'Like entering a ghost town' - local men describe 1,600-mile Ukraine journey

A group of lorry drivers from Mid Ulster who delivered aid to a refugee camp along the border between Poland and Ukraine have said it was a 'humbling experience'.

Benny McGeehan from Desertmartin made the gruelling 1,600-mile journey last week with fellow drivers Mark McCann from Omagh and Noel Rafferty from Cookstown, County Tyrone.

After deciding to take on the mission, the men harnessed the resources of their companies AR Transport, Draperstown Commercials and McCann International and set about gathering donations.

Collecting aid at Workspace NI.

They picked up aid from across the Mid Ulster area, with St Pius X College, Magherafelt, Holy Trinity College, Cookstown, Workspace NI, Draperstown and Halo, Cookstown all pitching in.

After filling two lorry loads of donations, Noel described the moment they arrived in the border area as like 'driving into a ghost town'.

“We headed out on the Saturday morning and we landed on the Tuesday morning at the Ukrainian border,” he told the County Derry Post.

“It was a very sad experience, like driving into a ghost town. There wasn't a car on the road and there were soldiers standing around – it was completely dead, there was nothing happening.

Noel taking on diesel, a bill which ran to over £4,000.

“The people were very grateful to get it, they couldn't thank us enough. They took everything we brought down and we brought the guts of 45 tonnes of aid.

“The man Pavlo that took it off us was very grateful; he lifted us in the car and took us down. He actually owns a washing powder warehouse.

County Derry councillor thanks Borough's volunteers helping Ukraine

Cllr Adrian McQuillan praised efforts made around the area.

“He has one in Ukraine and one in Poland; right on the border, and he can't do business any more because of the war – he can't get stuff in and out.

“He is using his warehouse as an aid distribution centre, so he took the two loads down and they wanted us to actually take it into Ukraine, but for insurance reasons we couldn't take it in.”

The men snapped pictures of military vehicles being loaded onto trucks.

Having met with Pavlo and delivered the aid, the local man took Noel, Benny and Mark down to see the refugee camp, an experience that had a profound effect on them.

“We went down to see the refugee camp and it was a sight for sore eyes. A very sad experience; you don't realise how bad it is until you are actually there,” said Noel.

“There were just people upon people coming off buses, run-down and unhappy. I didn't spend that long in it, I wasn't too comfortable.

“There were a lot of soldiers present. It's not a place you'd want to be standing around taking photographs of other people's misfortune.

Halo charity in Cookstown contributing to the donations.

“The man that we gave the donations to was more than grateful to get them. We thought we were taking too much, that they wouldn't want all this, but they couldn't get enough.”

Although on the Polish side, the spectre of war raging across the border was impossible to avoid.

“When we were standing out the back, you could hear the gunfire going off ,” said Noel.

“You couldn't see much because it was well-cordoned off, but we'd rather not have seen. We weren't there an hour and the bomb sirens started going off; it scared the life out of us.

“We were standing out the back and didn't know whether to run or stand. The only reason we didn't run is because there was a wee boy playing outside in the garden.

“He didn't seem too fazed so we thought if he's not fazed, it can't be too bad. It was definitely an eye-opener and it's not a place I'd be keen to go back to.”

The men were keen to thank those who provided the aid from around Mid Ulster, with their donations joining a sea of international goodwill towards the Ukrainian people.

“Every nationality around the world is in that place,” said Noel.

“The Polish people are very supportive of the Ukrainian people. We can see posters on the motorway advertising advice for Ukrainian citizens.

Holy Trinity College, Cookstown also got involved.

“When we were filling diesel, we ran into eight vans from Austria with Austrian and Ukrainian flags in the back of them carrying aid.

“We were chatting to a fella who is an American lawyer, who flew over from Florida, bought a load of footballs and went round volunteering to hand them out to all the kids.”

Loading up at St Pius X College, Magherafelt.

With the Russian invasion now entering its 34th day, Noel says the trip has brought home the reality of just how close this war is.

“I don't really think it's hit us yet to be honest. It's all happened so quickly, trying to find places and driving through new countries,” he said.

“This is only a three-day drive from your doorstep; it's not far away. I don't think people realise actually how close it is.

“It was a very humbling experience. We were saying going up the road that this is something you'll never forget.

“I'd like to think if the shoe was on the other foot, they would help us,” he added.

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