"It was scary to draw colleagues and relatives"

Belarusians and Russians created several charitable organizations to help Ukrainians. How do they work?

The author of the cartoon "Mr. Freeman ” Pavel Muntean created a crypto fund for 500 thousand dollars to help refugees from Ukraine. The Belarusian entrepreneur from Florida Andrei Borisevich, having learned about the war, abolished his vacation and personally went to meet Ukrainians to the border with Poland. Half of the German, half Russian Eugene manually reduces refugees and landlords from the UK: someone settles in the guest house to the local aristocracy, someone-to the owner of the pub. Medusa tells the history of several volunteer organizations founded by Belarusians and Russians to help Ukrainians during the war.

From the border to the house

The news about Russia's invasion of Ukraine found the Belarusian businessman, the creator of the Aviation Academy in Florida Andrei Borisevich during a 20-hour transplant at the San Paulo Airport. He returned from the expedition to Antarctica and planned to relax on the villa in Spain. Borisevich recalls how, having seen the news about the beginning of the war in the tape, he realized that he could not stay on the side.

“The war is the pitch hell and ****** from one ******** on the head of the grandfather who set up ***** his people and is trying to do the same with the neighboring one,” Borisevich says in response to a request to express his attitude to the war and asks his comment without changes.

In the tape of Instagram, Borisevich saw that his acquaintance in Poland was looking for minibuses for transporting Ukrainian refugees from the border. The businessman immediately went to Germany, and from there to Poland, where he rented buses, hired dispatchers and began the search for drivers. To do this, the entrepreneur organized a collection of donations through his own social networks - it was possible to collect 34 thousand dollars. This money went to rent buses and fuel, while drivers worked for free. In addition to the donates, the businessman spends his own money, but does not know exactly how much he spent: “I have stopped counting my own, for sure more than 10 thousand dollars.”

In the middle team collected by Borisevich, it was possible to export 30 people a day. Personally, Borisevich transported about a hundred on one of the minibuses, and in total, about 650 people managed to evacuate.

Now Borisevich is engaged in the search for housing for Ukrainians who have left the country. On the borders, he said, there are more transport, and people, on the contrary, are less.

With a request to place refugees from Ukraine Borisevich even took place before the government of the Azores. His friend Anatoly Letaev has long been living on the islands and leads his Utuub channel about emigration. At the video blogging, they agreed: their own channel - about aviation - has Borisevich.

“We planned to jointly remove the release about freedom of movement and talked for a long time,” he says. Letaev managed to talk with the president of the regional government of the Azor Jose Manuel Boleir and agree with the leadership of the archipelago that they would accept 200 refugees.

“I am now wandering around the islands and try to understand if there is housing and work for them,” says Borisevich. - So far, I found about ten jobs in vineyards. In addition to the words of politicians, there is nothing at all. All governments are the same - many words of support and zero actions. I could not even knock out free plane tickets from Azores. ”

So far, it is not possible to place refugees massively, Borisevich helps people with targeted. He collects donates through social networks and spends them on the arrangement of refugees life - the last three thousand dollars have gone to buy furniture in Portugal for families with children. Borisevich had already managed to find houses in Germany and Portugal and rent three hotel rooms in Warsaw - as a transshipment point for refugees.

Half a million in a crypt

“Being in Russia, it becomes dangerous to help Ukraine and even agitate for the world. Therefore, I declare a crypto fund to support citizens of Ukraine participating in the war, and their families - the rear support fund. Now you can help Ukraine and do it anonymously with the help of a crypt, ”Pavel Muntean wrote on Facebook on the sixth day of the war.

Muntean is a famous person in the world of animation, creator of the animated series “Mr. Freeman ” and co -founder of the TOONBOX animation studio. He was born and lived in Moscow, and several years ago he moved to Cyprus. The Muntean Foundation has already raised 525 thousand dollars in cryptocurrency. The average amount of donations is $ 50. One person at once - and anonymously - donated 300 thousand dollars.

Initially, Muntyan worked alone - “it was scary to draw and relatives and relatives so that there was no threat to them,” he explains. But now there are Russians, and Belarusians, and Ukrainians in his team.

