SOURCES SAY HE IS CONSIDERING
WHETHER TO VISIT EASTERN EUROPE
IN THE COMING WEEKS.
WE WILL BE FOLLOWING THAT.
MEANWHILE, FOUR WEEKS SINCE
RUSSIA STARTED ITS BRUTAL
INVASION OF UKRAINE.
REFUGEES HAVE FLOODED INTO
NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES AND NONE
HAS ACCEPTED MORE THAN POLAND.
NEARLY 1.5 MILLION UKRAINIANS
FLEEING THE WAR HAVE COME ACROSS
THE BORDER AND AROUND 300,000
HAVE MADE THEIR WAY TO THE
CAPITAL OF WARSAW.
THE CITY HAS DONE WHAT IT CAN TO
WELCOME RFRGS
WELCOME REFUGEES BUT THE MAYOR
OF THE CITY SAYS THEY CANNOT
TAKE MUCH MORE AND IS CALLING ON
THE REST OF THE WORLD TO HELP.
THE MAYOR OF WARSAW, POLAND,
RAFAL TRZASKOWSKI, JOINS US NOW.
MR. MAYOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US.
MY BROTHER SENDS HIS REGARDS.
I KNOW YOU SPENT SOME TIME WITH
HIM RECENTLY.
TELL US ABOUT THE SITUATION NOW,
RECEIVING REFUGEES.
HOW MANY HAS WARSAW TAKEN IN AND
WHAT IS THE SITUATION, CAN YOU
DESCRIBE IT?
>> HELLO.
GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
YES, 300,000 REFUGEES ARRIVED TO
WARSAW.
IF YOU REMEMBER THE
MEDITERRANEAN CRISIS IN 2015, AT
A PEAK WE HAD 300,000 REFUGEES
IN EUROPE AND WE JUST HAD
300,000 REFUGEES IN A MATTER OF
TWO WEEKS.
THAT'S THE MAGNITUDE OF THE
PROBLEM.
OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, POLS
WELCOME UKRAINIANS WITH AN OPEN
HEART, BUT SO FAR MOST OF THAT
WAS JUST IMPROVISATION OF THE
PEOPLE OF THE NONGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS AND LOCAL
AUTHORITIES SUCH AS MINE.
>> SO WHAT WOULD YOU NEED AT
THIS POINT TO BE ABLE TO
ACCOMMODATE THE 300,000 THAT ARE
ALREADY THERE?
ARE THERE ANY IDEAS BEING
CONSIDERED?
BECAUSE MORE ARE ON THE WAY AND
CLEARLY THE OPEN HEART IS A
WONDERFUL PERSONAL PASSION IN
THE BEGINNING, BUT THIS IS GOING
TO BECOME A DIFFICULTY FOR NOT
JUST THE CITY OF WARSAW BUT
TOWNS ACROSS POLAND.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE
CONSIDERATIONS?
>> WELL, I MEAN LET ME MAKE ONE
THING ABUNDANTLY CLEAR.
YOU KNOW, UKRAINE IS FIGHTING
FOR OUR FREEDOM, FOR THE FREEDOM
OF POLAND, IT IS FOR THE FREEDOM
OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND FOR
THE STABILITY OF THE
TRANSATLANTIC ALLIANCE.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO DO OUR
BIT.
WE WILL WELCOME UKRAINIANS AS
LONG AS IT IS NEEDED.
I RECEIVED PHONE CALLS FROM
VITALY KLITSCHKO, THE MAYOR OF
KYIV AND MY FRIEND FROM UKRAINE,
AND THEY SAY BECAUSE YOU TAKE
CARE OF OUR KIDS AND FAMILY WE
CAN FIGHT, WE STILL HAVE A POWER
AND WILL TO FIGHT.
BUT TWO THINGS NEED TO BE DONE.
FIRST OF ALL, WE NEED
ASSISTANCE.
IT IS NOT JUST THE CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT WHICH NEEDS
ASSISTANCE.
IT IS THE REFUGEES THEMSELVES.
IT IS THE NONGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS, IT IS US, THE
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNORS AND
MAYORS WHO ARE ON THE GROUND.
SECONDLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
WE NEED A SYSTEM BECAUSE MOST OF
WHAT'S BEEN DONE, OF COURSE
THERE'S NO WORK DONE BY THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THERE'S SOME
WORK DONE BY US.
YOU KNOW, OUR PEOPLE WORKDAY AND
NIGHT.
OF COURSE, THEY ARE DIVERTED
FROM THE NORMAL JOBS AND WE CAN
DO IT FOR A WEEK, TWO, THREE,
BUT WE CANNOT DO IT FOREVER.
WE NEED A SYSTEM, AND THE UNITED
NATIONS AND THE EUROPEAN UNION
HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE, IT WORKS
LIKE LEGO BRICKS.
