Medical Support for Ukrainian Evacuees: Hungary

It's now several months since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

And every day, Ukrainian lives continue to be threatened by the conflict still raging within their country.

Over six million Ukrainians have already fled across the borders.

One neighboring country doing its utmost to support these evacuees is Hungary.

This village near the Ukrainian border has set up a help center for evacuees.

We want to go to Miskolc.
Can you take us to the station?

Volunteers are on hand to transport new arrivals and distribute care packages.

And alongside locals, the site is manned by representatives of a Japan-based NGO that has been sending doctors and nurses to this area since March.

My blood pressure's high, isn't it?

Can I get some medicine?

And besides medical assistance, these staff also provide pastoral support adapted to evacuees' unique circumstances.

We hope those who come here can
rest mind and body, at least a little.

That's what we're trying to provide.

This time on Sharing the Future, we follow a group providing medical support for evacuees amid constantly shifting conditions...

At a center established in this small settlement near the Ukrainian border.

The village of Beregsurány lies just to the north of Hungary's border with Ukraine.

This small rural community has a population of only around a thousand.

But on February 26, 2022, just two days into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it became a vital stop-off for arriving evacuees...

After the Hungarian government earmarked this local community hall, just 800 meters from the border, as an evacuee help center.

Those arriving at the border on foot are brought here as their first port of call...

These buses are driven by local volunteers.

Their stop here is typically brief, with most arranging their own onward transport, or heading on to Budapest on the daily shuttle bus service.

Stays at the help center range from just a few minutes to two or three days.

Where are you trying to get to?

To Croatia, Zagreb.

It's 11 a.m. now.
The bus for Budapest leaves in two hours.

This mother and child from Kyiv province are heading for Croatia.

Having left her husband behind, she hopes to return after just a month.

One day into the invasion, we were
woken up at 4:30 a.m. by a big bang.

I couldn't take any more,
so we fled from our home.

We went west and stayed there
for two months.

But now we're heading to Croatia,
as a friend found a safe place there.

This trio of mother, baby, and grandmother made the three-day rail journey here from Mykolaiv, some 500 kilometers south of Kyiv.

The bombing was intense,
and there were tanks, too.

Everyone was desperate to escape,
as it was too dangerous to stay.

We made it here thanks to volunteers.

My friend lives in Germany,
so that's where we're heading.

- To live and to work?
- Just until things settle down,
while we wait for the war to end.

The help center is run with funding from nation states and international charities.

Evacuees can stay here free of charge, with volunteers preparing food for up to 500 people a day.

This container, meanwhile, is dedicated to medical care.

It's run by a Hungarian healthcare charity...

...who placed an open call for volunteer doctors and nurses to care for evacuees around the clock.

One group that responded was the Japanese NGO "AMDA," which stands for "The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia."

One of the AMDA volunteers is nurse Enokida Tomomichi, who is part of a multinational team providing treatment to evacuees.

The ailments they see range from mild colds, to physical wounds, and chronic conditions in need of medicine.

From here to my ear is infected.

I was given antibiotics for it.

The pain in my ear and throat is
so bad it's causing a headache.

This patient has a sinus infection, which has worsened after two weeks sheltering underground.

She also has a pain in her hand.

There's a round bump here.
It hurts when I push it.

I bumped it as we escaped,
with all our bags and my kids in tow.

It got like this after we arrived here.

With no apparent bone damage, they give her some generic medicine to take on the next leg of her journey.

As of May 2022, the container was seeing around 15 patients a day, with trauma and high blood pressure among the most common complaints.

So, that's 130 over 84...

When no interpreter is available, the staff communicate with patients using translation apps.

How are you feeling right now?

I feel OK.

Today's team of Enokida and a doctor from the Netherlands take their time to ensure smooth communication.

How many days' medicine do you have?

Ten days.

The team has also seen a number of pregnancies.

Having heard the heartbeat for the first time, this expecting mother is relieved to learn her baby is developing healthily.

Japanese volunteer nurse Enokida has been working in medical facilities in the Netherlands since 2018.

Having learned about AMDA's involvement with this help center, he applied to get involved and arrived here to join the team in March.

We've all been watching the news
from Ukraine every day on TV.

I was the same, but I gradually felt myself
becoming inured to the news.

That just didn't seem right.

But as the shock and distress faded,
I also felt a growing desire to help.

I'd worked with AMDA before, and I heard
they were sending staff to Hungary.

That was my chance to get involved,
so I reached out to them.

That's how I ended up here.

AMDA is an international medical volunteer organization based in Okayama, Japan.

Since its founding in 1984, the group has sent teams to natural disaster-hit locations domestically and overseas.

They have a register of 600 doctors, nurses, and support staff ready to mobilize in times of crisis.

There goes Dr. Yoshida!

This year, from early March they partnered with another NGO to send staff to this troubled region.

But instead of evacuee hotspot Poland, prior associations led AMDA to focus its efforts on Hungary, where it has sent nine staff since the beginning of the invasion.

We had connections there already.

And we believe that base allows us
to provide much stronger support.

That's why we chose Hungary.

But, in the course of their activities, they realized a major difference with past operations.

After a natural disaster, patients can be monitored post-treatment at evacuation centers.

