The number of Ukrainians served by the Red Cross in Tenerife now exceeds 500

The organization moves its device to the island’s airports to facilitate the transfer, accommodation and maintenance of Ukrainians who request help and who do not have a social support network on the island, to whom they also provide legal advice and refer to entities that are in charge of the legal assistance of migrants and/or refugees. These “special devices” for reception are also enabled at the airports of Barajas (Madrid) and El Prat (Barcelona), as well as at various train stations. It is about providing first assistance to refugees, transferring them to other locations or welcoming them in Red Cross resources.

A part of Ukrainians who land at airports North Tenerife and Tenerife South they have relatives or a network of contacts with whom to stay, so the entity provides them with first attention, support in the transfer (if they need it) and legal advice to avail themselves of temporary protection in accordance with the European Union directive ( EU), and not all of them require additional attention, the entity provides Spanish classes as a fundamental tool for integration, while paying special attention to minors housed in the accommodation resources of Puerto de la Cruz, for whom it launches a leisure activities program.

The Red Cross organization currently cares for 7,715 people who have arrived in Spain since the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among whom are the more than 500 whose care is provided in Tenerife.

65% are women

The statistics show that, at the national level, within the framework of the reception and integration system of the Secretary of State for Migration, 5,124 people have been received in Red Cross resources, and there are already more than 166 people who have requested the Restoring Family Links service. The entity states that 65 percent of those welcomed are women and are being treated in the devices deployed by the Red Cross in Asturias, Cantabria, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, Murcia and Madrid, thanks to 386 volunteers.

In addition, through social networks and the telephone service Red Cross has attended to more than 4,600 demands, to which is added the mobilization of 2,425 people from the arrival areas to their temporary accommodation, through the Relief area.

The colony of Ukrainians residing in Tenerife ranges between 2,000 and 2,500. Of the group that has been affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war, there are those who were surprised by the start of the conflict while they were on the island as tourists. Added to these are those who choose this destination fleeing from combat, as well as Ukrainians who travel to the Island as a safe destination responding to the call of family and friends.

A case

An example of the first of these situations was the twenty of the 170 Ukrainian tourists who were trapped in Tenerife and could not return to their country due to the Russian invasion and who were rehoused at the Hotel Catalonia Punta del Rey, in Las Caletillas, municipality of Candlemas. The intervention of the Red Cross was considered essential for them to find a roof after their reservations expired in the hotels and apartments they went to for a vacation. Most of those affected are families with children.

During the almost eight years of conflict between Russia and Ukraine, The Red Cross has worked in the Donbas region serving the civilian population, supplying basic necessities, health care or working to restore essential services, such as water supply. Today, the priority is to help the civilian population in times of greatest tension and anxiety, as well as to ensure that it is treated humanely, says the organization.