Leer en Español
An American chef of Spanish heritage dedicated the efforts of his humanitarian kitchen to serving food to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the devastation caused in their country by Russia’s invasion.
Chef Jose Andres, leader of the World Central Kitchen organization, announced in an emotional video posted Friday on Twitter that his team will dedicate itself to feeding Ukrainian refugees on the borders with Poland and Romania.
The chef said he would take advantage of shelters set up by the International Red Cross and citizen volunteers to help with resources and assist in food distribution. “We will make sure that money is not the reason they cannot continue to do so,” he added.
The following day, José Andrés published new images of the support centers that his collaborators and allies set up on the border with Poland.
This Sunday, Jose Andres was reporting on the situation from the southern border of Poland and said that his organization was already organized in Romania, Hungary, Moldova, and even inside Ukraine. He also announced that they are preparing to move even further if peace agreements are reached.
“It’s very cold, I don’t know how these people make it,” the volunteer said. “But what you can see is that they are escaping a tragedy.”
This Monday, chef José Andrés also announced that his organization will partner with Caritas nuns to expand its volunteerism to more border sites.
“Obviously the people of Poland, like the people of the world, are Ukrainians now,” a tearful José Andrés said in a new video from a border town, pointing to a Polish flag hanging next to a Ukrainian one on a public building.
“It’s hard to know that even at this moment there are mainly women (because men are left behind), with children, walking for hours, fleeing Ukraine, looking for safety in different countries,” was part of the chef’s heartfelt testimony. “It’s hard to know that there are many people still walking somewhere, on the street, spending the night in a car, without gas, without any way to warm up.”
The volunteer called on the citizens of the world to rise up against “the Putins of the world” who “tear us apart,” given that it is the children and the poor who are paying the consequences. “Those who say Putin is a great leader should be more than ashamed.”
