We want to return home, but we do not know when that will be possible,” said 14-year-old Juna Berzika, as she sat with her mother Svitlana and a group of other women recounting the horror of escaping Ukraine and the fear of what male relatives left behind will face.
Ukraine’s child refugees a huge challenge for host countries
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Ukraine’s child refugees a huge challenge for host countries
- According to figures released by UNICEF on Tuesday, children account for about half of the more than 3 million Ukrainians who have fled their country
- New arrivals are expected to overwhelm underfunded and poorly managed public schools in tiny Moldova
Man arrested over TikTok posts threatening US President Trump
- 23-year-old Douglas Thrams reportedly posted multiple videos on Tiktok since Monday, threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint
WASHINGTON: A man who allegedly said US President Donald Trump "needs to be assassinated" and posed on TikTok holding a rifle has been arrested, authorities said.
Douglas Thrams, 23, posted multiple videos on Tiktok between Monday, when Trump was inaugurated, and Wednesday threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint Thursday.
"Every US government building needs be bombed immediately," Thrams was quoted as saying in one of the videos.
Referring to Trump, Thrams went on to say, using an expletive, "He needs to be assassinated and this time, don't... miss."
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts last year including one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was wounded in the ear.
In another video, Thrams held a rifle and tapped it, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.
Thrams, from the midwestern state of Indiana, was arrested on Thursday and charged with making "interstate communications with a threat to injure."
UNICEF deputy director urges innovative partnerships to protect the world’s children
- By collaborating with private sector, UNICEF is better able to combat challenges of conflict and climate change, says Kitty van der Heijden
- Aid agency executive says partnerships with insurers and logistics firms facilitates the rapid deployment of resources to crisis zones
DUBAI: Kitty van der Heijden, deputy executive director of the UN children’s fund, has praised the collaboration between UNICEF and the private sector to address the many urgent challenges facing the world’s children.
In an interview with Arab News on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, van der Heijden explained how UNICEF’s partnerships are aiding its response to conflicts, mass displacements, climate change, and natural disasters.
“We are here in Davos to meet with the private and corporate entities who are present,” van der Heijden said. “We are already in partnership with some across a range of sectors like humanitarian aid, education, AI, and non-communicable diseases, among others.
“We see that a lot of companies are willing to work with UNICEF as we are able to reach where they can’t necessarily go.
“We have more conflicts than ever around the world that are destroying humanity’s ability to survive and thrive. We need to deliver prosperity and keep environmental triggers and human misery under control.”
To confront crises, van der Heijden says UNICEF has now partnered with insurance companies, as well as logistics and shipping firms that prioritize humanitarian aid over their commercial goods in times of need.
“We developed the first ever parametric climate insurance with a focus on children. For example, hurricanes are routine problems in some countries and small islands. Whenever a hurricane takes place, not only are the communities there extremely affected but so is the GDP of the country.
“The moment wind speeds go up to a certain level, the parametric tool detects the change and automatically submits a cash deposit to UNICEF.”
Van der Heijden says this rapid response ensures that financial support reaches those in need without bureaucratic delays and complications.
“We are able to offer cash directly to affected communities, ensuring that aid arrives right when it’s needed. This builds resilience in the face of recurring disasters, while also providing an early warning system to help communities prepare for future events.”
Another cross sector collaboration between UNICEF and private companies focuses on mental health.
“Prevention is the mother of all cures,” said van der Heijden. “UNICEF is joining forces with lots of health companies such as AstraZeneca and Zurich Foundation to address obesity and mental health issues.
“These problems are prevalent across all societies and all ages. The reasons might be different, but it is there.
“Seventy percent of preventable deaths stem from risk exposure and unhealthy behaviors as a child. If you approach this issue holistically, you can prevent so many negative cycles between mental health, anxiety, and obesity.”
Van der Heijden also said children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. From heatwaves that affect maternal health to pollution that exacerbates respiratory problems, the risks children face are not only immediate but long term.
Children, particularly in disadvantaged communities, lack access to cooling systems or safe environments, leaving them at higher risk of heat related illnesses.
“Children breathe twice as fast as adults, and their exposure to pollution can be devastating,” said van der Heijden. “They don’t have the physical ability to cool down through sweating, which makes them vulnerable during extreme heat events.
“The effects of climate change are already being felt by the world’s most vulnerable populations, and children are bearing the brunt.”
The repercussions of climate change extend beyond health, as related economic shocks often lead to unintended social consequences, such as an increase in child marriages.
