I need your help. Please.
That day has come again. I have 56 empty envelopes (and counting) and no more €50 cards to put in them. It takes a global village. I hope the village might still be able to help. We all hope.
This is a pile of 55 empty pre-addressed envelopes. Each envelope represents a family, a story, a journey from Ukraine to Austria. Some more painful than others, some landed more softly than others, all currently in need of financial help. All wrote me personally a message asking for help, and all sent me their name and address themselves. As much as I really tried to take a break from my phone this weekend, it wasn’t really possible because the messages keep coming in. We only deliver one €50 supermarket card per family, one time. So each message is a new Ukrainian family asking for help. They hear about me from their neighbours, at German class, in doctors’ waiting rooms, in line for a handout from the Red Cross on Saturdays. It is the Ukrainian refugee grapevine, and at the moment it is working faster than I can meet demand.
1160 Wien, 1160 Wien, 1140 Wien (dorm), 1190 Wien (group home), St Pölten, Zams (7 families, monastery where they are “fed”, Tirol), Neulengbach (3, dorm), Schönfeld, Gumtransdorf, Vordernberg (motel, 4 families), 1100 Wien, 1030 Wien, Neustift, Stadelbach, Ebentahl, 1150 Wien, 1100 Wien, 1200 Wien, 1210 Wien (dorm), Hutten, Hinterleiten, 1160 Wien, 1120 Wien, 1160 Wien, 1160 Wien, 1160 Wien, 1220 Wien, 1150 Wien, Tarrenz (hotel), 1190 Wien (widow with two kids, husband died in April), Eisenstadt, 1120 Wien, 1160 Wien, Altenmarkt an der Triesting (group home), 1140 Wien (dorm), Elixhausen, 1220 Wien, Gmünd, Siegenfeld, 1020 Wien, Grafenwörth (2).
Contrast this with what is happening in Vienna these days. We are experiencing gorgeous sunny warm fall weather. The city is bursting with tourists and locals alike shopping and dining out. And yet in between this hustle and bustle there are so many struggling to make it from one day to the next, nearly invisible to the rest of us.
On Friday, this was really bothering me. I went in the Apple store to get a new battery for my two year old iPhone. My phone is my office and I use it far more than my computer, as I cannot type quickly in Russian on the laptop. So the €75 invested in a new battery was for me like an investment in keeping this whole “operation” going.
And then I looked at the queue of folks ready to drop €1000+ on the latest and greatest and it was like a punch in the gut when I thought about all the people I know in my phone for whom even €50 makes a huge difference. When you are solely focused on getting through one day to the next, making it to the next payment.
A man residing in a Vienna dorm, with whom I met this morning, himself unable to walk without assistance, told me they are “paid” €40 pocket money only on the 20th of the month. Where he lives, they are “fed”, so when he and his mom arrived in late September, they only received €20 each (second half of the month). Could anyone standing in line at the Apple store imagine what is is to have only €20 in your pocket for two weeks? With limited mobility? Can any of us imagine that? I spoke with him for a good fifteen minutes today. A very pleasant and civilized conversation. But even I don’t fully understand. I cannot fully imagine.
On Saturday, I set to work to try and address some of the inequities, by asking wealthy Ukrainians to help their fellow citizens also currently residing Ukraine. My husband and I went from garage to garage, side street to side street throughout Vienna’s first district, and left dozens of these on luxury cars with Ukrainian license plates. We didn’t put them on “normal” middle class cars. It is not a perfect science, but rather, an experiment, to see if there is a willingness to help amongst wealthy Ukrainians here in Austria. A volunteer made me the flyer, two other volunteers translated it into Ukrainian, and an Austrian printed the flyers for me for free and sent them to my home. It takes a global village. We sacrificed a few hours of our Saturday, and let’s see if it was worth it…
This morning I had two final cards to deliver. They were both hand deliveries, one to the dorm in the 11th district (left photo — and finally good news, see tweets here), and one to the BBU dorm (right photo). One recipient was an elderly woman, the other was a young man who cannot walk and came to Austria for medical reasons. Every time I hand over a card, it is more than just a card. It is a conversation. How are you doing, what challenges do you face right now, what questions do you have, what resources do you need? I also suggest joining my Telegram group because I cannot personally answer all the questions, and I am really encouraging the Ukrainians in Austria to help each other, which they are really doing.
