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Mexican authorities hope to evacuate some 60 people displaced by the war in Ukraine

2022-03-12T16:47:11.709Z


The ambassador to Romania, Guillermo Ordorica, describes the situation as an emergency. The repatriation flight is scheduled for Tuesday.


Mexico is seeking to get some 60 people out of Romania who have fled the war in Ukraine.

That is the calculation of the authorities in charge of the repatriation operation.

The Mexican Air Force plane to take them home landed this Saturday at the Bucharest airport and the return flight is scheduled to be this Tuesday.

"We are in an emergency situation in this region of Europe," said Ambassador Guillermo Ordorica, who has been in charge of receiving Mexicans fleeing the armed conflict on their way to Romanian territory.

"Each case we treat is a story of sadness and tragedy, but also of success and optimism," added Ordorica.

The Mexican ambassadors in Romania and Ukraine, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have avoided giving an exact figure of how many people will return to Mexico.

It is very likely that there will be a more defined number on Monday afternoon because many families have not yet decided whether they will return to Mexican soil or stay in neighboring countries in the hope that the war will end soon.

This group of 60 people is made up of members of the Mexican community and direct family members, such as spouses or children with Ukrainian nationality.

Silvia Mercado and her daughter arrive at Siret, from Kharkov in the Ukraine.

They are received by Guillermo Ordorica, Mexican ambassador to Romania.

The evacuation advances, due to the second flight leaving for the repatriation of our compatriots.

pic.twitter.com/CegJPlOwWq

– Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) March 11, 2022

"The number on the list that we have goes up and down every day," said Olga García Guillén, the ambassador to Ukraine, who for more than a week has also been forced to travel to Romania.

The monitoring of who wants to board the plane and who prefers to stay in Europe has been case by case and in real time thanks to social networks: WhatsApp chats and direct communication with the Mexicans who could benefit from this second humanitarian flight.

The first arrived in Mexico at dawn on March 4 and transported 81 people: 44 Mexicans, 28 Ukrainians, seven Ecuadorians, one Peruvian and one Australian.

Some 30 people have so far chosen to stay in one of the countries of the European Union or are wives who do not want to leave their husbands, forced to stay to fight by martial law, in Ukraine.

"They do not want to abandon their husbands," added García Guillén, detailing that some remain in cities under permanent siege such as Dnipro, where one of the first lines of combat was opened, or Chernigov, near the border with Belarus, one of the the allies of the government of Vladimir Putin.

For this occasion, the word has spread that Romania is the evacuation point and the Mexicans who have managed to flee come from very diverse places among the countries bordering Ukraine: some went to Hungary, others to Poland and a small group to Moldova.

Bucharest will be the meeting place.

“Some are already here and others are travelling”, commented Guillén.

The people who couldn't board the first flight are mainly families, who have had trouble getting around or couldn't afford a flight back to Mexico.

They lived in Ukraine's two main cities, Kiev and Kharkiv, two key points in Russia's military offensive, which has already stretched out for more than two weeks.

Most of those who are already in the Romanian capital stay in hostels arranged by the local authorities and a small group have their own accommodation.

Humanitarian aid is delivered to the Romanian authorities right here at the Henri Coanda airport in Bucharest.

There are 1.5 tons of mattresses, blankets and medicines that come from Mexico and are received by firefighters pic.twitter.com/5CYu8Nz9nP

– Elias Camhaji (@eliascamhaji) March 12, 2022

The Mexican Air Force Boeing 737-800 flight arrived at Bucharest's Henri Coanda airport with 1.5 tons of humanitarian aid.

The Romanian government's request was mainly to receive mattresses, electric blankets and blankets for the refugees.

"The second flight arrives in Romania with aid consisting of medicines, mattresses, quilts and other items for the refugee camps in that country," said Marcelo Ebrard, head of Foreign Relations.

More than 84,000 Ukrainians are refugees in Romania, in an exodus that has already resulted in more than two million people forced to leave their country since the start of the war, according to the United Nations Organization.

The journey from Mexico has been exhausting.

It was more than 18 hours of flight, a couple of hours less than expected because the first of the stops planned in Canada was not made due to bad weather conditions.

After making two stops for refueling in Gander, in the extreme east of Canadian territory, and the Irish city of Shannon, the plane is now ready to start the return flight.

The aircraft has space for 150 passengers and it is likely that the available seats will be offered to governments of other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean so that they can return to their countries with the support of the Mexican authorities.

"The instruction we have is to facilitate the departure of Latin Americans, as long as there is availability," insisted Daniel Millán, head of the Foreign Ministry office.

The plane's arrival marks the start of the final phase of an operation against the clock, in which the biggest challenge will be getting as many people out of the war and home as possible in the next 72 hours.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-03-12

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