The Refugee Community at Ciudei October 2022 We heard about it on the grape vine. The word came via a priest at Bistritsa in northern Transylvania, and the international federation Terre des Hommes (which works for children); it was about a group of internally-displaced people of all ages living at a camp in the southwest of Ukraine. They were accommodated in and around a church and numbered up to 72, and they needed help. We went to have a look. Two of us, Dana Condrea and James Mather, departed from Bacau in NE Romania and drove up to the border with Ukraine at Siret. We found things had calmed down there since our previous visit. The shanty town of stalls and cabins run by aid organisations had diminished; the flow of refugees apparently had reduced. However, instead there was a queue about two miles long of lorries waiting to pass through the border. In the car we just overtook them, and did not have much trouble getting to the Romanian side of the border. There, we were processed efficiently by the border police and the customs, who wanted to know why a car registered to the Ungureni Orphanage Trust was leaving the country, but otherwise raised no difficulties. So, we arrived at the Ukrainian border control. There, instead of the tidy but rather lackadaisical demeanour of the Romania officials, we found lots of mainly young people in camouflage uniforms, each with a sub machine gun strapped to their back, running around energetically, and full of good humour and helpfulness. This surprised me; I had not thought that military discipline would have this effect. It turned out to be one of a number of symptoms of a population actually invigorated by acting together to resist a more powerful enemy. The priest in charge of the evangelical church at Ciudei with the refugee community was called Nicolai. We had arranged to meet him at ‘the roundabout’ just down from the border. We found this easily enough, but no Nicolai came for a while. When he finally appeared, a stocky jovial man in working clothes driving an old Peugeot van, he announced a slight change of plan. Instead of taking the main road through the city of Cernovitsi, which is the provincial capital of Bucovina, we would take a longer route around it, as, he said, the Russians are throwing missiles today. We bumped for an hour along a track full of potholes, passing through villages the main buildings of which in their patrician style showed signs of their origins in the empire of Austria-Hungary. The flat land of the Siret river valley was framed by distant hills; the autumn colours, more developed than at home, were vibrant. Ciudei, when we arrived, turned out to be a sprawling collection of houses, some decent, some very poor, set on muddy patches. The church is very recent and sits on a plot of maybe a hectare. It’s tempting to call it a sort of Nissen hut, because that is its form, with arched roof clad with metal sheeting. However, it is both larger and more sophisticated than that name would suggest, and it has a bit of a façade. Outside the door, a group of older people was sitting, passing the time and maybe waiting for us. Within, most of the space is given over to makeshift bedrooms, lined with composite wooden boards. There is no sign of a heating system, but that turns out to be because a network of plastic pipes lies under the floor, fed by a wood-burning furnace in the boiler house. When the flow of refugees began, the church gave over all its space to their accommodation. They then numbered 72. Since then, the young and middle-aged adults without dependents have mostly moved on to jobs in the West; the remnant, mostly either old or very young, number 45. Of these, 22 stay in the church, and the others are spread around the community in whatever houses there are available. There is pressure on space, and new accommodation units are badly needed. The church has land to build a couple of houses, but that takes time, whereas the need is immediate.
The bedrooms are makeshift, but warm and dry
We made a tour of the church, and visited two houses in the community which are in use by the refugee community. The accommodation in the church has all the basic requirements – but in very simple form. More development is needed. The bedrooms are simple – even ramshackle – but are adequate for space, and warm and dry. The kitchen is much too small, but there is an adequate dining area. There are ovens in the boiler house, including one for bread- making. The loos are decent, with separate sets for each gender, but the men’s has two loos and one shower, which is scant provision.
There are decent loos and showers for each gender, though more provision would be helpful. There is external access only.
The reduction in numbers has made it possible for some space to be returned to the congregation for worship. The sanctuary is small and basic, with no religious paraphernalia. There are some microphones and speakers, and a couple of music stands, and that is it. The congregation has a few benches and some loose seating (not in the picture).
The worship space, which is currently only occupying a small part of the building, in order to allow sufficient space for the residents.
Clearly, this evangelical church felt no need of the religious mystery that comes from special surroundings but instead was fired from within. We discussed with priest Nicolai how we might send contributions of money, and he replied to our questions, saying firstly that they do not have a budget, and that the church has no bank account. I confess to being astonished. However, as our conversation progressed, it became clear that we were not witnessing carelessness or reckless behaviour, but instead, a handing over of the decision-making to the Holy Spirit. As one steeped in the prudent and exact procedures of Presbyterianism, this came as a bit of a shock. But the truth was there for us to see: they prayed, and resources arrived; they gave their time and their strength, and God guided their hands. I wondered if the earliest days of the Church had been like this.
Cooking facilities are limited, considering the size of the community
A bit of aid is already reaching the community, as is evident from these stacks of boxes from Age International and Gleaners.
The priest, Nicolai, in the boiler house with a loaf from the latest batch of bread baked there.
Later on, we went to a house in the village where four children were being looked after by the wife of Viktor, another priest. The children’s mother, Oxana, was in hospital, undergoing tests for her cancer, which had developed to stage 3. The fear is that no treatment is available in western Ukraine at present for cancer such as this, and we were asked to try and arrange treatment in the UK.
At another house, tiny and very run-down, we encountered a mother and two small girls, living in not much better than slum conditions.
Safe Space Before we left Romania, our psychologist said we should look carefully for signs as to whether the refugees had found ‘safe space’ or not. The term is hard to define, but its effects are clear. We were to look not only for characteristics of the accommodation and see if the residents could truly call it their own, free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions or ideas. The signs in the people of would either bear out the safety of their environment, or not.
Our conclusions were that the space was indeed safe, and the residents were put at their ease and felt at home because their hosts were motivated by a loving carefulness.
This little girl, aged 3, is the youngest of four children of Oxana Ciornovanova, aged 39, who was in hospital at the time of our visit. She has stage 3 cancer, which may not be treatable in Ukraine just now, but may be treatable in the UK.
This family of mother and two children is living in not much better than slum conditions in a village house that had been abandoned after the previous resident died.
Our fundraising needs We are currently funding firewood for the winter; food; cleaning and hygiene products, at a cost of 1400 Euros. We shall continue with a second wood-fired boiler to supplement the existing one, warm winter clothing, specialist help for psychological problems, and other initiatives including obtaining access to medical treatment in the UK for a mother of four young children, who has advanced cancer which cannot be treated further locally. All our funding comes from voluntary contributions. We request contributions and hope you will be able to help. Details of how to send us money will be found below :
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Prayer points After our meeting at Ciudei, we prayed together. The prayers were simple, but the atmosphere was electric. The people at Ciudei have relied on the Holy Spirit in all they do, and they have been able to carry forward their work on this basis with amazing success. We therefore pray with them for:
God’s care for the community, protecting them from harm, and giving them strength and resilience to survive the war and the winter.
For good health, particularly in the trying conditions of winter weather.
For good will, confidence and good cheer within the community.
That the Holy Spirit should continue within them and amongst them, and guide them in all they do.
Bucovina landscape
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