In regions impacted by heatwaves, families may marry off young girls to reduce financial burdens. The economic strain caused by extreme weather events can push parents to take drastic steps “to have one less mouth to feed.”
Van der Heijden stressed the urgency of integrating children’s needs into global climate policies. While countries around the world are set to submit their new climate plans this year, UNICEF is leading a global campaign to ensure that these plans are child-centric.
“The year 2025 is a pivotal year,” she said. “We will have a number of opportunities to act and set the record straight. Unless we understand the unique vulnerabilities of children, we cannot craft effective policies.
“We need to make sure that every country’s climate plan reflects the impacts on children and ensures that their needs are front and center.”
Thais send over 100 smuggled tortoises home to Tanzania
- The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said
BANGOK: More than a hundred baby tortoises, most of them dead, have been returned to Tanzania from Thailand as evidence in a case against a wildlife smuggling network, the international police organization Interpol said Friday.
The 116 tortoises were discovered hidden in the luggage of a Ukrainian woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport more than two years ago, it said. Of the total, 98 have since died, but all were handed over Thursday for use in criminal proceedings in a ceremony attended by Thai and Tanzanian officials,
Interpol said. No reason was given for the deaths.
They included endangered or vulnerable species such as pancake tortoises, radiated tortoises and Aldabra giant tortoises. All are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Tortoises are commonly removed from the wild for sale as exotic pets.
The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said. Her arrest helped police map a larger wildlife trafficking network, resulting in the arrests of 14 additional suspects in an operation involving Thai and Tanzanian police and officers from Interpol.
The surviving tortoises will be quarantined and cared for while experts assess whether they can be put back into their natural habitat.
Indian munitions factory blast kills at least eight workers
- Industrial disasters are common in India, with experts blaming poor planning, lax enforcement of safety rules
- Nine workers were killed in a 2023 blast at a factory in Maharashtra that manufactured drones and explosives
MUMBAI: At least eight workers were killed in a blast at a munitions factory in western India, government officials said Friday, with several others still trapped inside the building.
The explosion happened Friday morning in Bhandara, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of India’s financial hub Mumbai, and caused the factory’s roof to collapse.
“In an unfortunate incident today, a blast at Bhandara munitions factory has killed at least eight people and injured seven others,” India’s cabinet minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Gadkari, a lawmaker from Maharashtra state where the explosion occurred, offered his condolences.
Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said earlier on X that up to 14 workers had been trapped after the blast and emergency rescue operations were underway.
Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” by the blast.
“My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Singh said on X.
Industrial disasters are common in India, with experts blaming poor planning and lax enforcement of safety rules.
Nine workers were killed in a 2023 blast at a factory in Maharashtra that manufactured drones and explosives.
Leading British Muslims back new community network in UK
- Early discussions with the government and opposition parties are underway, and the launch event is expected to feature senior political figures
LONDON: A new national body, the British Muslim Network, launches next month with the aim of providing a mainstream voice for Britain’s Muslim communities and engaging directly with the government, The Times newspaper reported on Friday.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim cabinet minister and a crossbench peer, is among its most prominent supporters, while Mishal Husain, a former BBC Radio 4 presenter and upcoming Bloomberg host, is understood to support the initiative, although she will not play a formal role.
Early discussions with the government and opposition parties are underway, and the launch event is expected to feature senior political figures.
“The British Muslim community is hyper-diverse in class, culture, background, ethnicity, religiosity, age,” Warsi told The Times. “It is such a vibrant, clever, and engaged community. But what we’ve had for nearly 17 years (is) a policy of disengagement with British Muslim communities by successive governments.”
The network will have a governing board co-chaired by a man and a woman, bringing together Muslim figures from broadcasting, the arts, sport, academia, and religious leadership. A source described it as “the most high-profile network of British Muslims that has ever existed.”
Warsi stressed the need for a group that could represent the full spectrum of British Muslims and their contributions and concerns, moving beyond what she called the government’s past focus on counter-terrorism.
“Governments have only really spoken to representatives from the UK’s Muslim communities through the prism of counter-terrorism,” she said.
Akeela Ahmed, founder of the She Speaks We Hear online platform, and who was recently honored with an MBE for services to Muslim women, emphasized the network’s focus on everyday issues. “We want to bring together expertise and insight and share this with policymakers,” she said.
The initiative has also won the backing of Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition and widower of Jo Cox, who was murdered by a right-wing extremist in 2016.
He described it as “an incredibly influential group.”
The Right Rev. Toby Howarth, the bishop of Bradford, said: “The British Muslim Network is a much-needed voice, and I look forward to working with them.”
