Marist’s Connection to Ukrainian Refugee Crisis

Pictured Cezar-Mihai Ungureanu. Source: Marist SGA

What may seem like worlds apart for some may not be the case for some. This is the reality for a Marist student and his family in Romania with their connection to the crisis in Ukraine.

“With my parents I’m trying to be encouraging like ‘hey I hope the crazy man is not going to come to Bucharest and attack any inch of North Atlantic Treaty Organization  territory’ however, we don’t know,” Cezar-Mihai Ungureanu said.

Ungureanu is a senior at Marist double majoring in criminal justice and political science and president of the Marist Model United Nations Club, and the Chief Justice of the Marist SGA. 

Ungureanu is one of the many international students on-campus. He is originally from Bucharest in Romania where his family is right now. Ungureanu isn’t just intertwined in the Marist community, but also with Romania where his family currently resides. 

Ungureanu is one of the many international students on-campus. He is originally from Bucharest in Romania where his family is right now. 

Given Romania’s proximity to invasion in Ukraine, Ungureanu says that “in Romania right now, people are anxious about what is happening.” This rise in anxiety comes from the recent invasion of Ukraine from Russia late last month. Romania happens to be one of the countries millions of Ukrainians are fleeing to for shelter and safety.

Many of these Ukrainian refugees are crossing the border in Siret located in the northeast of Romania. Since many are crossing into Ungureanu’s home country, his family is witnessing the trauma these refugees are experiencing firsthand. Cezar’s father, Danut Ungureanu, is a priest and a lobbyist for the Romanian government and is actively providing aid to Ukrainian refugees. 

“My dad is currently running all around the border to multiple care centers to fund them or see if he can help or see if they need volunteers,” Cezar said.

No one was prepared in Siret when the refugees came flooding into the country. The crossing in Siret isn’t frequently used, so much of the infrastructure at the crossing is in poor condition. Regardless, “we see 150,000 or 250,000 Ukrainians marching down the gate which is incredible,” he said. 

From the stories Cezar’s father shares with him is that “[most of those coming into Romania] are just children. Literally a lot of parents just send their children with educators, with pre-k teachers and they send maybe 20 children with one educator and the educator has to take care of them,” Cezar said. “It’s been an ongoing drama…we see daily husbands saying goodbye to their wives and children and who knows, maybe it's for the last time.” 

One story Danut shared with Cezar was of a pregnant Ukrainian refugee who came into Romania and gave birth at the border. “We see young women and older women giving birth on the spot, and you know that a person cannot just give birth since there’s a lot of things that can happen to the woman and the baby,” Cezar said. Some of these women give birth at the border before they could reach medical care. Generally, only wet wipes are available to them to prevent infection. 

To help these women “my dad was able to talk to a maternity in Bucharest to rent six baby incubators and clean beds and disinfectants for the moms,” Cezar said. Danut was able to bring these provisions to the border and help these vulnerable women. The lobbyist has tried his best to make light in situations like these when people need to help people. 

Danut has also offered to provide his car to Ukrainians for transportation and was able to bring refugees to Bucharest. “He would always invite people to sleep over at our house,” Cezar said. At one point the Cezar’s family housed a Ukrainian family of four for a few days before the family could fly to the United States.

 Many people in Siret from small villages and major cities gathered to help these people at the border with supplies, guidance and emotional support in whatever way they could, even with the threat of retaliation for helping Ukrainians by the Russian government. “For a second we forgot where the border line was, which is when you see humanity,” the Model UN President said.

Danut has an innate desire to help others that has inspired Cezar to do the same. “He helps because this is who he is,” Cezar said. “He’s transferred this value to me.”

Cezar fears that this invasion hits too close to home, especially since he is separated from his family. 

“You're always afraid that the crazy man might attack your home,” said Cezar. While in the U.S. and so far from his family, this fear continues to resurface in his mind. However, he remains thankful for having a supportive Marist community garnering support for the people of Ukraine. 

Cezar and the stories of his father are a reminder to all that the world is a small place. Marist is an international community that connects us to the world around us in many ways, and when a crisis like what is happening in Ukraine occurs, it affects us as an international and local community.

“The community is empathetic as always and I’ll say after four years of staying here that Marist is a very smart and intelligent community,” he said. “I would like to just thank them for that.”