Caritas Director:

“Ukraine aid is not a sprint, but a marathon”

In an interview with krone.tv, Caritas Vienna Director Klaus Schwertner reports on aid measures that he has witnessed directly on the ground in Ukraine. 

"The situation is still dramatic. I was there for a week, witnessed an air raid twice and also had to go into the bomb shelter. Unfortunately, I can now imagine very clearly what this permanently threatening situation, the sounding of the alarm and the bomb strikes do to people." 

Help is still needed. And the entire Ukraine relief effort will continue for a long time to come: "This is not a sprint, but a marathon. The longest aid mission since the Second World War."

Caritas is organizing a number of projects in Ukraine, such as the distribution of firewood. And is doing everything it can to ensure that at least one room in every home can be heated. But the situation remains very tense: "The app on my cell phone signals that there is an air alarm. And there is acute danger. It's a huge psychological terror for the population." Schwertner reports a heartbreaking meeting with a boy in a warming center in Bachmut. The boy was no longer able to draw pictures as he already had severe motor disorders due to the course of the war.

Apart from the Caritas-Ukraine aid, the interview also dealt with the situation of homeless people in Vienna. In an international comparison, the federal capital is in a good position in this respect, but the fate of all those individually affected is very hard. Despite the mild temperatures, the Caritas coldline is once again very busy, with 8,500 calls this year.

You can see the whole interview in the video above.