ONE AGENCY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
BUILDING RECEPTION CENTERS, THE
OTHER ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
PROVIDING WATER, ANOTHER ONE
TAKES CARE OF REFUGEES AND GIVES
THEM CHIP CARDS SO THEY CAN BUY
THINGS THEMSELVES OR ANOTHER ONE
BRINGS US TEACHERS AND
PSYCHOLOGISTS.
THAT'S WHAT WE NEED, A SYSTEM
AND A SUPPORT FROM THE WHOLE
FREE COMMUNITY OF THE WORLD.
>> HAVE YOU GOTTEN WORD FROM THE
EU THAT THAT SORT OF HELP IS
COMING SOON?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THE EU
AGENCIES AND ALSO THE UNITED
NATIONS AGENCIES ARE ALREADY ON
THE GROUND IN POLAND AND WHAT WE
NEED NOW IS JUST, YOU KNOW, THE
POLISH CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO
CALL FOR HELP AND FOR A
WILLINGNESS TO AUTHORIZE THOSE
AGENCIES TO OPERATE IN POLAND.
LET ME GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE.
WE NEED A RELOCATION SCHEME IN
EUROPE AND IN THE WORLD SO THAT
THIS HUGE LOGISTICS EXERCISE
GOES UNDER WAY, BECAUSE WHAT
HAPPENS NOW IS JUST
IMPROVISATION.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHERE
I CANNOT ABSORB MORE PEOPLE I
CALL MY FRIENDS FROM OTHER
CITIES IN POLAND AND IN EUROPE
AND THEY SEND BUSES AND WE BUS
PEOPLE TO BETTER CONDITIONS BUT
WE CANNOT DO IT FOREVER.
WE CANNOT IMPROVISE ANYMORE.
WE NEED HELP.
OF COURSE, VOLUNTEERS, NGOs, MY
OWN PEOPLE ARE, WORKING DAY AND
NIGHT BUT WE NEED ASSISTANCE.
WE NEED, FOR EXAMPLE,
PSYCHOLOGISTS AND TEACHERS RIGHT
NOW BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE
COMING TO WARSAW NOW ARE MUCH
MORE TRAUMATIZED.
AT THE BEGINNING THEY WERE TAKEN
CARE OF BY THEIR FAMILIES AND
FRIENDS.
NOW THEY NEED ACCOMMODATION,
THEY NEED BASIC HELP.
WE PROVIDE IT BUT WE NEED ASSIST
ASSISTANCE.
MR. MAYOR, THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA
LIKE THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY UKRAINE
AND THE BRAVERY OF THE UKRAINIAN
PEOPLE, BUT WE ALSO HEAR
WHEREVER WE GO AMERICANS TALKING
ABOUT THE GENEROSITY, THE OPEN
HEARTED NATURE OF THE POLISH
PEOPLE WHO ALLOW THEIR UKRAINIAN
BROTHERS AND SISTERS ACROSS THE
BORDER.
WE UNDERSTAND THIS COMES AT A
GREAT PRICE TO YOU.
I'M CURIOUS.
WHAT CAN THE UNITED STATES DO
ITSELF?
WHAT CAN THE UNITED STATES
CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT BIDEN DO
TO MAKE YOUR BURDEN JUST A
LITTLE LIGHTER?
>> I MEAN FIRST OF ALL, LET ME
THANK THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, THE PRESIDENT,
PRESIDENT BIDEN AND THE AMERICAN
ADMINISTRATION, OF COURSE, THE
CONGRESS FOR VERY STRONG STANCE
ON THE CONFLICT.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, BECAUSE OF
THOSE ASSURANCES THAT AMERICA
AND NATO WILL FIGHT FOR EVERY
INCH OF NATO TERRITORY WE CAN --
WE CAN DO OUR JOB BECAUSE WE
FEEL SECURE.
BUT WE NEED ASSISTANCE, AND, OF
COURSE, WE NEED HELP.
IT IS NOT JUST US, YOU KNOW, THE
GUYS WHO ARE AT THE FOREFRONT
HELPING OUT UKRAINIANS BUT IT IS
THE REFUGEES THEMSELVES, IT IS
THE NGOs AND VOLUNTEERS.
SO WE NEED HELP.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE NEED FOLDABLE
BEDS, WE NEED SLEEPING BAGS, WE
NEED, OF COURSE TO HELP THEM
WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE, WE NEED
TRAINED TEACHERS AND
INTERPRETERS AND SO ON AND SO
FORTH.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE SIMPLY NEED
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE WHICH WOULD
GO DIRECTLY TO REFUGEES, NGOs
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
>> ALL RIGHT.
THE MAY HAVE OF WARSAW, RAFAL