Some compatriots reach the Polish border on their own. Those closest to the conflict area have difficulty evacuating.
The Ecuadorians who live in the city of Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) cannot get out of there. According to Jean Andrade, coordinator of the city’s students, the situation is complicated. During the night of February 24, 2022, 80 compatriots got together to rent a bus that would take them to the border with poland. However, in the morning (February 25) the transport did not attend them.
Noemi Lema, another of the students who hoped to leave on that bus, told LA HORA that the reason for the cancellation was the fear of the driver; “There are many tanks on the roads and I don’t want to risk my life,” the transporter reportedly told them.
The Russian attack began on February 24 in southeastern Ukraine, especially in the Donbas area, the city of Kharkov and the port of Odessa, on the Black Sea. According to data from the invaded country, there are already 137 deaths between soldiers and civilians.
Zaporizhzhia is 800 kilometers from Lviv, one of the main border points from which the Ecuadorians; and only 200 kilometers from Donbas, the main zone of the conflict. That is to say, they are closer to the war than to their departure from Ukraine.
Andrade said in an interview with LA HORA that it would take 2 days to get to Lviv if they found transportation. The problem is that there are no planes, buses or trains. For this reason, the trapped students ask the Ecuadorian government for help to achieve a humanitarian corridor let them out. (GVL)
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