A group of about forty Ukrainian refugees set out today to clean up the center of Hilversum. Out of gratitude for all the help they received, they walked through the media city for hours with a skewer and garbage bag. “This is a small thing that we can give back and we are happy about that,” says Tania Yachnyk.
Ukrainian refugees clean up the center of Hilversum – NH Nieuws
And all according to Ukrainian custom. “We normally clean our own house completely on the Thursday before Easter,” says Tania, who has been in Hilversum for about a month now. “It is a very important holiday in Ukraine and we know it is also important in the Netherlands. So we wanted to do something good for this beautiful holiday.”
“I think we all feel like we have to give something back,” Hanna Berezhna says. “Many families don’t have a lot of money, but we do have a lot of free time. Why not put it to good use?”
“It’s hard to be alone and think about the situation in Ukraine”
The group left from the old VARA building where about three hundred refugees are now being accommodated. “The campaign came entirely from the refugees,” says Sonja Zeven, who arranged stuff for the clean-up campaign as a volunteer. “It’s wonderful to see how grateful they are.”
Distraction
In addition, the clean-up campaign also provided the necessary distraction from the still bizarre reality. “My daughter’s school was bombed, our houses too. My husband is still there,” says Anna Bieloshenko, watching her son clean up with a skewer. “It’s just better now to do something and work, because then you don’t just think about those bad things.”