Help Ukraines Struggle

[Barking Mat]

We've loads of kids clothes, the kids have grown out of, we've loads of winter coats, we don't use, we replace our first aid kits at work anually, and they get binned basically.

This Ukraine thing is really getting to me.

Is stuff even getting there ?

If you feel like me, I urge you to search on the internet, your local point for Ukrainian support packages.

Instead of being powerless bystanders to this atrocity, try and do something positive, be it clothing, blankets, cuddly toys, medication, or whatever.

It's the only thing I can think of.

600,000 refugees with nothing escaping an umprovoked war.

With what they managed to pack and leave with.

If anyone wants to share local missions to supply stuff, stick them here.

I'm still trying to find anything in Brittany, finding protests, but no drop off points.

 

[pressbrake1]

My pal in Czech Republic is doing something

 

[Martin-Sy]

Van leaving Woking (Horsell) on Thursday for the Polish/Ukraine border. We dropped a bag of stuff there this afternoon.
Drop off address for anyone local:
Horsell Kitchen Cafe, 80 High Street, Horsell, Woking GU21 4SZ.

 

[Barking Mat]

Amnesty international, seems to be organising stuff, still can't find anything local.

 

[Martin-Sy]

Should have added whats been asked for: Unopened Bandages, plasters, antiseptic wipes, medication, toiletries, soups, tinned etc.

 

[Barking Mat]

I'm fed up with watching a constant tyrade of depressing news.

Need to do something to help.

Imagine if this was us.

Glad the EU, is doing something.

 

[Barking Mat]

We've put up our spare room to any family.

Opération Ark, Facebook.

Poland to Brittany.

 

[dobbslc]

"We" have 3 lorries going to Ukraine & Romania with food and clothing etc, not us personally but a neighbours company's lorries, stuff will be piling up in our porch tomorrow from all the locals. I can't think of anything else to do though.
You don't understand how raging angry I am that one piece of **** "man" can cause all this grief for personal gain. I'd shiv him in a second if I got a chance.
Hopefully one of his inner circle will do us all a favour soon...

 

[Barking Mat]

Good man, I'm with you too.

 

[Memmeddu]

Might be little bit egoistic but.
There's not much we can do.
Sincerely we are not too far from them and I don't see nothing good in the horizon .
We are practically waiting the third world war .
And history tell us that nobody won with Russia .
The saddest thing is that nobody wants this war .
Soldiers are just killing themselves just because a single man wants that.
I don't want to talk about the geo political and economic aspects of this crisis.
But soldiers are just human beings every single one of them would like to be at home with their families instead of fight.
We are spectators of a sort of gulf war mixed with cold war.
But this time there is a world super power with nuclear armaments and serious army, aviation and marine forces, which is invading another country.
I'm truly scared about receiving a letter where there's wrote that we have to protect our countries.

And I think that this thread will be soon closed because of forum rules as same as for others ones from the pandemic.
Can't understand why, we are not true friends but we help each other practically in everything from our hobby to our personal problems , can't see why we can't share our opinions and worries about this tragical situation we are all living.

I hope for peace and a diplomatic solution.

 

[selectedgrub]

^^ Word.

 

[pressbrake1]

Might be little bit egoistic but.
There's not much we can do.
Sincerely we are not too far from them and I don't see nothing good in the horizon .
We are practically waiting the third world war .
And history tell us that nobody won with Russia .
The saddest thing is that nobody wants this war .
Soldiers are just killing themselves just because a single man wants that.
I don't want to talk about the geo political and economic aspects of this crisis.
But soldiers are just human beings every single one of them would like to be at home with their families instead of fight.
We are spectators of a sort of gulf war mixed with cold war.
But this time there is a world super power with nuclear armaments and serious army, aviation and marine forces, which is invading another country.
I'm truly scared about receiving a letter where there's wrote that we have to protect our countries.

And I think that this thread will be soon closed because of forum rules as same as for others ones from the pandemic.
Can't understand why, we are not true friends but we help each other practically in everything from our hobby to our personal problems , can't see why we can't share our opinions and worries about this tragical situation we are all living.

I hope for peace and a diplomatic solution.

