“This horror should stop!” Moosburg teacher accommodates the first Ukraine refugees in the district
Created: 03/03/2022, 19:00
By: Armin Forster
Three women and a little girl fled from the embattled Ukraine to Poland by train - and from there they went on to Moosburg.
(Iconic image) © Paul Zinken / dpa
A Moosburg teacher took in refugee Ukrainians.
She tells us about the dramatic departure, great fears - and enormous willingness to help.
Moosburg
– The first refugees from Ukraine have arrived in the district: Julia Lechner (34), from Moosburg, has accommodated the family in her terraced house.
In an interview with our newspaper, the vocational school teacher talks about her nightly arrival, about great fears and hardships - but also about her heartwarming willingness to help.
Freisinger Tagblatt:
Ms. Lechner, how are the Ukrainians who found shelter with you?
Julia Lechner:
You arrived at 1 a.m. completely exhausted and will now need some time to process everything.
They come from Kharkiv, which is currently the most contested area.
It's hard to get out of there.
How did they succeed?
By train.
All the lights were turned off in that one so it couldn't be seen from planes.
Everyone was extremely scared, and cell phones were not allowed to be used.
During their journey, we were also very uncertain because we could not reach anyone.
But they made it safely to Poland.
A family fled from the hard-fought Kharkiv - here is a picture from Wednesday - and is now stranded in Moosburg.
© Emergency Service Of Ukraine/PA Media/dpa
How did it go there?
We actually wanted to pick them up from Poland - but when they arrived, buses of volunteers were already waiting.
One went to Munich - and the two young women who had provided it kindly drove it to our front door.
How did you come into contact with the family?
There are three women and a two-year-old girl.
One of the women is my mother's best friend.
Their men had to leave them behind.
We are from Kharkiv ourselves, I have lived in Germany since 2003.
Now we hope that my cousin and nephew will also make it to us.
They want to flee by car, which is very dangerous: it can be confiscated at any time during war and they are stuck.
Packed belongings for 40 minutes, then fled under fire
What did the newcomers tell you about their homeland?
They had to leave their bedridden mother behind because she was not able to travel.
They were able to find a foster home, paid for two months in advance.
They then had just 40 minutes to pack up and flee under fire.
How are your new roommates accommodated?
We prepared our guest room and the office with the sofa bed for them, and got groceries and other things.
When word got around that we were expecting a family from the Ukraine, people got in touch straight away: A lady from Moosburg asked what we needed.
I told her about the two-year-old and she came by with a stroller and a potty, and she brought gifts and sweets.
When the fugitives arrived, they were completely amazed that there was a pram waiting for them.
I would like to thank the people of Moosburg and Freising very much for the great amount of feedback.
Many people in our area have also offered free rooms and help.
Many said: "Let the people come, we have space." Overwhelming!
(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
Have you already had contact with the authorities?
Yes.
I sent an inquiry to the Ukraine Aid in the Freising district, which responded within hours.
They were very nice and helped us.
The openness of the German government is great.
We hope that the possibilities to stay will now be clarified quickly, which is what it looks like at the moment.
When you come out of the war and are locked up in a refugee home without being allowed to work, you get the next trauma.
Appeal to the Russian government - compassion for the Russian people
How do you experience the news of the war yourself?
I can't watch the news anymore, I prefer to focus on the help.
We were only in Kharkiv in August.
It was such a beautiful city: the last mayor invested a lot of money in the renewal.
It was a city to be proud of.
What is happening to her now is terrible...
- Julia Lechner's voice fails for a moment, she cries.
-
We have a lot of relatives there, they're all screaming for help.
What is your appeal to the Russian government?
Let this horror stop!
And how do you feel about the Russian people?
I'm half Ukrainian, half Russian myself.
You can't blame those who suffer the same way: because we are totally intertwined and they often have Ukrainian relatives themselves.
You are cut off from the world now.
We have many friends here who will probably never see their relatives in Russia again.
More current news from the district of Freising can be found here.