Restoring humanity: Orion employees welcome, support Ukraine refugees

JASLO, Poland—Russia's invasion of Ukraine is causing a humanitarian crisis not seen since 1990, one that could force as many as five million Ukrainian refugees—mostly women, children and the elderly—into neighboring European countries to the west.

Orion Engineered Carbons, with a carbon black manufacturing plant that sits just 75 miles from the Ukrainian border in southeastern Poland, is looking to restore at least some humanity to that region with a donation drive for those fleeing their attackers.

Those interested can donate at spotfund.com and donations will be accepted through March 19, according to Orion.

"One of our core values at Orion is building enduring relationships—not just with our suppliers and customers but also in our communities," Jan Pytlewski, managing director of Orion's Jaslo plant, told Rubber News. "It's important for us to be a positive part of the community. So when the conflict in Ukraine started and refugees began streaming into Poland, we immediately began thinking of ways to support the community in Jaslo."

The 37,000-person town of Jaslo is not considered a large town like Krakow to the west, which is where the initial waves of refugees have gone, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a Ukraine-based organization monitoring the crisis.

But as the war intensifies, as Pytlewski believes it will, so will the number of refugees.

See our full and ongoing coverage of impacts from the war in Ukraine.

"The challenge will likely intensify," he said. "Many Ukrainians have moved to the western part of their country to flee the conflict. If the fighting worsens in the west, those people will likely seek refuge in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova."

And in all of those countries, smaller towns like Jaslo are likely to be inundated.

"Most of the refugees have been going to the major cities, so smaller towns like Jaslo are still relatively quiet," Pytlewski said. "But soon the government and aid organizations might start directing the refugees to the smaller cities and towns to ease the burden on the larger urban areas.

"So we're planning for more refugees to arrive in Jaslo in large numbers."

Orion workers in Jaslo are reporting to Orion's headquarters in Luxembourg as to what is needed on the ground in Ukraine and southeastern Poland, and Jaslo staff are delivering supplies to aid agencies and local fire brigades in those locations.

The global carbon black supplier already has provided crucial firefighting equipment to departments in Ukraine, such as gloves, shoes, First-Aid kits, fire hoses and nozzles.

"The Red Cross, Caritas and the State Fire Service of Poland are telling our team in Jaslo what is needed," Pytlewski said. "Now we are collecting towels, blankets and hygiene products for the refugees that have arrived in Poland.

"Most only came with hand luggage. There is still a shortage of dressings and bandages, which we are trying to procure."

The dire issues for Ukrainians—and now, by proximity, the Polish people—are indicative of the brutality of the Russian assault.

"Schools in the community will need to take in Ukrainian children and hospitals will need to be ready for more patients," he said. "So those facilities will need additional supplies.

"It looks like the refugees will be staying for a long time."

The war comes at a time of high demand in the carbon black industry, and Orion said "it has been an extremely busy time for our business, adapting to the disruption that the war has caused."

"But everyone welcomes an opportunity to live their values, so our employees are happy to be part of a campaign to help people in need," Pytlewski said.

Thus far, more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland (1.9 million estimated as of March 16); Romania (491,000) and Moldova (351,000), and to a lesser extent Hungary (283,000), Slovakia (229,000) and Belarus (2,100), according to UNHCR.

Belgian authorities tell UNHCR that they expect up to 200,000 refugees to arrive in the country in the coming weeks, as they attempt to create order out of the influx of 10,000 thus far.

At least another 2 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, according to the organization, and that number is probably on the low end, the Times of Israel reported March 17.

Before the conflict, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.

"Notably, the right to move freely within the Schengen area means there are very few border controls within the European Union," the UNCHR reported March 16. "The data of arrivals in Schengen countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) bordering Ukraine therefore only represents border crossings into that country, but we estimate that a large number of people have moved onward to other countries."