On my way home, I stopped by an apartment in Vienna’s 3rd district to pick up my dress for the Die Presse Austria 22 Gala on October 19. I ordered an evening gown from a Ukrainian designer (De’Marush) and they sent my measurements to Kharkiv (!) and my dress was made there and arrived in Vienna this weekend. Unbelievable.
And then I came home. And looked at my envelopes. And wondered what I am going to do? Because, as I say to the Ukrainians both when I chat with them online and when I meet them in person — I cannot give you what I do not have. We depend 100% on the kindness of strangers. We receive no state nor NGO nor corporate funding. If I receive a €200 donation, I buy 4 cards, and immediately send them out. If someone gifts me 5 cards, they too go out immediate. If we receive Klimabonus vouchers, those are also in €50 increments, perfect for our program. September was a good month, we were able to help many families, but this also meant that more people learned about us (word of mouth travels fast, especially in facilities where residents are “fed” and only ever receive €40 per month “pocket money”, and no, that is not a typo). I am worried about October. Inflation is biting here too, you see it immediately at the grocery store. Ukrainians trying to live on the social payments from Austria, a little over €200 per month in most states, are going to really struggle to even feed themselves properly at these prices. And that leaves nothing left for medicine not covered by insurance, winter jackets, shoes, other non-food items, a SIM card, internet…and in November, public transport tickets (shudder).
How can you help? If you live in Austria, please contact me via DM for my mailing address and donate cards themselves. €50 increments, any supermarket chain. If you are in Vienna, I’ll come pick them up from your office or home, no problem. We also happily accept Klimabonus vouchers or Edenred coupons (sometimes employers give these out). If you live abroad, PayPal is the easiest way to donate directly to my pile of envelopes born out of the Telegram and Messenger messages I receive from Ukrainians in Austria directly asking for help.
Mario is still operating our website and he has a huge waiting list there. He and his team of volunteers are buying in bulk and sending out €50 Hofer cards in the order requests were received, which at the moment means many families are waiting months. To donate by credit card or bank transfer towards this much longer waiting list, please see all the details here.
I know sometimes too many words is too much. So I will pause here and say thank you. Thank you for still caring. Thank you for still allowing us to bring a glimmer of hope that someone out there in this big wide world cares about you and your future. Because it’s not just €50 towards groceries. It is also a powerful symbol of our collective humanity for each family or individual who receives a card. I know at the bottom of my heart it could one day be me and my family on the receiving end. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring.
For those of you who do not mind too many words, please find below translations of some of the many messages I have received recently. I have changed the names.
Andrey, Mistelbach region, Lower Austria
“I have an important question, but it’s very personal. My wife and I are both persons with limited mobility. We came in March to Austria in our Renault Trafik from Mykolaiv, which is now just behind the front lines and is being bombed every day. We live in the village of Siebenhirten, which is near Mistelbach, and we go there for German classes, to ask for humanitarian aid, and to the doctor. Our car is now in bad shape, because we need to change the timing belt and rollers on the engine. The roller are already making sounds. If our car breaks down, we will be totally stuck! Where and how to order parts, and how to fix the car, I don’t know. I don’t know what to do now. There is no one to help us.”
Kristina, Tirol
“I am live in Tirol with my two kids (9 and 10). We lived for half a year with acquaintances in Innsbruck, and then we moved to the refugee hotel Europa and now we have been living for ten days in Imst in a TSD dorm. My kids have been attending a school in Innsbruck since March, and they are also on a team for speed skating, and my son plays soccer and my daughter enjoys music. The problem is we begged TSD to house us closer to the city, because of the kids’ activities, but no one listened to us. A doctor’s note (I began to have panic attacks because of all the stress), and a note from the sports’ school — nothing helped. Now we have to wake up at 5am to get to school on time. The children are really tired. In addition, the TSD dorm has a bad atmosphere — people get drunk, swear, yell at each other, steal food from the communal kitchen. I don’t know who to ask for help. Maybe you can tell me? “
Nastya, Lilienfeld, Lower Austria
“My biggest challenge now is how to get into German classes earlier than 19 December (a class beginning at 8:30am). I am a teacher, so I know I could be helpful to Austria. My second question: I am afraid to find a legal job because I do not understand how to keep from losing the social payments and the subsidy for my rent. I am here with my elderly father, I am taking care of his health needs — he didn’t manage to finish treatment in Ukraine. I would really like to actively integrate myself into Austrian society. Thank you for your support and help!”
