More than 50 Ukrainian orphans have been evacuated to Britain in a mission partly organised by Israeli charity Magen David Adom.
The children were flown in on Wednesday, accompanied by Jewish aid worker Sally Becker. It followed a two-day delay caused by problems with the paperwork.
The mission had the support of lawyer and broadcaster Robert Rinder, who helped to bring in the support of charities. He told the JC: “They say in Jewish philosophy that you get your place in heaven if you’ve set up three shidduchim. All I’ve done is be part of a shidduch between the great charity Dnipro Kids and other great charities and business that could assist them.
“I’ve been the minimal matchmaker and champion of their work. It is a beautiful thing and the best of what communities can do when they work alongside each other.”
Mr Rinder has been in Poland reporting on the flood of Ukrainian refugees in recent weeks. He helped to connect Ms Becker’s charity Save A Child with Israeli emergency services Magen David Adom (MDA), who together with Virgin Atlantic provided the plane needed to rescue the children.
Daniel Burger, CEO of MDA UK said: “Save a Child and a number of other parties have made the most unbelievable effort in getting these children to safety. When the call came in to try and help facilitate bringing them to the UK, we wanted to do whatever it took. This mammoth operation has only been possible thanks to so many people’s generosity.”
The rescued children were originally meant to fly to London Heathrow on Monday.
Unfortunately, their flight was held up at the last minute despite Priti Patel confirming the children, who were taken out of Ukraine and into Poland by the Dnipro Kids organisation, had been given the green light to travel to Britain.
Dnipro Kids is an organisation set up by fans of Scottish football club Hibernian FC, and the children are planning to head to Scotland after their arrival in the UK.
However, the Polish ministry in Warsaw had not received a signed document from the Ukranian ministry confirming it, which led to delays.
On Tuesday Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party, who had also been helping the group, said issues regarding the paperwork had been resolved and he was hopeful the flight would leave on Wednesday.
Mr Rinder told the JC: “Monday was a setback. But I am just completely delighted. It has taken a lot of political muscle and effort. Ian Blackford has been a real champion.
“It required a lot of kvetching, but it shows what can be done when communities of good will work alongside each other.
“But frankly it shouldn’t have taken that much work to enable this to have happen.”
Ms Becker, who was hailed for her heroism during the Bosian war, helped the 52 child refugees travel from Dnipro across their war-torn country and into Poland last week, despite a harrowing series of problems along the way.
Packed and ready to go! @SaveaChildUK #Ukraine #ProjectLight pic.twitter.com/X92Dz2qs0C
— Sally Becker (@sallybecker121) March 21, 2022
Known as the “Angel of Mostar” Ms Becker contacted Jewish former MP Richard Harrington, Minister for Refugees, who helped organise their entry to the UK alongside charity Magen David Adom UK.
She initially travelled to Ukraine on behalf of her charity Save A Child to help connect doctors on the ground with paediatric specialists.
On her way into the country, she heard that Dnipro Kids - a charity founded by Scottish football fans to help orphans in the eastern city - had managed to get some children out.
But, she told the JC: “there were quite a few left behind and they didn’t have the funds, they didn’t have the manpower and they didn’t have the transport - they asked if we could help. Obviously, I said yes because I was going in anyway.”
The children first travelled across the country by train to Lviv, near the Polish border.
Ms Becker said that journey had clear parallels to those escaping Nazi occupation during the Holocaust.
“There were so many refugees coming out as I was going in,” she said.
“And sitting on this train they pulled all the blackout blinds down all along the train so it wouldn’t be a target.
“So we were rolling across the landscape at night with the blackout blinds down and wondering what was going to happen.”
The children had two adult women and one man with them, but as they reached the Polish border the man was prevented from travelling further as he did not have necessary documents exempting him from military service in Ukraine.
“The kids were bewildered,” Ms Becker said.
Eventually, via Google Translate, the women were persuaded the leave their companion behind to allow the children to escape, and the convoy continued.
After five or six hours at the border the coaches crossed into Poland and travelled to Znin, near Warsaw, where they stayed at a hotel before receiving permission to travel to the UK.
“Two people responsible for children coming to the UK,” Ms Becker told the JC: “[SNP MP] Ian Blackford and [Refugees Minister] Richard Harrington.”
While others have criticised the Home Office, Ms Becker said she had no complaints about the way the British government handled the case.
“I never had any doubt at all that these children would be able to come to the UK,” she added.
Ms Becker began her career delivering medicine to the besieged city of Mostar in a battered Renault during the Bosian war.
Soon a recognisable figure in the area, she eventually evacuated all wounded children and their mothers from the town. Ms Beckett was dubbed the “Angel of Mostar” soon after.
Since then, she has delivered aid in Kosovo, Chechnya, Gaza, Syria, and Iraq, among others, but says the support shown to Ukrainian refugees is unprecedented.
“The response is completely different, I’ve never seen so much support from other countries. Never. It’s unbelievable. I’ve never entered a warzone and found so little criticism,” she told the JC.
“Usually there’s always people that want to criticise because they’re for one side or the other; in this case everybody wants to see the Ukrainian people get assistance.”
At one Romanian border crossing, guards left toys so every Ukrainian child passing could take a present with them.
Ms Becker said: “Every time the coach had to stop there would be volunteers everywhere, mainly Polish but also from other countries.
“They were providing soup, they were providing tea, meals, biscuits, cakes: everybody was inundated with food and sweets and chocolate and drinks. They wanted for nothing, the refugees, on the way out. It was really heart-warming.”
JC readers can donate to Ms Becker’s charity at www.saveachild.uk
