The mouth of a harried woman who has just fled war-battered Ukraine curves up in a tentative smile when a Romanian immigrations officer hands her a purple tulip he has plucked from a bouquet. A glimmer of hope and gratitude appear on the face of another woman as she clutches a container of food and accepts a single pink tulip from a Catholic priest at a train station in Poland.
But even the kind gestures of strangers on International Women's Day were a weak palliative Tuesday for the anxious refugees who fled their homes, many with small children in tow. Instead of the chocolates, flowers, and kisses their friends and families in Ukraine usually bestow upon them, they instead have graciously made do with blooms proffered by unknown hands and the gift of safe refuge in a foreign country.
