A few days before the 1st anniversary of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the convoy of medical aid organized by the Occitan association from Montauban takes on a strong symbolism. This Tuesday, Ukrainian refugees in the Tarn-et-Garonne came to lend a hand to the volunteers of the association. Reporting.
Pallet trucks are busy in the parking lot of the Super-U shopping center in Montauban. This Tuesday afternoon, the OccItalien association mobilized its volunteers to load an 11th convoy of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “Yes, it’s the 11th, unfortunately. When we launched this operation, we didn’t think the war would last so long,” says Pascal Serrier, president of the association.
A few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, this convoy has a strong symbolic dimension. Within a day, Yenii, the Ukrainian driver, who has five days on the road ahead of him, should arrive at his destination (the military hospital in Lviv) around this sad date of February 24.
This Tuesday afternoon, in the parking lot of the Super-U, Ukrainian refugees in the department came to lend a hand to the Occitan volunteers to load the 11th convoy.
Ukrainian refugees in Tarn-et-Garonne came to lend a hand to load these 32 pallets. “We say thank you to the French for this mobilization. It is very important for Ukraine to feel supported”, confides Olha, who makes the effort to express herself in our language, which she masters better and better at over the days. Like other of her compatriots, this speech therapist has found refuge in Monclar-de-Quercy, with her husband Sergyi and their three children aged 7, 14 and 17. “It is because my husband has 3 children that he was authorized to leave his country”, she specifies.
It was no longer possible to live there, says Olha, whose town located 70km from Crimea is still occupied by the Russians.
“We lived in Nova Kakhovka, in the province of Kherson. It is a town located on the other bank of the Dnieper, the Russians occupied it in the first days of the war.” And they still occupy it, unlike the regional capital reconquered by the Ukrainian army. “It was no longer possible to live there.” And Olha shows us pictures of the strawberry fields and the table grape vines that her husband produced, on these sandy lands… without knowing if they will be able to return there one day. She hopes that her husband will be able to find a seasonal job with a market gardener or a fruit producer in Tarn-et-Garonne.
A convoy also for Turkey
In the meantime, it is from Montauban that they strive to make themselves useful for their country. “I am counting on the people of Tarn-et-Garonne to continue this momentum of solidarity, declares Pascal Serrier. We receive less aid than in the first months of the war, but that is normal. There is the economic crisis which is hitting hard here. And then, the DNA of OccItalien is to respond to all emergency situations, whether to improve the daily lives of people who sleep on the streets in France or to help the victims of the earthquake. in Turkey.”
In this 11th convoy for Ukraine, about fifteen wheelchairs for disabled people, quadriplegics or paraplegics, but also generators.
Next to the truck destined for Ukraine, another heavy truck filled with humanitarian aid for Turkey was loaded on Tuesday morning. “It will be transported by Turkish Airlines and loaded on the tarmac at Blagnac airport. I am waiting for the green light from the Turkish consul”, explains Pascal Serrier, sorry not to have had authorization to transport help in Syria.
A volunteer interrupts him. “Yenii, the Ukrainian driver, asks you if the 32 pallets they are loading have indeed been declared for the border crossing.
– Yes, everything is in order. At the 11th convoy, we are starting to be run in, replies the president of OccItalien. And the partnership with Alliance Occitanie Ukraine makes things easier for us. They are on their 80th convoy.”
For this “1 year” convoy, OccItalien has reserved a pallet for the Ukrainian soldiers. “We have provided thermos, warm clothes in military colors. It is intended for the soldiers who are on the front.”
Two dental practices leave for Ukraine
In the convoy for Ukraine loaded in Montauban and Corbarieu on Tuesday, eight pallets do not go unnoticed by their volume… and the extreme precaution taken by the Occitan volunteers to move them. “These are two complete dental practices, with two armchairs, the waiting room, the lights. It is a gift from Dr. Léon Guedj, a dental surgeon in Toulouse who is retiring. Rather than selling this equipment, he preferred to give it to us. In Ukraine, this material will not be used to treat cavities. We know the damage caused by the bombardments with people seriously injured in the face and jaw. It will really be for emergency care. “
Since the article published in La Dépêche, relayed by national media, the generous gesture of Dr. Guedj has snowballed. “The URPS, organization of dental surgeons in Occiania, contacted us. At the beginning of March, we will go to Paris to dismantle a dental office. We will bring it back to Montauban to ship it to Ukraine”, announces Pascal Serrier.
