The Ukraine war has turned the basement of Berlin’s glass-and-steel main train station into a sprawling refugee town where a small army of volunteers in yellow and orange vests offer everything from shampoo to cell phone chargers to exhausted refugees
Like Vadim, most refugees were too exhausted and traumatized to say much. Their frightened looks seemed to reflect the horrors of war. They sat huddled on long rows of wooden beer benches and tables, tightly holding onto plastic bags, school backpacks or duffel bags containing the few belongings they packed before fleeing the wailing sirens, detonating missiles and hastily arranged funerals back home.
Berlin has become the No. 1 gateway for tens of thousands of refugees, with around 7,500 arriving at the train station every day. Because city officials were initially slow to react to the massive influx, thousands of volunteers have stepped up to help cater to the refugees' every needs. There's also a stand operated by German railway company Deutsche Bahn handing out free train tickets for those who want to continue their travels to another destination. More than 100,000 tickets have been issued so far.
"There, together with the many volunteers who also very quickly organized themselves ... we have been creating an aid structure that's getting better with each passing day.” More than 2.8 million people have evacuated Ukraine since Russia's invasion began, and 1.7 million have taken refuge in Poland, Ukraine's western neighbor. Poland is trying to disperse the large crowds by adding more train routes heading west into Europe, like to Germany and the Czech Republic. But as Jay Gray shows you from the Polish-Ukrainian border region, many people want to stay near Ukraine in case they need to go back, or catch up with relatives who haven't crossed yet.
The many volunteers who spearheaded the initial help have mixed feelings about the city taking control now and some feel sidelined by the authorities.