“Gradually, a group of very sensible children from Ukraine joined me, who carefully relate to any payment and ensure procurement control, logistics and make photo reports. My friends from the headquarters of Tikhanovskaya ( Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - candidate for the president of Belarus in the 2020 elections, are also taking part - approx. Medusa ). There are also a lot of volunteers in touch. And my cousin, who provides product support for Kyiv old people at the expense of the fund, ”says Pavel Medusa.

Muntean talks about spending. The fund has already purchased things for a total of 521 thousand dollars. Part of the funds went to support defense (helmets, body armor, fuel, workshops for tailoring, and so on), part to the aid of civilian (baby food, first -aid kits and medical remedies, food rations). The Muntean team also purchased food for the elderly from Kyiv and organized sewing protection funds.

“I am in touch with a large number of people in Ukraine, who are engaged in logistics, a connection with the Armed Forces, sewn workshops. Everyone communicates with each other and helps as they can, ”says the creator of the fund.

Muntean says that he understands the possible consequences for himself. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia previously made a statement that “the provision of financial, material, technical, consulting or other assistance to a foreign state directed against the security of the Russian Federation” will be regarded as state treason. In Russia, the so -called "Fake Law" has been adopted, according to which even the very word "war" becomes criminal.

“I sacrificed only one thing - what I used to consider“ homeland ”. Now I know that the path there is closed to me until the power is radically changed in the country, ”says Muntean.

Help leave

More than five thousand people were evacuated from Ukraine by the volunteers of the team “helping to leave” . Over a month, a structure with several departments, configured processes and its own technological solutions grew from a simple chat in a telegram. In this multinational Russian -language organization, about 300 volunteers in different countries: Georgia, Poland, Israel, Russia, the USA and others.

The “help to leave” chat immediately after the outbreak of the war was created by The Insider, Nastya Zavyalova, living in Georgia. At first, various information about the methods of evacuation was simply published there, but on the third or fourth day of the war, I had to go to targeted assistance. The co -founder of Kultrab, the technical director of the FBK during the mayor of 2013, Yegor Yeremeyev, joined the team - he created a bot in a telegram through whom they process requests for evacuation: dozens of messages came to the chat with requests to take out people from Ukraine, had to automate.

The evacuation department is now led by another co -founder and creative director of Kultrab Alina Musichenko from Belarus. The artist Julia Lyutikova became the “database”: at first she herself monitored Ukrainian media and telegram channels, and now coordinates the team of people who verify the information about the territories in which the fighting, the loads of passing points, the situation on the roads, accessible shelters and the distribution of humanitarian aid. The casting director of Milen Bessonov took up the search for volunteers-she managed to attract up to 50 people a day. The harvest of donations was organized by Irina Fatyanova and Sasha Lu from the Navalny team, and the transfer of financial assistance to Ukrainians is a culturalist from Kyiv Katya Povleko.

Now almost 92 thousand people are in the “help to leave” chat. About 90 people every day process applications for evacuation: they work with shifts of four hours, 10-12 people each. Operators receive applications through a chatbot and “lead” people further. They are guided by their own database: there are contacts of drivers helping with evacuation, information about useful local assistance chats, relevant news in specific cities of Ukraine. Data is updated daily.

A day in the “helping to leave” chat comes up to two thousand applications. “We have a consultation format, but there are accompaniment when you“ take a person by the hand ”and lead from point A to point B,” says Alena Muzychenko. So, volunteers, five, helped the girl Alena from the village near Kharkov. Eight years ago, she already had to flee from Donetsk. Alena was afraid to go and was already returning twice. Volunteers helped her decide for three weeks, attracted a psychologist and still were able to take her to Poland. “Everyone goes with families, and I am with you,” she wrote to them from the train.

Every day, evacuating people is becoming increasingly difficult: departure from many cities is blocked. “Previously, you could send people to the station, now - no. It is necessary to control the entire process completely. This is psychological and financial assistance, and an agreement with the driver, ”says Julia Lyutikova. The founders of the project take up the most difficult cases. Now, for example, Milena Bessonova is trying to take out several cancer patients from Ukraine: in Italy there was a clinic, ready to accept patients.

