Ukraine War: Sea of Lights with 4,000 Candles in Vienna
With a sea of lights made up of 4,000 candles at Vienna's Stephansplatz, Caritas reminded on Thursday evening that three years after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, humanitarian aid for the attacked country and its people is still necessary. The organization, which according to its own statements has reached four million Ukrainians with donations from Austria so far, also wanted to draw attention to the situation of Ukrainian children with the event.
"Many Projects Implemented in Humanitarian Aid"
"In the past three years, we have implemented many projects in humanitarian aid with Caritas in Ukraine and Caritas Spes Ukraine," explained Alexander Bodmann, Vice President of Caritas Austria, in a speech. Specifically, people within Ukraine who fled from the east to the west of the country and had neither acquaintances nor relatives there were helped.
Many children were also supported to enable them to attend school and have afternoon care by creating safe environments, Bodmann recounted. "One must imagine that there is an air raid alarm every day and children have to go to the air raid shelter," he said. Therefore, there is naturally a great need for social care. In response to an APA inquiry, the Austrian Caritas Vice President mentioned that since the beginning of the war of aggression, a total of 270 million euros in donations have been distributed through the international Caritas network via the two Ukrainian Caritas organizations. He estimated the Austrian share of this support to be about 30 million euros.
"Aid Gives People Hope"
"This aid gives people hope and shows that they are not alone and will continue to be helped," thanked the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, Vasyl Khymynets, for the "big heart" of the Austrians. Because the affected people are not to blame for bombs falling on civilian infrastructure every night, he said. The diplomat simultaneously spoke of a signal effect of this continuation of humanitarian aid for the "aggressor".
The speech at Stephansplatz implicitly also referred to current initiatives by the new administration of US President Donald Trump, which seems to be seeking rapprochement with Russia and has heavily criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Since yesterday and the day before yesterday, unfortunately, the mood has not improved: there are words circulating that have created uncertainty and fear among Ukrainians in Ukraine and Austria over the past two days," explained Father Taras Shagala of the Greek Catholic parish of St. Barbara.
Criticism from Achrainer
Meanwhile, Andreas Achrainer, the managing director of the Federal Agency for Care and Support Services, articulated wishes for a new Austrian federal government: The annually renewable refugee status for Ukrainians was initially a good thing, he emphasized. However, the affected people need long-term perspectives. He criticized difficulties in the recognition of qualifications, which made entry into the labor market more difficult.
(APA/Red)
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