Travelling with only a telephone number and his hope, this little refugee is safe now. We must not fail the others
Who has not been shocked at the horrors Russia is inflicting on the people of the Ukraine? I was looking at pictures of the shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city which has been devastated by constant bombardment, and thinking of all those innocent people killed and injured, their homes destroyed and futures ruined.
It is hard to believe this can happen in this day and age.
But, amid the depravity and the darkness of war, there is light. And it comes from the courage, kindness, empathy and humanity of so many ordinary people around the world who want to help.
It is especially evident here in Scotland. In people like 61-year-old builder and grandad Rab Grady, who left the safety and comfort of his Edinburgh home to go and fight alongside the people of Ukraine. He is apparently among 100 Scots who have volunteered to help protect them from Vladimir Putin.
And what about landscape gardeners Joe Mccarthy from Airth and Gary Taylor from Bonnyrigg? They have been moving people across the border into Poland since driving to Ukraine at the start of conflict. They were held at gunpoint by Russian soldiers who shot at their tyres and robbed them of everything from their mobile phones to their food. But they bravely kept going to try to get as many people as they could out and into safety.
This outpouring of humanity – the bravery and generosity, the pulling together – is breathtaking. From the mountains of donated aid to the good souls lining up at the border in Poland or at the railway station in Berlin offering traumatised and exhausted refugees a place to stay, it stands in stark contrast to the brutality of Putin and his army.
The Ukrainians are justly deserving of our help. Their courage, tenacity and dignity is awe-inspiring. It is not without good reason that President Volodymyr Zelensky – who just six months ago was staying at our Cromlix Hotel in Perthshire with his delegation during Cop26 – was given a historic and unprecedented standing ovation in the House of Commons this week.
And I applaud the six armed Ukrainian women who, on International Women’s Day, donned combat fatigues to fight alongside their men, posting a defiant message on social media.
But the abiding image for me was of little 11-year-old Hassan, who travelled 750 miles to the Slovakian border from his home in Zaporizhzhia because his mum could not leave her own elderly and infirm mother.
He had only his passport, the phone number of relatives in Slovakia written on his hand and a couple of little plastic bags. Imagine having to send your child away knowing it was your only option to keep him safe. That she is a widow and he has already lost his father makes it all the more poignant. It is heartbreaking and I hope they will all be reunited soon.
Stories like these make us realise how lucky we are not to be directly involved in this conflict. As the days and weeks pass, and this situation unfolds, everyone should be doing everything they possibly can to help the Ukrainians and stop Putin.