‘I can’t sit and watch this anymore’ Vancouver man helps evacuate seven Ukrainian families

Milos Pospisil is a Metro Vancouver resident who originally fled to Canada after being born in Russian-occupied Czechoslovakia in the 1980s and knows what it’s like to be a refugee. This known feeling was something that prompted him to take action and provide first-hand help in Ukraine.

“Obviously I wasn’t fleeing a war like the Ukrainians are. I was a political refugee fleeing Russian occupation. But, I’m familiar with that part of the world. I moved back there after university, I speak the languages, I know the area. So it was a very personal thing for me,” said Pospisil.

When the war broke out, Pospisil says the first emotion he felt was anger which was causing him to impulsively join the territorial defence team in Ukraine and start fighting. But, his lack of military skills stopped him from pursuing that idea.

“So I said to myself, what can I do to add value and help without fighting directly? And I thought, ‘I can help with all these refugees that are streaming across the border.’

“I started doing some research online to see if there was an organization I could join, maybe meet them on the ground, but I wasn’t hearing anything back and I knew the need was there. So, I just decided to do it independently.

“I woke up one morning and said ‘I can’t sit and watch this anymore’.”

That’s when Pospisil decided to take the time off work, consult his family who hesitantly allowed him to leave, and he set up a GoFundMe with the initial goal of $2,000. The money would go towards his planned two-week trip as a volunteer evacuation driver in Poland near the Ukrainian border.

By the time he was ready to go, that GoFundMe donation mark reached almost $9,000.

So, he packed his bags, said his goodbyes, and flew into Krakov, Poland — the closest airport to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

“My initial plan was to get to the border first, scope things out and then establish some sort of routine where I would drive the rented van across the border to Lviv, or some of the other western cities, and literally just find refugees and vulnerable families that needed help.”

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Pospisil quickly learned he couldn’t take the rented van across any Ukrainian border due to registration requirements.

This forced him to rethink his plan.

He started looking for nearby refugee centres and was able to find one in a town called Przemysl, where Ukrainians fleeing were being transported by bus, from the western border crossing of Medyka.

Upon arriving, refugees would be registered, given a cot to sleep on, and some amenities like food and water.

This refugee centre in Przemysl is where Pospisil began finding Ukrainians who wanted to move further west into Poland or to the North-Eastern parts of the Czech Republic.

To gain their trust and make sure they knew he was there to help, he always made sure his volunteer vest was on with the languages he spoke written on the vest. He would also work with other volunteers trying to identify the most vulnerable, which were families without a male accompanying them or mothers with young children.

Speaking of amazing Estonians, this is Jaan who I met at the Ptak Warsaw Refugee Centre. A massive expo complex where buses are organized for other European countries. The family I evacuated from the border ended up on Jaan’s bus to Estonia. Working together to help Ukrainians. pic.twitter.com/XZT8QSVrGc

— Milos Pospisil ???????????????????????????????? (@milposp) March 28, 2022

“I probably drove on average, every other day, and the days I did drive, it was usually around 1,000 kilometres roundtrip. I evacuated seven families in total.

“Each family’s story is different, but most of these people came from the Eastern parts of Ukraine, which were the hardest hit. These are heavily traumatized people, they are exhausted, they’re confused, they have trouble making decisions,” he said.

“It wasn’t always easy to get them to trust me.”

Pospisil did everything he could to ensure safety and comfort once the family agreed to travel with him.

“I had photos of my family with me that I made sure to show them. I made the van as comfortable as possible for them. I bought little toys and colouring books, bottles of water, fresh fruit, whatever I could think of. When we were on the highway, I made sure to stop at McDonald’s, or wherever they wanted to eat and treat them to lunch, and over time they began to calm down. I wanted to treat them with as much dignity and kindness as possible so they could feel like valued human beings.”

Once they reached their destination, Pospisil would provide the evacuees with financial support, “They were truly penniless.”

I’m working on reconnecting with the last family I took to Warsaw and put on a bus to Estonia. Still waiting to hear back. Will provide an update as soon as I have something. The first family I evacuated (from Kharkiv) were headed to Finland and I will try to track them down too. pic.twitter.com/mCGocOWoIy

— Milos Pospisil ???????????????????????????????? (@milposp) March 29, 2022

On the days he wasn’t driving, he would help back at the refugee centre. Restocking the kitchen, building play areas for children, and constructing baby-care stations for mothers.

“I was constantly trying to find ways to improve the environment.”

Van is loaded and ready for transport to the refugee centre. pic.twitter.com/rBjEaEKcAf

— Milos Pospisil ???????????????????????????????? (@milposp) March 21, 2022

Pospisil recently returned from his two-week life-saving mission and is now at home safe with his own family.

But, his constant support and want to raise awareness and funds to help the people of Ukraine hasn’t stopped. He remains in contact with some of the families he helped while still trying to reach others.

“I want to go back, as soon as possible,” Pospisil added.

If you are someone who is looking to help but are unsure how, Pospisil recommends donating to The World Central Kitchen or Global Empowerment Mission. He says he saw first-hand the positive work they were doing to help Ukrainians and refugees.