In view of the emer­gency situa­tion on the Ukrai­nian-Polish border, a fact-finding team from the aid orga­ni­sa­tion @fire - Inter­na­tio­na­ler Katas­tro­phen­schutz Deut­schland e.V. in coope­ra­tion with the Björn Stei­ger Foun­da­tion and the Insti­tute for Euro­pean Affairs - INEA - is currently on mission in the Polish border town of Chelm to iden­tify huma­ni­ta­rian needs. The assi­gn­ment is carried out at the request of the City President.

The town of Chelm is loca­ted at the northern­most of eight Polish-Ukrai­nian border cros­sings. In the Lublin Voivo­de­ship, the city is one of the first recep­tion centres that refu­gees reach - by trains, buses and private cars. Every day, thou­sands of refu­gees - mainly mothers with chil­dren - arrive in the city of 65,000 inha­bi­tants. They are provi­ded with meals and accom­mo­da­tion and, if neces­sary, receive primary health care.

Based on the needs iden­ti­fied and in consul­ta­tion with the City President, a relief opera­tion may follow, if neces­sary, to assist the city in caring for and provi­ding for the inco­ming refugees.