Two families from Ukraine recently moved in with Sophie Hooijmans (31), youth and family professional at Sterk Huis, and her friend An (52) in Tilburg. Two weeks ago, Sophie and An drove to Poland in a fully loaded van, looking for families who wanted to go to the Netherlands.
On March 8, Sophie left for Poland for the first time, although that was not actually the intention. Shortly before that, she was still in Bosnia, where years ago she set up a lunchroom for Bosnian young people with a disability. At the toll road she was approached by an employee. “He looked at me and asked if I was Ukrainian. It was the umpteenth time that someone thought I was from Eastern Europe.”
The question got her thinking. “The war in Ukraine reminds me of how terribly wrong things went in Bosnia. I’m still working on that. I felt I had to help.” Once back in the Netherlands, they drove with An’s van to a shelter for Ukrainians in Tomaszów Lubelski in Poland.
In this place near the border with Ukraine, some of the Ukrainian refugees are housed in a sports hall. “We walked in and saw two hundred camp beds. There was only one English-speaking volunteer: Klara. I told her that I wanted to take people to the Netherlands,” says Sophie. Klara indicated that people prefer not to leave, especially not to the Netherlands because of the distance.
A few hours later, a mother with two daughters and the grandmother walked into the sports hall. One of 9 and 24 years old. They were anxious, confused and sad, Sophie says. “I was deeply moved by that family. That 24-year-old girl stood in front of us crying and said, “Please take me as far from Ukraine as you can.” They came from Sumy, a city in Ukraine fifty kilometers from the border with Russia. It was bombed a lot, especially at the beginning of the war.
The family went on the bus with Sophie and An. Sterk Huis and the municipality had made available a vacant building in Tilburg, which could accommodate about eight people. They made a stop at a gas station. “The nine-year-old girl looked white and I thought she might be thirsty. I asked if she wanted a drink and then she looked at her big sister.” She told Sophie that her sister was indeed thirsty, but didn’t want to be too much. “Then I really broke down. You don’t want to hear that.”
They drove away at seven o’clock in the morning and arrived in Tilburg at eight o’clock in the evening. “I knew I had to go there again,” says Sophie. And she did. Together with documentary maker Maaike Kleverlaan, she again drove a fully loaded van to Tomaszów. They picked up acquaintances of the first family. They are now reunited in Tilburg.
The families are assisted by a team of Sterk Huis. They get Dutch lessons. Sophie: “They are doing well. Ukrainian women have a militancy and are extremely strong. They are in contact with their husbands and fathers every day.” The nine-year-old girl will soon be going to school and taking gymnastics lessons. The 24-year-old daughter worked in bridal fashion in Ukraine. Sophie hopes she’ll be linked to a bridal shop.
Will she go that way a third time? “Not any time soon. I picked up all my work after my return, but it always has an impact.”