The edge of boundaries
Ukrainian borders - from February 24th to April, 2022
From February, 24th along ukranian borders in Romania, Poland and Moldavia people are crossing the frontiers. Their attitude depends mainly on the conditions of the trip, on the situation they left behind in Ukraine and on what they experienced. At the border points, most of them appear lost, many are busy getting basic necessities offered by local operators and volunteers or they are trying to distract their youngest children while they wait to leave. Dormitory reception centers have been arranged in universities, gyms and shopping malls. The stories of those who want to share depend a lot on their specific areas of origin in a large country like Ukraine. Many people arriving from badly affected areas talk about the ones they have lost or the problems they will face. Others appear more optimistic and say they have only temporarily moved away from their country and that they will try to find a job thanks to the visa that Europe offered them. Particular attention is paid to both children and elderly or needy people. with specific areas for special medical care and play areas for children.
Despite the expectations about the duration of the conflict no one seems to have left the country to build a new life. People's choices depend on the possibilities that they will have in the place they have arrived. Moving to cities where they may have some contacts or having a place to stay, is for most of the people a temporary solution, a favorable option given the presence of friends or acquaintances, but this does not represent a beginning for a new existence in another place for now.
The images of migrants that we see, generally evoke dramatic situations related to the uprooting from one's origins: it is always useful to remember that they are people like any other, who have found themselves experiencing a disruptive event that leads them to forcibly recreate their personal life path and their identity in a sudden and often painful way. They have dreams and expectations like everyone else, as well as habits, affects and problems even in their home countries. Understanding their situation is about interpreting the journey of all migrants, not only the one of Ukrainians in this specific moment, as a condition of forced redefinition of oneself. Future becomes even more unknown, because in the life of migrant communities there are no longer those points of reference that previously guided personal decisions. Clearly individual conditions play the main role in defyning the possibility of reinventing oneself, as even in one’s own country of origin finances and economical stability makes the real difference. If we consider the current situation, receiving a working visa and the support of entire communities certainly give Ukranians a concrete help. In order to understand the path faced by the migrant communities it is important to underline these details to hopefully fix new standards of dignity and empowerment for the future of everyone that will cross any borders around the world pushed by external events other than their own will.
