ACCESSIBILITY ACCELERATOR

HELPING REFUGEES IN UKRAINE

JAMIE LASSNER

RABBI HASKEL LOOKSTEIN RECENTLY SPOKE WITH THE PURPLE VEST MISSION BEFORE WE LEFT ON ANOTHER TRIP AS PART OF OUR ONGOING HUMANITARIAN AID TO UKRAINIAN REFUGEES. HE TOLD US, INSTEAD OF FEELING OVERWHELMED BY THE IMMENSE NUMBERS OF REFUGEES AND ASKING WHY THIS HORROR IS HAPPENING, TO FOCUS OUR RESOURCES ON HELPING ONE PERSON, FAMILY, OR SITUATION AT A TIME.

We offered our assistance to all, with a primary focus on assisting Ukrainians with disabilities, the elderly, and their families. Rabbi Lookstein, a cherished teacher of mine in my formative years, is a preeminent Jewish leader and humanitarian. He continues to inspire the group and give strength through his words and deeds.

In early March, just weeks after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Michal Rimon, Rani Benjamini, CEO and CFO of Access Israel and I, made an urgent visit to Europe and toured refugee camps intending to assist people with disabilities and the elderly. Together we created a global professional task force with collaborative and like-minded partners, each with their strengths, to ensure no one is left behind. We called it the Purple Vest Mission. (Purple is used annually on December 3 to illuminate buildings in commemoration of International Day for the Rights of People with Disabilities.)

The Purple Vest Mission, is working to rescue, triage, and transport people using word of mouth and an app publicized via social media. The app collects information on people requesting help to leave Ukraine and make their way to a new life and home, usually in Europe or Israel. The entire operation has various call centers strategically to ensure a smooth, safe, timely and customized evacuation for each tenuous situation.

One of the coordinators of the Purple Vest Mission, Elie Glaybman, was born in Ukraine, and now resides in Israel. When asked why he is working tirelessly at Purple Vest, he answered, “Simple, I am a person who likes to give assistance to others in need.”

Amongst the many Purple Vest volunteers, Or, Sima, Benay, Deborah, Mara (my wife), and I spent part of this summer at the Przemys’l Refugee Center in Poland, about 8 miles from the Ukrainian border of Medyka. In addition to helping evacuate Ukrainians with disabilities, we sensitized volunteers on how to welcome people with disabilities (a life skill Accessibility Accelerator offers seminars on all year round). We assisted in the vital tasks at the refugee center including wiping down doorknobs daily to avoid the spreading of infections and assisting in the organization of clothing and food donations. The most fulfilling task was to serve as counselors at the outdoor playground. The playground was designed to be a safe place for children and their mothers, to distract them so they could play joyfully, despite the harsh realities back home. Above all, each member of our team provided a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on and a source of hugs. While we did not speak the same language, we communicated with the Google Translate app and the silent language of love of our fellow person.

In addition to the perils of war, early on in our summer visit we learned of a constant danger to these vulnerable refugees—trafficking. Within one week of arrival and with the words of Rabbi Lookstein daily in my mind—my gut told me we had to make the outdoor playground safer for all. We arranged for the construction of a fence around it. When I was asked what purpose the fence had in our quest to support people with disabilities, I felt strongly Purple Vest had to be proactive, because if something occurred to one of the children or parents or our team—the individual and all present at the refugee center would be shattered for life.

As of mid-August, the Purple Vest Mission has assisted more than 1,800 people with disabilities and their families to escape the war. The most difficult, using various modes of transport was an evacuation from eastern Ukraine of a young blind woman who needed dialysis every 1.5 days. The youngest person we assisted was a newborn baby and the oldest was a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor. With a constant presence on the ground in Ukraine, Poland, and other countries, we have provided hands-on humanitarian aid to 18,500+ people.

Our summer volunteers returned home changed people. We witnessed good and evil in Poland; there was ample time to ask “why?” Yet we focused on the lessons of our teacher and will continue to remain resolute in this mission.

Jamie Lassner serves as Executive Director of Accessibility Accelerator (formerly Friends of Access Israel).