Guatemala receives first arrivals of Ukrainians fleeing Russian assault

Guatemala receives first arrivals of Ukrainians fleeing Russian assault
March 12, 2022, 8:27 am

Foreign students, who travelled through the green corridor from the besieged city of Sumy, have arrived in Lviv. Volunteers and the Ukrzaliznytsia railway team are taking care of some 2,100 Indians, Senegalese, Congolese and many foreign other nationals. Customs control was organized right on the platform. Lviv Railway Station is expecting more refugees from Irpin and Bucha. (File Photo: Euromaidan Press via Ruslan Lytvyn/Text: Euromaidan Press)

The Arab News reported, citing Reuters, Guatemalan authorities said that the country on Friday received its first arrivals of Ukrainian families fleeing their homeland since Russia’s invasion of its neighbor last month.

An immigration spokesperson told Reuters, the eight Ukrainians were the first to arrive in the Central American country “for humanitarian reasons."

Officials said that another flight carrying more Ukrainians arrived several hours later. It is unclear how many may have arrived privately in Guatemala since the Russian attacks on Ukraine began.

“I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I hope the war ends soon,” said one of arrivals in a video disseminated by Guatemalan authorities. “It’s hard to say how much my heart hurts for my mother and father in Ukraine, who can’t leave.”

This is the basement area of the Municipal Perinatal Hospital in Kharkiv. Tiny newborns and older infants that are sick and need special care (File photo and text: Euromaidan Press)

Guatemala’s announcement was the first on Ukrainian arrivals from the Central American countries known as the Northern Triangle — also including Honduras and El Salvador — which have themselves seen much of their populations emigrate due to violence and poverty.

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A rising number of Ukrainians and Russians have fled to Latin America in recent months, including those who turn up at the United States-Mexico border.

Source: arabnews

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