An Edinburgh man driving Ukrainian families to safe houses across Europe has told how a petrified mum wrote contact details inside her baby’s nappy in case she failed to escape shelling by Kremlin forces.
John Duncan admitted his “heart was broken” when the passenger who fled Odessa amid the Russian invasion of the country explained she inscribed a phone number on a slip of paper inside her young child’s clothing for rescuers to contact should she fail to make it out alive.
The filmmaker, from Leith, flew to the border last month after pausing his career in order to aid in the relief effort by transporting families desperately escaping the conflict to hosts in Poland and Germany.
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The 37-year-old and his fellow drivers have since clocked up more than 17,000 miles in a series of rented vehicles across more than 600 rigorous trips.
He is now gearing up for his latest return to Polish aid camps on the border with Ukraine for another run into central Europe.
“The situation is heartbreaking on a humanitarian level. I've seen children, young children, arrive at train stations alone because their parents have died,” John told Edinburgh Live.
“One woman we picked up told our translator about the message she put in her baby’s nappy, that was extremely emotional. She was just so scared to leave because of the danger it may put her in.
“We had another woman who we met at Przemyśl train station in Poland who got hit by falling shells when she and her family were literally running for their lives in Hostomel. She ended up reopening the wound where the shrapnel hit her and we had to take her to a hospital in Katowice.
“But she made it. Her husband and son were waiting there with a bunch of flowers and their son. It was a beautiful moment.”
John, who was inspired to join the convoy of volunteers driving refugees away from fighting after watching a news report at the outset of the war, booked a one-way flight to Katowice at the last minute before renting an eight-seater people carrier equipped with baby and toddler seats.
He joined seven other drivers from as far afield as Australia on the ‘Transport for Ukrainian Families’ team, utilising social messaging app Telegram to link the most vulnerable with safe havens elsewhere.
However, after the initial “surge” escaping over the border, John admitted fears over refugees being trafficked were growing.
He added: “Most of the older people don’t speak English, occasionally you get a son or daughter who does but it’s so difficult.
“People at the start of the journey are nervous, one girl took pictures of me the whole way because she was so worried about being trafficked.
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“They didn’t have anywhere to go, they were just taking a punt on going to Germany and hoping. But it is massive for them to put their trust in us and put themselves in what is a dangerous situation in search of safety for their families.
The group set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for fuel and running costs at the start of John’s trip and intend to remain on the ground as long as possible.
“I’ve also seen a lot of good from people opening their homes, providing transport, doing anything they can to help. I’ve seen more good. in the past month than I have in the rest of my life,” he said.
“But the need is still there. We still get messages from people in Ukraine trying to get out and obviously across the border in Poland in terms of moving people around in that country or further afield.
“It has been good, but we can’t stop now when so many people still need help.”
Donations to the Transport for Ukrainian Families fund can be made at this link.