“In the world, a humanitarian catastrophe, genocide occurs. Like half a Ukrainian, I cannot help but react, ”Milen says about his motivation.

A key role in the work of the team is played by a fundraising - money is needed for medicines, products, for paying for drivers. Now, when you simply cannot leave many places, humanitarian aid comes to the fore. A team collecting donations has to change the system due to sanctions-it helps out cryptocurrency. Now the volunteers managed to collect 147 thousand euros.

A similar project that helps Ukrainians navigate in a huge stream of information from many sources is the STROMS site, a base intended “for all victims of the war, regardless of nationality and geography”, which is made by Belarusian volunteers.

The project began with a document at Google Docs, where the members of the Belarusian public organization Zadvizh_ka accumulated different useful information for refugees. He was seen by the producer and creator of the Voices of Strangers project from Russia Evgeny Kudashev, who was also concerned about the problem of information accessibility.

“On the second day of the war, I saw how in social networks, especially in Instagram Storis, an informational flurry broke out. Everyone at once rushed to post links to all kinds of assistance funds, support chats, sources of emergency updates, and so on. I saw amazing unity both in Ukraine and in other countries of the world - and this sincerely delighted. Seeing the growing amount of information and realizing that the need for it would continue to grow, I thought that all this must be collected in one place, ”he says.

Kudashev suggested that the Belarusian volunteers make a convenient site based on their document in Google Docs and assembled a team of developers, which launched the “tension” . Since March 4, 250 thousand people have already visited the site. There is, for example, a refugee memo on how not to become a victim of people trafficking, instructions for using social networks from the center of counteracting misinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, a shelter map, tips on how to evacuate with animals, and even information about lines at the checkpoints.

“There was also negative feedback-due to the fact that the team has Belarusians and Russians, but this is rather an exception. Basically, people thank for help and work, ”says the project coordinator Stasya Terentyev.

Tons of humanitarian aid

In the early days of the war, the developer from Russia Andrei (the name changed, approx. Medusa) noted that information about the collection of humanitarian assistance around the world is distributed randomly - often just screenshots with Storis Instagram. He decided to create a global card with collection points . Andrei put well -known points in Britain on the Google Maps card; Then five more volunteers connected to him (they all wished to maintain anonymity), they added information to other countries. Now the map has more than 500 points around the world, from Europe to the USA.

Such points of the preparation are organized not only by charitable organizations, but also by ordinary people. For example, a journalist from Russia Anton Derbenev, who worked in Reuters, organized a collection of assistance in Darmstadt in Germany. In London, Konstantin Pinaev, a guide and an entrepreneur, known in the Russian -speaking community of Britain, created his own collection point.

The WE Help Ukraine charity fund occupies the whole floor in the office of one British company. His co -founder, half Russian, half a Georgian named Eka (she asked not to name the name), used to work there and asked her to give her an empty space under the warehouse.

It all started with the fact that on February 26, the acquaintance of the Equipment decided to go to Poland with humanitarian aid. The ESC has children, and she decided to use her resource - parental chats - to collect things. As a result, the whole street near her house in London was forced by packages. At the gathering of things, Eka met Marim Hart from Ukraine - this is how We Help Ukraine appeared. Girls collect humanitarian aid and engage in its delivery to Ukraine.

“We tried to make an official fund, but in vain - this can take months in Britain. And her husband Marim, James, was just a fund, which previously collected donations for the education of children in India. He suggested using his legal entity, and we renamed him, ”says the volunteer.

The first car with things was sent with a friend of the crew to the warehouse in Poland, where they collected hummopers, but in the end they did not understand who and when they received it. Over time, they managed not only to organize a collection of assistance, but also to establish logistics.

Humanitarian assistance is delivered to different parts of Ukraine - Kyiv, Kharkov, Dnieper, Lviv, Odessa, Nezhin, Chernivtsi and other cities and villages. Girls do not use heavy machines, but lighter, 2.5-3 tons. According to the CEO, the volume is enough for targeted delivery, and it is easier to look for drivers for them - and so everything happens faster: "We sent the cargo on Monday, after three days it was already in Kharkov."

