A VALE man has helped a family in Ukraine escape the country before taking action closer to home.
Samuel Andea, 34, from Bretforton, has spent the last week helping his Ukrainian friend’s family escape from Kyiv.
Mr Andea hails from Romania and the family are now safe there. However the men, one of whom is only a teenager, have had to stay behind to fight.
He said: “It was quite an experience and there are still more people on the way to cross to safety.
“We had everything planned out but when they got to the border the waiting time was 48 hours. So, they had to drive four hours to another crossing but because of the curfew and because Ukraine is such a big country, it took several hours.
“I was able to link them up with people who could offer help and support. I was able to arrange someone to pick them up and found them accommodation.
“Now they are safe in Romania. There are two women and two children. The father, grandfather and eldest son, who is 19, have stayed behind.
“I hear they are in distress, as you can imagine, the family has been separated.”
Determined to make a difference within his local community, Mr Andea organised a solidarity walk in Evesham on Wednesday afternoon.
He said: “In other places people are showing a clear message to Putin that we stand with Ukraine.
“They have had their freedom taken away and that is unacceptable, so I wanted to do something here in Evesham. I didn’t care how many people came.”
He added: “What was on my mind was here we are walking and trying to raise awareness, but this is not enough to stop bombs falling down on civilians.
“We are watching David versus Goliath and just handing David pebbles when what we need to do is stand with him.”
Around 70 people attended the walk, including former parliamentary candidate for Mid Worcestershire, Helen Russell.
She said: “In situations like these we can feel so helpless, so it is good to have actions like this to be able to show our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to show them that people thousands of miles away stand with them in calling for an end to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and for peace.”
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