Israeli rescue contractor Moti Kahana, renowned for his operations in saving refugees in Syria and Afghanistan, has launched a humanitarian “bridge” service, bringing vital supplies in and out of Ukraine.
“I feel very proud,” he told the JC. “I feel that we [Jews] have returned as lions in the neighbourhood.”
Kahana’s company, GDC, which works with NGOs, is based on the Romanian-Ukraine border and in the last week, working on the river between the two countries, has brought 1,000 tonnes of sunflower oil out of Ukraine, and transferred 1,000 tonnes of much-needed diesel into the country. The diesel goes to farmers to help them move their crops. GDC is working with the American security company Constellis.
Kahana said: “The goal is to move 25,000 tonnes each way every month. But the problem is that at the moment we only have 45 trucks, and we need many more.”
Speaking from Vienna, where he was negotiating to buy more trucks and also to discuss the potential for bringing cement into Ukraine if rebuilding some of its damaged cities were to begin, Kahana explained that the transfer operation currently ran on trucks, rail and river barges. He is also working on plans to move supplies in and out by plane.
Ukraine bridge 2
GDC supplies
“My parents were from Romania and as a Jewish guy, I feel very comfortable working here,” Kahana said. “Actually, I feel very proud. I feel that we have returned as lions in the neighbourhood. I want to give a lot of credit to the Romanian government, because they have really helped us.
“We are trying to duplicate the Good Neighbour programme which I started between Syria and Israel. It’s really working — we are copying the small scale of Israel and Syria to the large scale of Romania and Ukraine.”
He also hopes to move grain out of Ukraine, but everything depends on the progress of the war, Kahana said, noting that his operation could move only relatively small amounts of grain compared with the usual cargo shipments. GDC is in constant consultation with the US State Department as to how the supplies operation should continue.
“If the war and the blockade continues, we will get most of the supplies from Ukraine via Romania, as much as we can get out,” he said. “If the war and the blockade stops, we will go the other way, taking material in for rebuilding. But I don’t think the war is going to stop any time soon.”
His most immediate consideration is to raise the amount of transportation available, from diesel trucks to river barges, some of which might even be sourced in the UK.
Kahana previously ran a refugee camp on the Romanian border with Ukraine, but said the flow of people had virtually stopped and many were returning to Ukraine.
Kahana, who is still helping people escape Afghanistan, is offering jobs to any Afghan citizen who can drive a truck and wants to leave for Romania. Prospective Afghan employees must be able to show Romanian authorities that they can support themselves for six months after their arrival.
He stresses that the humanitarian bridge is just that. “We do not take weapons and would not be allowed, by our agreement with the US State Department, to do so. This is purely a humanitarian supplies operation.”
The work is undertaken in cooperation with the Ukrainian ministries of transport and defence, while security is provided by Constellis. The transfers are not near the front line.
The entire venture, Kahana said, had made him realise that “it helps to be Jewish. There are so many Jews in the Ukrainian government, if not people who are 100 per cent Jewish, then many who are 50 per cent. And for me, that means it’s like working with family.”
