Barred at the Ukraine-Poland border, Brazilians seek alternatives to escape

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Exhausted after four days without sleeping or showering, a group of three Brazilians crossed the western border of Ukraine on Sunday night (27), trying to find a way out.

Football players Edson Fernando and Talles Brener and Talles’ girlfriend, Jessika Ariani, were since Thursday (24) at a border crossing trying to cross into Poland, without success.

“It was so cold that our mouths are all cut, our hands are burnt. We’ve been in line for 24 hours, without sleeping. It’s been horrible”, says Jéssika, 28.

It took them 16 hours to travel the 80 kilometers from the city of Lviv to the border in a van. Left by the driver, who, being Ukrainian, could not cross, they tried to ride in the line of cars, but no one helped them. “We even offered US$ 300 (R$ 1,550) to walk 2 km, but nobody even opened the window for us.

According to Jessika, the Ukrainian military lets women and children pass, but is not allowing men, even foreigners, to cross. There are reports that bus drivers and some shopkeepers do not accept foreign customers, only Ukrainians.

The group was helped by another Brazilian woman, Clara Magalhães, who came from Germany by car to help refugees in the region. After two days of trying, she managed to cross to the Ukrainian side, with a Brazilian flag in the vehicle full of donations. In addition to the three Brazilians, whom she didn’t know before, she gave a ride to a Ukrainian and a Nigerian that she met along the way.

“The border is in chaos. The military is aggressive, impatient, using clubs, weapons with rubber bullets. The people are without water, hungry, cold”, describes the Brazilian. “If it continues like this, they’ll end up tearing down the bars and breaking in.”

Clara drove to Slovakia, but the line of cars was 50 kilometers long. The group passed through six border points until reaching Hungary, where they hoped to be able to pass while talking to the reporter.

The Itamaraty reported that until Sunday night, around 80 Brazilians had managed to leave Ukraine through the borders with the support of the embassy, ​​and another 100 who are registered with the diplomatic representation are still trying to leave the country. The Brazilian community in Ukraine is estimated at 500 people.

“In the first days, in view of the lack of security conditions, we are implementing a safe and orderly evacuation”, says the note.

So far, efforts have mainly focused on the Romanian border. President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) reported on social media that 39 people – 37 Brazilians and two Uruguayans – arrived in Bucharest after leaving Kiev. Among them are the players of Shakhtar Donestky, a first division team, and their families.

“The Embassy has established an outpost on the border with Moldova (the road between Kiev and Romania) to welcome Brazilians who may arrive strayed through that border region,” he wrote.

Bolsonaro also said that two Brazilian Air Force aircraft will be able to transport those who want to return to Brazil.

On Sunday, the embassy in Ukraine said in a statement that it does not advise trying to cross the border crossings between Lviv and Poland on foot or by car. On Saturday, they had announced that they had received “numerous reports of huge crowds, delays lasting days, aggressive behavior, lack of accommodation and basic necessities” at the site.

But the Brazilians who are already there say they are unattended by the embassies in Ukraine and Poland In videos posted on social networks and in conversations with the sheetthey claim that they cannot get in touch with the embassy in Kiev, and that the Brazilian representation in Poland has responded that they can do nothing for those on the other side.

Questioned by sheetthe ministry says it will send a mission with eight employees to Poland to help Brazilians.

One of the most critical situations in Lviv concerns players Guilherme Smith, Cristian Dal Bello and Juninho Reis, as well as his wife, Vitória Magalhães, and their three-year-old son.

After walking more than 30 kilometers, they were stopped from leaving Ukraine. “The guards started pushing them, they even pushed my niece with the child. They didn’t even open the passport, they didn’t want to know”, says Águida Magalhães, Vitória’s aunt.

On the way, Guilherme injured his foot and Vitória burned his leg in a fire that the group made to keep warm.

They eventually returned to Lviv, where they received medical attention and are awaiting a solution. “There’s no way to go back, there’s no way to go forward,” Vitória said in a video. “We need help getting out of here.”

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