116 Ukrainian minors placed with Flemish foster parents
Borys and Pavlo are among over a hundred Ukrainian children who have been placed with Flemish foster parents since the start of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February.
Borys, aged 16, and Pavlo, aged 17, are friends. From Kyiv they travelled to Belgium as unaccompanied minors without their parents. It was quite a trip and on their arrival in Belgium they were stranded at Brussels South Station where they had to spend the night.
The station is a major transport hub and where international trains arrive. Unlike in several other countries Red Cross officials are not ready to support Ukrainian refugees around the clock and the two friends spent their first night in Belgium sleeping rough in the station. But fortunately, this is a story with a happy end: Borys and Pavlo have now been placed with Flemish foster parents. Of course, their story is not really at an end yet. They don’t know how long they will have to stay, but they and their parents can rest assured that they will receive proper care.