Unfortunately I agree. This isn’t another Bosnia Herzegovina thing where the UN and humanitarian aid will eventually calm it

 

[Tangledfeet]

This is a great excuse for a wardrobe sort; several local collections seem to be taking everything but clothes (think they got swamped and couldn't handle the volume) but I've just found out the local Rotary Club are doing a collection from work on Friday.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Unfortunately I agree. This isn’t another Bosnia Herzegovina thing where the UN and humanitarian aid will eventually calm it

My stepbrother did two tours there. Some of the horrors he saw have messed him up for good - last I heard he was homeless

 

[Jan-DIY]

I did cut down for Christmas in agreement with my 3 children and also sign in to give these strangers a home here.
Hard times knocking at our doors.
We are fu..ed very hard the last times but these people are need some little help now.
Yes, all are screwed up but now we need some charity.
I knew these brave Ukrainian people because we gave them a „summer sanity“ after Chernobyl in our house.
This is very uncomfortable also to our economics but it is what it is.
Checked in for 5-10 refugees.

 

[Lewis_RX8]

It certainly puts stuff most of us are worried about into perspective, knowing what over a bit of water and some miles of land is going on .

 

[Screwdriver]

I feel sorry for the ordinary people of Ukraine. Out of the frying pan into the fire politically, Ukraine left Russia in name only and operate their "politics" in exactly the same manner. Opposition leaders routinely get slung into jail, effectively for life as additional charges are invented ad infinitum. Would we want a pariah state, effectively a dictatorship to become integrated into our western democracy? No.

Then why, I wonder, was the question of their joining NATO not vetoed? We can't use our European might to prop up a thinly veiled dictatorship. Putin is a great example for what happens when a criminal organisation gets to run an entire country; an oligarchy. We can turn a blind eye when it suits and they have something we want like, say, oil and gas but without the checks and balances of a civilised western democracy, it only takes one man to have a bad day at the office and chaos ensues.

Usually when a superpower threatens the use of nuclear weapons, there's an overwhelming opinion they wouldn't dare. I'm not getting that from Putin. I think he might actully be deranged enough to do it. They have a fearsome arsenal of weapons, including tactical nukes but they also took control of Chernobyl. Anyone who is not worried about Putin taking control of that area really ought to start wondering why it was one of their first targets.

 

[Fat Gray]

We can all help by not buying stuff made in China.

 

[Screwdriver]

We can all help by not buying stuff made in China.

Yes but equally "we" can help by not buying oil and gas from Russia. These matters are out of our hands. Global corporations and private equity firms effectively buy their way into our systems of governance and geopolitical decisions are made which profit those corporate interests. Doesn't really matter who we vote for, it is a conceit, a lie we all want to believe but the truth is our world is dominated and run by a relatively small number of people who own all the money.

What Putin and China can lit. capitalise on is that the western system of fiat currency which drives our capitalist society is literally worthless. "Real" value is always derived from actual resources like oil, gas, land, farm produce (that's why the USA will attack any country that would dare NOT to sell barrels of oil by the dollar, it's what props up their currency). Russia will always have enormous reserves of oil and gas so if "we" artificially drive up the price, their resources become even more desirable (we can turn a blind eye...).

Similarly with China, they bought up vast tracts of land worldwide going after mineral wealth. Rare earth metals, gold, coal etc. (have a look at their long term "belt and road" initiative). They also "enjoy" a gigantic slave labour workforce and if anyone believes they really care two hoots for climate change or global warming, they should look again at what China are doing with their equally gigantically polluting heavy industries and reliance on coal. We turn a blind eye to that too.

 

[Farside]

All over Ireland, there are local initiatives to gather clothing, kids' stuff, footwear, toiletries, etc. Several trucks have already left and many more to go.
Otoh, one appeal was quite insistent that it all be brand new stuff bought and donated- I found that odd.
In the face of this, Oxfam came out and said people should just give money to them and they'd do better with the money locally. Load of cobblers, the prices of goods will be rocketing in some areas, so better to truck them in from places unaffected by war.
Anyway, I'd rather buy €40 of tinned foods from amazon.de and have them delivered to somewhere on the Polish border with Ukraine (but preferably in Ukraine itself) than give a penny to Oxfam.