The Argentine ambassador to Poland, Ana Maria Ramireztold Télam this Sunday details of the intense logistical operation to get the five Argentine families and their babies born by surrogate wombs in that country; He highlighted the “teamwork” that made this action possible and highlighted that he located the truck with his compatriots on the road full of cars thanks to “the Argentine flag that had been hung” from the vehicle.
In a telephone conversation with Télam from the Polish town of Ruda Rozaniecka, located 50 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, Ramírez said that everyone is fine and will spend the night there, before continuing on to the Polish capital.
“When we learned that the families – who had been taking refuge since Monday in the basements of the residence of the Argentine ambassador in Kiev, Elena Mikusinski– were willing to leave, we got ready to solve the logistics to get to the border, the real problem,” Ramírez said.
The career diplomat, of Corrientes origin, explained that the only two diplomats from the Warsaw headquarters (Ramírez and his second, Juan Cruz Olivieri) traveled with two cars and two ‘van’ type trucks to transport the five families, plus drivers and a Polish secretary from the embassy.
Ramírez said that they left Warsaw at four in the afternoon on Saturday and arrived – willing to spend the night – at Ruda Rozaniecka; but after a while of rest at three in the morning they set off knowing that the Argentine families – who left Kiev in a van – were close to the border.
Early Sunday morning (Polish time) Argentine officials crossed the Ukraine border at the Hrebenne-Rava Ruska pass.
“My idea was always ‘we will advance as much as they allow us‘, but we didn’t know how long that was going to be,” said the ambassador, who reported that there was a 25-kilometer queue at that time to cross from Ukraine to Poland.
“We spoke with a Polish immigration officer who spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart and told us that we could go through. It was a huge happiness for everyone!” he exclaimed.
Information on Argentine men and women in Ukraine:
The Argentine Foreign Ministry informed the compatriots that it was agreed with Latin American countries to jointly address assistance through consular cooperation. pic.twitter.com/LsvwDCHqcv
– Argentine Foreign Ministry ?? (@CancilleriaARG) February 26, 2022
The Argentines were still 15 endless kilometers from the border. “When we got to where the GPS said they were, I got out and immediately saw their truck. I recognized it by the Argentine flag that they had hung. I opened the door and it was an incredible thing!” the official said.
“My fear was the little ones because it was very cold. Going back along the route was slow and complicated, but nothing else mattered to me because we had them,” he said.
After noon (Ukrainian time, 5 hours more than in Argentina) the convoy with the four cars arrived on Polish soil, and later at the hotel in Ruda Rozaniecka, where the delegation had stopped on the outward journey. They will spend the night there before embarking on Monday the trip to Warsaw.
“I value teamwork, which we had already experienced with those stranded by the coronavirus pandemic, but without it this would not have been possible,” Ramírez remarked.
The official, ambassador to Poland since 2018, thanked the “local staff” for the work of the entire region and in this one-off mission highlighted the joint work with her colleague in Ukraine, coordinated “in real time” by the General Director of Consular Affairs, Ana Laura Cachaza.
Ramírez told Télam that there are “dozens of Latin Americans” who cross the border crossings every day that communicate Ukraine with Poland, but also with Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
In addition, he recalled that only Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba have diplomatic representation in Ukraine, so these offices try to assist other citizens of the region.
“These first few days, Latin Americans who were here temporarily, due to some specific situation, are leaving. But others live here permanently, because they are married to Ukrainians, and they are waiting” before leaving their home, he said.
The five Argentine families and their newborn children entered Polish territory today to return to our country, after a complex operation that lasted about 23 hours.
It was possible thanks to the permanent coordination of our embassies in Ukraine and Poland. pic.twitter.com/nvVBH4TH2O
– Santiago Cafiero (@SantiagoCafiero) February 27, 2022
The official, who also collaborated in the operation that took soccer player Claudio Spinelli and other citizens out of Ukraine, continues to monitor the crossing of the rest of the Latin Americans together with her colleagues in the region.
Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero stressed that “the five Argentine families and their newborn children entered Polish territory this Sunday to return to our country, after a complex operation that lasted about 23 hours.” He added that “it was possible thanks to the permanent coordination of our embassies in Ukraine and Poland.”
The Foreign Ministry also said that “Argentina wishes to express its greatest gratitude” to “Colonel Leszek Szurmacz of the Hrebenne border post, and to Major Mykola Naholuk of the Rava Ruska post”, for collaborating in the evacuation of newborns.
And he added that “he wants to reiterate to the compatriots who are in Ukrainian territory that it is essential to know where they are in order to assist them in the best way, for which they are asked to keep a channel of communication open with both the Embassy, through the usual channels, such as with the box provided by the Foreign Ministry for this purpose: [email protected]”.
