EU countries work to help Ukrainian refugees adapt to new lives

Cinema goers are treated to films in Ukrainian
Cinema goers are treated to films in Ukrainian   -  Copyright  AP Photo
By Rhal Ssan  with AP

Since the beginning of the war, the EU has taken unprecedented action to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. In many countries, organisations have been working to make the new arrivals feel at home.

Since the beginning of the war, the EU has taken unprecedented action to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

The bloc has given the right to live and work for three years in member states to those fleeing the invasion.

Nearly 4.2 million have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war in February, with more than half of them going to Poland alone.

It’s been a significant task to accommodate such a large amount of people, but in the border town of Przemysl people are doing their most to make the new arrivals feel at home.

Cinema chain Helios has started to screen films dubbed in Ukrainian across Poland.

Agnieszka Szmigielsk, manager of the Przemysl cinema, says that "the number of people who come to watch the movies is relatively constant, it is about 20-30 people a day."

"Earlier at the beginning of the conflict, this number was higher as there were more refugees coming. Now we can see that everything is stabilising, but we still continue our work, screening these movies in the Ukrainian language in our cinema."

Meanwhile in another corner of the EU, efforts are underway to help refugees adjust to their lives in a new country.

Children in Lisbon have been given copies of ‘O Camião das Histórias’ or ‘The truck of stories’, by author Rosário Alçada Araújo.

Local organisers hope it will introduce the Portuguese language to the kids in a fun way, helping them to integrate into a highly different culture.

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