AGERPRES special correspondent Cristian Lupascu reports: A social centre for the care of residents of the city of Mariupol, who fled after the place was destroyed and occupied by the Russian army, was inaugurated on Thursday in Dnipro.
The inauguration of the home, which houses 127 people, more than three-quarters of whom are women and children, was attended by both Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov and Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko.
„I want us all to understand who these people are. They are people who have gone through all the hardships of war. We have a refugee here who fled Mariupol with three children. We also have refugees who moved from Donetsk to Mariupol and we used to call them the new citizens of Mariupol, and today many of them have already fled to other regions. There are many refugees scattered all over the regions. That is why we had to give our refugees in Mariupol what they need – a roof over their heads. Here in this centre, 40% of the people accommodated are children, 80% of the total are women and children. They are children who have health problems or degrees of disability and we understand that we have to offer them good living conditions. Today we saw tears of happiness in their eyes, because they have waited a long time for this moment. In total, 35 families or 127 people were accommodated here today, but 333 families or about 1,000 people are still waiting for a place to stay. So, of course, we will continue to develop these projects,” said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko.
In turn, Borys Filatov, the head of the local administration of Dnipro, said that his city was the first in the country to set up such a centre for Mariupol residents.
„In the context of this bitter war, we have to fight side by side and show solidarity. Dnipro is always at the forefront when it comes to rehabilitating the wounded, helping refugees, so we were among the first to open centres for those who fled Mariupol. We worked together with the local authorities there and we are proud to have been the first in the country to open such a centre. I would like to address our brothers from Mariupol: dear brothers, we are happy that you were able to find a shelter here in Dnipro, we are happy to welcome you and help you,” said Borys Filatov.
Before the war, Mariupol had almost 500,000 inhabitants.