“We learned to deliver into the country, agree on green corridors, send goods by trains,” she says Medusa. Around Marim and the EST, a community of volunteers has formed, and everything now holds on their personal contacts - volunteers call and get acquainted with people, each cargo controls at a particular stage.

The first donation to the fund was made by an unfamiliar ec - he called and offered to meet, eventually donated 50 thousand pounds. She does not talk about him - all donations are anonymous. Information about the fund quickly spread through Ukrainian acquaintances Marim. “They began to talk about us as those who know how to deliver, as many are collected, but few people can deliver,” says the volunteer. Now, WE HELP UKRainans also provide targeted assistance - they are directly addressed from hospitals, orphanages.

“I do not understand how otherwise you can survive what is happening. When absolute darkness covers you, you can only flounder, ”says Eka. - Perhaps helping one who is worse is the action that can help you. I believe that it is important for people there to know what someone thinks about them here. ”

House for refugees

After a few days from the beginning of the war, the ICANHELP website has appeared on the Internet - a map based on Google Maps, which marks the houses available for Ukrainian refugees around the world. The service works on the principle of Airbnb: hosts leave their ads, and guests are associated with them. The basis of the ICANHELP team is the Belarusians Advisniki, the creators of the SCOOTAPI electric scooter rental service. After protests in Belarus 2020, they were forced to leave the country. Russia's invasion of Ukraine made them think about how they could help Ukrainians.

“This war hurt me, because my values ​​are freedom, democracy and honesty. The Putinists brazenly lied to everyone in the face and eventually attacked the peaceful people, ”says Georgy Kachanovsky, founder of the startupi startup and ICanhelp head.

The developers contacted familiar activists-Iraqi refugee Farhad Shamo Roto, the founder of Voice of Ezidis, an organization that helps ISIS , and the Belarusian LGBTK activist Nick Antipov. Вместе они решили сделать карту, с помощью которой беженцы могли бы легко найти себе дом. Разработчики поняли, что им по силам запустить такой сервис: они как раз работали с картами в продукте для аренды самокатов.

Позже к команде через знакомых подключились больше волонтеров. Сайт ICanHelp оказался востребованным. По данным разработчиков, каждый день его посещают около 30 тысяч человек, на нем опубликовано семь тысяч объявлений о жилье. Волонтеры точно знают, что как минимум три тысячи человек нашли жилье с их помощью, но на самом деле их может быть гораздо больше. «Мы не всегда можем отследить, сколько гостей принял хост», — уточняет один из волонтеров.

«Я понимаю, что необходимо сохранить дружбу между народами Украины и Беларуси. Именно сейчас время показать, что народ Беларуси — с украинцами. Это позволит нашим детям жить в мире и согласии», — считает Качановский.

Есть несколько подобных ICanHelp платформ. Например, Ukraine Take Shelter , который сделали студенты Гарварда Ави Шиффман и Марко Бурстайн. На этом сайте все желающие могут опубликовать объявления о предоставлении беженцам жилья. А Никита Наумов из Киева и Давид Бараев из Москвы создали Oiko . Этот сервис отличается тем, что владельцы жилья и сами беженцы подробно рассказывают о себе и публикуют свои фотографии.

В Великобритании прием украинцев осложняют визовые правила. Британское правительство не ввело для них безвизовый режим. У беженцев из Украины есть два варианта: получить визу через родственника в Британии или найти внутри страны «спонсора» — человека, который предоставит жилье на полгода. Возможно, правительство упростит процедуру получения визы и позволит находиться на территории страны в течение трех лет, но пока собирает заявки через главный государственный ресурс Британии gov.uk и проверяет кандидатов. За несколько дней эту форму, по отчету властей, заполнили более 150 тысяч жителей Соединенного Королевства.

«Среди моих друзей около 20–30 семей подали заявки по этой схеме. Но нам было непонятно, какие дальнейшие шаги. Никаких механизмов связи тех, кто хочет приехать, с теми, кто хочет принять, не было и нет до сих пор», — рассказывает Евгения Минеева, предпринимательница, живущая в Лондоне.

