The first days of the Russian assault on Ukraine saw an unprecedented movement of people displaced by war. Hundreds of thousands of women and children as well as countless people from the global south who lived in Ukraine to work or study crossed into Poland and its southern neighbours on a daily basis. It seemed as if Putin was using fleeing people as another weapon in his arsenal to destabilize the West. But the attack on Ukraine not only united a troubled country against a criminally imperialist aggressor but also united the Western world against what it conceived as attack on shared values.
Standing united to host families and changing laws quickly to allow for faster and better integration, Europe learned from the last refugee crisis.
Photographed for Le Monde and NZZ, published in Eurozine.
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The western Ukrainian city of Lviv was a lively tourist town not long ago, known for its cultural heritage, lovely architecture, lively student scene and good nightlife. Lviv quickly adjusted to the influx of IDPs, opening its gyms, hotels and private homes to those fleeing the violence.
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The Lviv Railway station is the main transport hub for those fleeing the war.
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Tens of thousands of the elderly, women and children are coming through here on a daily basis
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While most Ukrainians know where to go, the Roma minority mainly stays at the station.
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A railway worker is showing an elderly man where to go. Most of the people arriving in Lviv have no clue about the station.
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The waiting room gets transformed into a sleeping hall at night.
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Infront of the station, Lviv.
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A young woman and her baby arriving at the station.
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A bunch of kids waiting for their relatives to return from buying tickets.
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Kids killing waiting time
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A mother is applying make up to kill waiting time.
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Passengers on the way to the train southwards.
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A family waiting at night
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Railway worker contemplating
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A fully packed car with a father and his children on their way to Medyka, Poland.
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A left gun before the checkpoint.
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A group of people walking from the last checkpoint to the borderpost.
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Part of the queue on the border to Poland, on the Ukrainian side.
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Money exchange shortly before the Polish border at Medyka
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A bus arrives from Ukraine to Medyka, Poland in the evening.
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A family is completely exhausted after the lengthy wait at the border, Medyka, Poland.
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People waiting for their relatives who are expected to cross the border at Medyka.
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Single male foreigners had to queue seperately. It is too dangerous for women and children to queue them in the same line a border guard tells me. Men who have been stranded in Ukraine have to wait a few hours more to be granted entry into Poland, as officers check their official status. They are tired, hungry and angry.
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Men from India on the bus to Przemysl. They are tired after the lengthy wait at the border crossing. One of them refused to take my seat and nearly falls down standing, because he falls asleep. I then force him onto my place.
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Two nuns looking for where to go to help in Przemysl.
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Behind the bus station in Przemysl. Students and workers from abroad had especially hard times figuring out their next steps.
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Volunteers load donations into a train heading to Ukraine.
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Alot of Ukrainians take their pets with them.
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Inside the stations restaurant in Przemysl, the military is having dinner.
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Inside the quickly established refugee camp in Korczowa, Poland, people find a place to rest, for hours or days, depending on their needs.
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Inside the refugee center a woman is finding solace in her cat.
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A woman is taking her baby to a private ride.
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Anastasia left Russia a few years ago due to the undemocratic situation. She is now offering free rides for those in need.
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People from all over Europe are offering rides for refugees. The danger of human trafficking is imminent.
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People from all over Europe are offering rides for refugees. The danger of human trafficking is imminent.
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Three men from Georgia at the charging station.
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Local buses pick up refugees on the border and take them to the shelter in Korzcowa where they take further steps.
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A lone figure walking from the border post into Poland, Korczowa