Concerns for safety of refugees grow as more Ukrainians flee the country

A bunch of volunteers in Warsaw has remodeled a sports activities centre into an emergency shelter to assist the rising variety of individuals crossing the border.

Piles of donated objects, reminiscent of diapers and garments, now fill the room of the Torwar Sports activities Centre. And the centre's enviornment is full of rows of cots for individuals to sleep.

An estimated 1,300 individuals have already stayed within the centre for the reason that conflict started. However the actual variety of refugees taking shelter there at any given second is difficult to calculate.

"The variety of these staying right here is continually rotating," stated Malgorzata Naporowska, coordinator of the refugee centre. "They arrive, they depart. We're continually organising transport, so a continuing quantity is not possible to estimate."

Over 2.5 million individuals have fled Ukraine for the reason that conflict began. A little bit beneath half of these persons are kids.

And because the variety of refugees grows, so do considerations that a few of them might be exploited by human traffickers and different types of abuse.

One of many causes for concern is that the variety of individuals staying with strangers is rising. When the conflict began, buddies or household housed 95% of these arriving in Poland. Now that quantity has decreased to 70%.

"The danger for these items to occur could be very excessive," stated Andreea Bujor, Communications Advocacy Director for World Imaginative and prescient Romania. "A number of ladies are trafficked yearly -- [and] kids as a result of it's a danger not just for ladies but in addition for youngsters."

"As you see right here, loads of Romanians mobilised and I am very proud, however the dangers for different individuals to capitalise on the ache of those households could be very excessive."

Police are giving lots of the ladies arriving in Hungary recommendation on defending themselves on the border. They're reportedly telling them to maintain their telephone batteries charged and doc the license plates of vehicles they get into.