Sir, – I am writing to you about the safety and security of the Ukrainian families arriving in Ireland.
In the last few days, I received an email to my work address (I work for a charity) from a well-meaning host, asking for support. The email contained passport scans with all details of the Ukrainian refugees he is hosting – two women and a young girl. As my charity has had no prior dealings with this individual, there must be multitudes of other prospective donors to receive similar communication.
We all need to be educated on the potential dangers we could face, should our identities end up in the wrong hands.
Separately, as a member of several Ukrainian support groups on social media, I am seeing numerous requests for work from Ukrainian refugees in Ireland. I made contact with a woman, a qualified dermatologist, who was working as a beautician in Kyiv before the war. She knew absolutely nothing about me, but she immediately agreed to come to my house, in spite of a two-hour-long commute (each way, by public transport) from Lucan to Stillorgan. What could have happened to this woman, if I wasn’t who I told her I was?
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Finally, there are thousands of people, both requiring accommodation and offering accommodation, who are facing long delays when trying to go through official channels. People who are getting frustrated are starting to link directly through social media to find each other. While we all know that the vast majority of host families are generous, genuine individuals prepared to open their hearts and homes to people in need, all it takes is just one wrong one for a disaster to happen.
I feel it is our collective responsibility to do what we can to minimise any dangers that may face people who have already been badly traumatised and who came here to live in a safe and peaceful environment.
– Yours, etc,
ELENA ALLILOUEVA,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.