Edinburgh man travels to Poland to transport refugees in hire car
An Edinburgh filmmaker has travelled to Poland and hired a car to ferry exhausted refugees to safety from the border with Ukraine
Last updated 18th Mar 2022
An Edinburgh filmmaker has travelled to Poland and hired a car to offer lifts to refugees coming over the border from Ukraine.
John Duncan was inspired to do something after watching "too much news".
"Like everybody else I've been watching the news in absolute disgust at what's happening." John told us.
"I thought if we can just get these refugees, these young families away from the border and where they need to get to quicker.
"I thought if we can do that it'll be helping."
After arriving in Poland John found an eight-seater car to rent and equipped it with baby and toddler seats.
He said the process of getting to the border and registering as a volunteer was fairly straightforward.
“Seeing young children crossing the border at night in the freezing temperatures prompted me to do more than donate.
“It’s a horrific situation for these people and I’m making a small contribution. But I want to do more which is why I’m appealing for support from others.” He said.
Now John is looking to fund raise to bring more volunteers across to do the same thing.
Fellow Scot, Peter McNally will fly out today (18 March) to assist John in bringing vital assistance to refugees.
Peter, who is now based in Denmark and the former official photographer to the First Minister, will get registered as a volunteer and offer support where it’s needed most.
John continued: “Provided we get enough donations my aim is to have at least five people carriers on the road every day, moving refugees to where they need to go.
“Anyone back home who thinks they can help in any way, please get in touch.”
You can find out more about John's efforts here.