Connecting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine

Ukraine: the project now covers 7 collective centres

Many Ukrainian families were forced to flee their home and found shelter in collective centers in other regions. These families need a reliable internet connectivity to continue their life, be it for remote working or attendin remote course that are organised for students. Our local team has extended the project to 7 shelters where internet connectivity or coverage was not available in the regions of Vinnytsia, Dnipro and Lviv. Since the beginning of the year, more than 2300 people have used the connection in these shelters, mainly to contact family and friends, stay informed on the political situation they’re in, following administrative procedures. For children, it’s also a way to stay in school, and for adults, it can be a way to work remotely and, by doing so, stay afloat financially.

“We have a lot of children here who need the Internet. They study both online and offline, and that's why we really need this Internet.” Tetyiana, a Ukrainian IDP in Vinnytsya.

Providing essential information to refugees in Poland

On arrival in Poland, Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war – mostly women with their children – are tired, worried… They have to complete the required administrative procedures while taking care of their children or elderly relatives. In order to understand the different possibilities and to make informed choices or receive assistance, they need clear and reliable information.

In cooperation with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), TSF disseminates essential information at various refugee reception sites in Poland. The information displayed is collected from verified sources and covers various topics relevant to refugees, including mental health advice, information on international protection, legal advice, support provided by institutions, among others.

“Even if the refugees don’t need the information right now, they still need it, probably to share with someone, a family member or community members, so it’s really useful to have a lot of information available so they can select.” Lilia, UNHCR agent in Rzeszòw, Poland

Links:

• Read testimonies of people connected by TSF

24 February 2023 marked the first year of the Ukraine conflict. In 2022, more than 33,000 IDPs and refugees benefited from the various projects Télécoms Sans Frontières created in response to the Ukraine war.

Ukraine: support to organizations and Wi-Fi in collective centers

TSF began its support in Ukraine by providing emergency telecommunications equipment to organizations contributing to the humanitarian response, including Alima which provided health services.

Many internally displaced Ukrainians found shelter in collective centers, so our local team has chosen the 3 most critical shelters in terms of Internet availability in Vinnytsia to help them access the Internet. The connection allows between 150 and 250 people in each center to remain in contact with their families, look for relevant information online, and even stay afloat financially by working remotely. The connectivity provided by TSF also allows children to continue their education remotely.

“We have a lot of children here who need the Internet. They study both online and offline, and that's why we really need this Internet.” Tetyiana, a Ukrainian IDP in Vinnytsya.

Providing essential information to refugees in Poland

TSF started an information diffusion project to provide Ukrainian refugees with essential, tailored information to help them stay safe and make informed decisions for their future. We installed informative screens in different reception sites for refugees in Polan, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The information displayed is gathered from trustful sources and covers different topics relevant to refugees, including self-care advice, international protection, legal advice, support provided by institutions, among others.

Around 5,500 beneficiaries a month benefit from the informative screens.

“Even if the refugees don’t need the information right now, they still need it, probably to share with someone, a family member or community members, so it’s really useful to have a lot of information available so they can select.” Lilia, UNHCR agent in Rzeszòw, Poland

Connected buses

In partnership with the International Organization for Migration and the UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR), TSF installed a free Wi-Fi connection on buses for refugees going from Moldavia to Romania. This Internet access allowed them to contact their loved ones and find information relevant for the next steps of their journey. This project had more than 10,000 beneficiaries in 2022, with a few buses in circulation.

Since 24 February, nearly 12.8 million people are estimated to have been displaced in Ukraine, most of whom have not left the country. According to the most recent estimates, more than 6.5 million people are internally displaced as a result of the conflict, which is equivalent to 17.5 percent of the entire population. TSF has started the installation of a free Wi-Fi connectivity in collective centres for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Vinnytsia. Although some centres are connected to the internet, they generally do not have the means to distribute this connectivity to the dozens of people who are being housed indefinitely.Our local team has chosen the 3 most critical collective centres in terms of Internet availability among all the temporary accommodation centers for IDPs in Vinnytsia. This connection allows almost 500 people in these 3 centres to remain in contact with their families and look for relevant information online. Moreover, in this kind of humanitarian crises, access to education for children and youth is often interrupted and precarious. The connection installed by TSF allows also children to continue their education remotely.

Besides IDP’s, there are more than 7.5 million refugees from Ukraine that have already been recorded across Europe. Thousands of them whom have left their homes and loved ones behind. Thousands of them whom are just looking to get to a safe place and, to do that, they have been using the bus convoy set up by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to safely bring refugees from Palanca, on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, to Bucharest. TSF installed a free Wi-Fi connection on all the buses of the convoy. This connectivity allowed more than 7,700 refugees to contact their relatives remained in Ukraine through instant messaging apps or social media, to find the strength to continue their journey (83%). It also allowed them to check the news on their home country and to look for essential information for the next steps of their journey, thus reducing their level of stress (44%). The evaluation conducted confirmed that the connection was particularly important for the refugees. 94% of those interviewed stated that the possibility to use the free Wi-Fi had a positive impact on their lives.

In these complex and most probably traumatic contexts, hearing the voice of a loved one can represent a heartwarming source of relief. The connections installed on the buses and in the shelters for IDP’s helps refugees to stay in touch with those they have left behind and to seek essential information in order to have more clarity in a situation where everything is uncertain and new to them.

Over 5 million refugees from Ukraine have already been recorded across Europe. Thousands of them have been using the bus convoy set up by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to safely bring refugees from Palanca, on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, to Bucharest, Romania.

By taking the bus with them, we have the opportunity to talk to each of them, to listen to their stories, to see their looks, sometimes tired, sometimes full of hope. Their stories are all different, but they all have one element in common: the simple desire to continue their lives, to see the war end, to realise their dreams, in peace.

Petro and Ivanna (all the names in the report have been changed to protect their identity) had chosen to leave Kiev to live out their retirement in the sunny Odessa. This retired couple forced to leave their country, are now trying to reach Spain in order to end their days in peace.

We meet the family who found themselves living in a neighbourhood where there was no water or electricity. "Without electricity it was hard, but it was still OK," they tell us, "but as soon as the water was gone, it became very complicated.” In addition to the material damage, the bombings sometimes have much more severe consequences. Their youngest child hadn't been able to sleep for weeks, waking up in panic during the night. This is when the decision to leave their country has taken shape, because their lives couldn’t continue like this. Talking to the other members of the family, we realise that they are just a family like any other. A child who is a Youtuber and a video game enthusiast, the daughter with whom we discover that we like the same music and we know the same bands. The family now heads to Prague, once again, to try to continue their lives, in peace.

Ivan, the sailor from the merchant navy who wants to join his friends in Lithuania. He run to cross the border and avoid being drafted into the army, "because my thing is boats, not guns", he tells us. Ahmet, a Turk, who is trying to join his sister in Germany to continue studying. Aurelia, a Russian translator from Odessa, who has decided to stay in Husi, to help as a translator. She shows us all the pictures she has on her phone of Odessa, its beach, its monuments. She tells us that for her the sky is always bluer in Odessa.

About 16 hours of travel separate them from a possible new beginning. Yet another journey on top of the fatigue, the worry, the days and weeks spent in dangerous conditions before being able to cross the border. Throughout this journey, the free Wi-Fi connection provided by TSF on the bus helps Petro, Ivanna, Ivan, Ahmet, and all the others to stay in touch with those they have left behind, to find the strength to continue their journey. The connection also allows them to follow the news from their country, and to seek information for the next steps in this journey to a life as new and normal as possible and make this part of their exile a little bit less difficult.