But most evacuees here are only passing through.

Even individuals wounded in the hostilities are typically moved on after only preliminary first aid.

In past operations, particularly
natural disasters in Japan...

we had a good sense of most patients'
emotional state and so on.

But this conflict is so unpredictable,
and the patients differ day to day.

That aspect is completely different.

Dr. Suzuki Yoshihiro spent two weeks at the help center from early April 2022.

And during his duties, he reached a striking realization.

If you walk around the site
lots of people will ask for advice.

And you see they need medical care,
so you take them to the container.

Dr. Suzuki realized that the reserved nature of many Ukrainians was holding evacuees back from going to the health center for themselves.

So, he made a point of actively approaching those staying overnight, to enquire directly about their health.

It could be quite slow during the day,
but at night people really opened up.

They would actively seek our advice,
so that was a major positive.

And as well as physical treatment, AMDA works to provide emotional relief.

A nice smile, in Ukrainian colors!

Volunteers spend time with evacuees to try and relieve their anxieties.

Between consultations, Enokida goes to fetch something from his car.

It's a foot bath.

Racking his brains for ways to help evacuees relax, he brought the kit from his own home in the Netherlands.

His first taker today is Oleksandr Komada, who accepted Enokida's invitation for a footbath while he waits for the bus to Budapest.

Under Ukraine's state of emergency, men with three or more children under 18 are permitted to leave the country.

- Does that tickle?
- It did at first, but it's fine now.

Having made the 24-hour journey here from Kyiv, he plans to head on to Budapest.

I lost my work due to the war,
but I have three kids I need to feed.

So, a friend in Budapest
is going to help me find work.

Enokida's idea to offer footbaths to evacuees was inspired by his own experiences of caring for his chronically ill mother.

My mom used to really enjoy it
when I gave her footbaths.

Giving her those footbaths became
a time we could really connect.

More than just relaxing or enjoyment,
we could connect on an emotional level.

I'm not comparing evacuees to my mom.

But they're all extremely tired,
emotionally as well as physically.

So I thought about how best to
help them address that.

And decided to try footbaths as
a way to relax body and spirit.

That's where the idea came from.

Enokida takes care not to ask details about the war, or evacuees' own escape.

But, while enjoying a footbath and a massage, many naturally begin to talk.

One arrival told him of a month-long flight.

They had to keep changing transport.

From cars, to buses, to trains,
but eventually they got here.

Their shoes were so muddy that I
imagined the roads they'd walked.

But even amid all that,
they kept thanking me.

And those words, and their face,
were filled with such warmth.

Despite the language barrier, Enokida's mindfulness seems to resonate with those in his care.

How was it? Good?

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

And AMDA's support is also branching into other fields.

They've been using funding from donations and grants to purchase essential goods for those left within Ukraine.

We get local advice on the best
types of food and so on to send.

So we focus on procurement
and delivery of such items.

One of the handover locations for these care packages is a cultural exchange center an hour's drive away, on the Hungary-Ukraine border.

Here, they gather details on essential items to be ordered and distributed.

We have antibiotics here. We have ibuprofen, paracetamol, metamizole...

Some funds are also given to a Hungarian charity to purchase and distribute goods.

How many evacuees are at the hospital?

Around 80, but it varies.

As well as essential medicine, food, and drink, they also send electrical appliances and other practical items.

- All sorts of stuff.
- Yes.

From books to these kids' chairs.

They also collect and distribute care packages from other organizations, as well as private donations.

Late April, and Enokida has been leading preparations for an Easter event at the help center.

They'll be painting eggs for an egg hunt.

Enokida's aim is to provide at least some enjoyment for evacuee children.

Speaking to moms, things got
pretty dark back in Ukraine.

Life in the shelters was so grim that
the kids got quiet and introverted.

And that brought the adults down, too.

But if the children are running around
happily outdoors, that's infectious, too.

It makes their moms and so on smile,
because it warms their hearts.

Kids are a very effective and
important conduit for that energy.

And Enokida's strategy to cheer up these children proved to be a great success.

- Do you like painting?
- Yes.

Sofia arrived here today from Kyiv with her mother and grandmother.

Since the start of the invasion, she'd been extremely depressed.

But today's event has made her smile at last.

Oh, you look nice.

Stick one on here, too.

And though initially quiet, as the event proceeds, Sophia seems to come out of herself.

Stick it on his face!

Don't you look great, Tomo!

Of course, I hope things get back
to normal as soon as possible.

Just because of where they lived,
loved ones have been separated, or lost.

Normality has been taken from them.

Working with people here, that's been
painful and sad for me to see, too.

So, I really am praying that peace
returns as soon as possible.

Sophia's mom was just telling me
how down all the kids have been.

But today's event has
really helped cheer them all up.

It's great to hear that from a mother.

Sofia and her family were here at the help center for only five hours.

And after enjoying themselves at the Easter event, it's time to head off on to their planned destination in Germany.

At last, I can take these off!

It's always sad to say goodbye.

Because we really enjoy what
little time we have together here.

Tomorrow we'll welcome
another group of evacuees.

But this is goodbye for now.

And with no simple end in sight for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, this help center is sure to support many more evacuees on their way to safety.