Oksana, Vienna
“I come from Ukraine, from the city of Kryvyi Rih. Sincere thanks to Vienna, to the people who care for us. I am a teacher, I attend courses, I cannot work at a school yet because my German level is bad. But there are many Ukrainian children in Viennese schools, and I could be an educator, or just a native language teacher. This is also necessary. Also, many Ukrainians are already working, and for them traveling for money is not a problem. But support is important for me. There is information about jobs, and for me, every Euro is just food. I don't have enough for anything else. If there is paid public transport, you won't find a job, you won't go to courses, and you won't get to a meeting at the AMS... because I won't be able to buy it.”
Iryna, Tirol
“1st and most important: bureaucracy! I can't go to language course in Innsbruck since May! I passed the test, was given a school, sent a request to Vienna for payment, received an answer - confirmation. I go to school - there are no places! I write again, I reserve a place, I sent a request to Vienna - silence and so on in a circle. Places for courses are distributed randomly, those people who arrived earlier than others (not from hot spots) go to courses for the sake of entertainment and self-education. I arrived from Mariupol later; my home burned down. There is nowhere to return, I want to work, they don’t give me the language.
Second: singles are lodged together despite their age and forgive mental illness (schizophrenia, epilepsy, alcoholism), people shake their nerves: do not turn on the light. Don't watch YouTube, you're bothering me, open the windows at night, leave the iron on. It is unrealistic to resettle or resettle me from the threat. Let her dad and mom come and take care of her. At the same time, prosperous residents of Odesa are accommodated one by one in spacious rooms. In response to my question, they simply laugh: I don’t like it in two, I’ll settle in three. I understand. Not a resort, but still it is not clear: is it really corruption here, and in order to live normally, they pay something to the curator ?
I have rights. I went to work for delivery by car, they issued it, I want to work! During the war, due to nerves, my eyesight fell, I drive slower than others at night, I don’t know the city well. Arab employees slipped the most difficult orders: I work conscientiously, I don’t sit when there are no orders, I clean and help in the kitchen, it’s not profitable for them. As a result, I was fired after 10 days, I drive slowly compared to others. No time, internships, get used to it . They paid €400 me for these days, as a result, I lost €300 of benefits, which means that I traveled for 10 days for €100 euros? The point of looking for a job?
There are also problems with the mail: in August, they sent me from Kyiv my documents that were found on the ashes of my house and sent drugs that are not here (spazmalgon) the mail has been hoarding for 2+ months and does not give the parcel, then checks or a certificate for drugs, then evaluate the parcel, sent everything, people in Kyiv, under the bombing, ran around the pharmacies, took these certificates, give at least the documents already: no! Why did you value them at €100 euros, provide confirmation, is this not absurd? How will I evaluate my documents from Mariupol? They are priceless, I will not restore them. I call the hotline, everything is the same, they do not speak English, they answer in German so quickly that no one understands. If I do not respond, the documents will be disposed of. Is this normal? Europe 21st century!
I need confirmation of a pharmacist's diploma, I want to learn a language, I can work in a pharmacy, as a nurse, as a controller at a Novartis pharmaceutical plant, and finally as a packer! But all that remains for me is cleaning without German skills, and there is no health for cleaning after all the shelling and sitting in the basement. And the language classes are filled with refugees of other nationalities who aren’t even keen on learning or working.”
Finally, as I was about to publish, I received a new Telegram message. Make that 56 empty envelopes.
“I am handicapped from birth, my wife too (she is nearly blind), and my sister has Parkinson’s. We arrived in Austria in July. We receive €40 per month each pocket money. I am writing you with a request to help us receive grocery store vouchers. We are living in the BBU dorm in Wien. Please find attached our documents from Ukraine confirming our disabilities.”
I visited this dorm this morning. Word travels quickly. I would love to keep helping, but I cannot do it alone. Thank you.
https://cards-for-ukraine.at/donate
Sent $100 US with much love and respect.