Компания Минеевой Been делает сумки из мусора. Евгения, наполовину немка, наполовину русская, много лет назад переехала в Лондон из Москвы, успела поработать на BBC и директором по коммуникациям Change.org в Европе. Евгения бросила клич в соцсетях в надежде найти некий сервис, где можно зарегистрироваться и найти жильцов. В комментариях к ее посту знакомые отметили украинца из Харькова Михаила Лагодинского, работающего в Лондоне в JP Morgan, — он как раз собрал через свои соцсети список украинцев, которым нужен дом. Минеева и Лагодинский объединили усилия.

«Речь идет о месяцах жизни вместе, и я не думаю, что людей можно соединить только алгоритмом. Мы со всеми долго разговариваем, показываем фотографии, знакомим по видеосвязи. Люди уязвимы, причем боятся обе стороны. Успех всей операции зависит от того, насколько люди подойдут друг другу. В 99% случаев они просят меня тоже быть на звонке, „подержать за руку“», — рассказывает Евгения.

В какой-то момент справляться с потоком людей вдвоем Минеева и Лагодинский не смогли. В их команде уже шесть человек — половина украинцы, половина россияне. «Чувствуем единение против огромной несправедливости — мы пытаемся спасти хотя бы несколько десятков жизней», — говорит Евгения.

Волонтеры уже нашли дом нескольким десяткам беженцев. Модель Наталью с семьей из пяти человек поселили в коттедж дизайнера Cофи Конран . «У нее есть гостевой коттедж, так бывает у британской аристократии», — рассказывает Евгения. Украинку Ирину с двумя детьми приняла владелица паба The Scolt Head Роузи в Хакни, а другую Ирину, директора школы с пятью детьми, поселили в дом к английскому врачу-реаниматологу Рейчел.

Волонтеры пытаются подобрать лучший вариант — иногда даже вне Британии. Как-то к Евгении обратилась из Украины мать с двумя дочерьми с аутизмом. «Они просидели в бомбоубежище в окружении трупов несколько дней. Было понятно, что Британия, где все отдано big society , не для них — им нужна государственная социальная поддержка», — рассказывает волонтер. Она нашла девушку в Германии, Марину Крисов, которая сейчас занимается устройством семьи там.

Пока что Евгения Минеева практически забросила свой бизнес и планирует дальше помогать людям, но ждет действий от правительства и больших благотворительных организаций. «Есть большой контраст, между удивительным гостеприимством британцев и властями, которые не дают никакой информации и поддержки», — говорит Евгения.

«Помогать тем, кому помощь больше всего нужна»

«Настоящая Россия» — фонд, созданный вскоре после начала войны писателем Борисом Акуниным, актером Михаилом Барышниковым и экономистом Сергеем Гуриевым. «Государство „Российская Федерация“, власть в котором захватил диктатор, развязало преступную войну. Это удар по всем нам, людям, принадлежащим к русской культуре и говорящим на русском языке», — говорится в заявлении учредителей фонда.

К 27 марта команде уже удалось собрать свыше 850 тысяч фунтов. Сбор был открыт на платформе GoFundMe — там не требуется ни юридическое лицо, ни банковский счет, все пожертвования идут через платформу сразу в Комитет по чрезвычайным ситуациям при стихийных бедствиях. Это группа британских благотворительных организаций, в которую входят Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, OXFAM.

Управляющий директор фонда — сын Эдварда Радзинского, писатель и финансист Олег Радзинский. «Нужно помогать тем, кому помощь больше всего нужна. В данный момент это украинские беженцы и вообще жертвы войны в Украине», — говорит он.

Когда же юрлицо и счет у организации появятся, она собирается финансировать нишевые проекты, например закупку машин скорой помощи для Украины. Донаты в перспективе планируют направить на помощь людям и вне Украины. Региональные отделения скоро откроются в Грузии, Германии, США и Индии. Организация ищет представителей в других странах, чтобы расширить географию дальше.

«Жертвами этой войны оказались и граждане России, которые должны были бежать из своей страны, потому что не захотели жить в путинской России. Или путинская Россия их не захотела. Они оказались разбросаны от Кыргызстана до Польши, без поддержки, без правового статуса, и наша задача — помочь и им тоже», — добавляет Радзинский.

Дарья Луганская