Refugees arrive at the Polish border in Medyka, southeastern Poland
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Ukrainians have been cleaning up parks and forests around Poland to thank the country for taking in more than two million refugees.
As part of a tradition called “Subotnik”, Ukrainians who have settled in the country have begun clearing rubbish from public spaces to express their gratitude.
Poland has seen the largest influx of Ukrainian refugees fleeing Vladimir Putin’s invasion, with an estimated 2.6 million now living in the country.
Wiecie, że nasi Goście z 🇺🇦, którzy z powodu wojny znaleźli się w 🇵🇱, jutro organizują kolejny #subotnik? Czyli sprzątanie polskich miast w czynie społecznym. Chcą w ten sposób podziękować 🇵🇱 za ich gościnność i pomoc. https://t.co/rYAI6wLXKt pic.twitter.com/ED5qcuZnUR
— Miasto Ursynów 💙💛 (@MiastoUrsynow) April 8, 2022
Some 50 people collected rubbish from around a pond in the town of WrocÅaw earlier this month, according to local news service Nasze Miasto.
“You helped us; we want to do something for you,” said Nicola, one of those involved.
Ukrainians also gathered in the town of Poznan last week to clear rubbish from the streets of the Åródka suburb, reports local newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
Lena Bondarenko, a resident of the city for more than three years who recently welcomed her mother and sister to the area, said it was a “thank you”.
“We know that such cleaning once a week is probably not much,” she said.
"Subotnik" w Poznaniu https://t.co/NAt0Cu44V1
— Wyborcza.pl Poznań (@poznan_wyborcza) April 9, 2022
“But we want to say thank you. We have been really well received in Poznan.”
The tradition began in the town of Suwalki in northeast Poland on March 26 after a group of refugee women asked local officials if they could undertake community service as a thank you for welcoming them, according to The Globe and Mail.
Their request was granted and some 30 refugees spent hours removing rubbish from the park’s largest town, the newspaper reported.
Kamil Sznel, a local official, wrote on Facebook: “The refugees came up with the idea of cleaning city parks.
“The road workers handed over the equipment, and these Ukrainian women with their children started the action on Saturday morning.”
The “subotnik” tradition began in the Soviet Union and saw millions of citizens undertake voluntary work to clean streets and fix public amenities.
More than 4.6 million refugees had left Ukraine as of April 11, according to the United Nations (UN).
