Great concern for the people in the twin town: tackling for friends in the Ukraine
Created: 03/08/2022, 10:40 am
Mayor Münster (l.) lent a hand and coordinated.
© Weber
There is huge concern in Eichenau about the Ukrainian twin town.
Numerous aid campaigns were started.
Eichenau – A 29-year-old, together with her boyfriend and father, steered a first aid convoy to the border town of Przemysl.
The suffering of the people can also be felt there.
"It was important that we did it," says Elisabeth Ellenrieder from Eichenau - despite the effort of a one-way journey of 14 hours.
Together with her boyfriend Dominik Schenk and her father Franz Ellenrieder, the 29-year-old drove one of the aid transports to the Polish-Ukrainian border in Przemysl last week.
Buses full of refugees
From there, Ukrainian drivers then brought the valuable goods to the partner community Vischgorod: medicines, hospital, first aid and baby supplies.
Almost a ton of boxes fit into their van.
The handover had to be quick.
So the Eichenauers didn't spend too much time in the border area.
Ellenrieder observed that the buses were packed with refugees.
The still fresh pain of parting from home and the men could also be felt.
Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 60 are only allowed to accompany their families up to the border.
Then they have to go back because they are considered fit for military service.
By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular FFB newsletter.
With the handover to the Ukrainian transport drivers, Ellenrieder felt something like helplessness and concern.
“What will happen to the Ukrainian drivers?
Will they arrive safely and unharmed in Vischgorod?” The relief was great when the news came: everything and everyone arrived safely.
Nevertheless, the concern is justified.
Because Vischgorod is not far from Kyiv, on Monday the city was still largely undamaged, the mayor married a wedding couple, according to Facebook.
But the noise of the fighting could be clearly heard.
And ten or 15 kilometers further the streets were dead.
The helpfulness of the Poles
What impressed Ellenrieder was the Poles' willingness to help.
The young woman describes her as "very loyal to all people who want to help Ukraine".
The 29-year-old was impressed by a demonstration in Wroclaw.
This is her grandfather's hometown and the trio paid her a brief visit.
"It was only goosebumps how solidary Poland is to its neighboring country."
At the same time, Ellenrieder noticed how well organized help and assistance is.
The contact points where the handover to the Ukrainian drivers takes place are well signposted.
Overall, everything is regulated in a very uncomplicated manner, even if the controls at the German-Polish border have dragged on a bit.
The fact that everything runs relatively smoothly on the Polish-Ukrainian border is due to the fact that the transporters from Germany are assigned a “partner” of Ukrainian drivers, so to speak.
"Both sides know there who they have to contact for the handover," explains Eichenau's mayor, Peter Münster.
Just drive off spontaneously, bring nothing.
Actually, Elisabeth Ellenrieder wanted to inaugurate the van in a completely different way.
Towards the end of February he was re-registered.
"We planned to use it to go camping." But then they decided to use it to help the people in the Ukrainian partner community.
Ellenrieder visited there in 2019.
"We feel connected and have an idea where the help is going." Perhaps she will drive to the Polish-Ukrainian border a second time.
"If we're needed."
What is primarily
necessary
can be found on the Internet at www.eichenau.org/aufruf-fuer-wischgorod-hilfe-danke-fuer-ihre-mithilfe.
Happy about every pavement: Eichenau sets up cooperation with German twin town at short notice
A second aid transport was on its way at the weekend, a third is expected to make its way to Przemysl this Tuesday.
Also included are relief supplies that were collected in Eichenau's second partner town, Scharfenstein (since 2005 incorporated into Drebach) and by the Malteser organization in Offenbach.
The connection between Eichenau, Hesse and Saxony came about through Andy Tauber, a member of the Scharfenstein volunteer fire brigade.
Tauber is also head of the mine rescue service at Wismut GmbH.
One of the managing directors of this company, which is represented in Thuringia and Saxony, is Rainer Türmer, who comes from Offenbach.
Türmer's wife Gabriele, in turn, is involved with the Malteser organization.
All these threads now came together in the Starzelbach community.
The Catholic parish center served as an interim storage facility.
Mayor Peter Münster and partnership officer Claus Guttenthaler are in close contact with Wischgorod.
In this way, they know more or less up-to-date on a daily basis which goods are urgently needed at the moment.
"Sometimes we drive on sight," Münster concedes.
This is one of the reasons why he is very grateful for the help from Saxony and Hesse.
Andy Tauber and Gabriele Türmer also report a great willingness to help Wischgorod.
One day before the transport arrived in Eichenau, the Malteser in Offenbach had called for a collection campaign for six hours - via local media and social networks.
"We were overrun by people," reports Türmer.
You had to ask your colleagues in Darmstadt and ask for a third van.
A considerable part of these were stacked with medical goods, medicines and bandages.
The hospital in Wischgorod is also benefiting from this, which, according to Münster, can still continue to operate.
Gregor Banik, a specialist in anesthesiology and emergency medicine, believes that every band-aid will be appreciated there.
He sorts the material in Eichenau.
When it comes to medicines, nothing comes along “that is clearly past the expiry date”.
But that wasn't much.
He is more generous with first-aid kits and materials that are only used externally.
"In the event of war, one is glad of so much that one would no longer necessarily use in normal times."
You can find more current news from the district of Fürstenfeldbruck here.