Finding Przemysl

A small yet mighty river town that's opened its arms to Ukrainian refugees.

“Shemish Gwove-nay” — the Main Station in Przemysl.

Say Shemish. Then quickly add a soft “l” at the end. That’s the guidance I got for pronouncing Przemysl, a small river town in southeastern Poland less than 10 miles from the Ukrainian border. For a small town — with a population of about 60,000 — “Shemish-l” is anything but quiet these days. For nearly three million Ukrainian refugees to date, Przemysl has been the first stop after crossing the border into Poland; the trains are coming from Lviv, about 70 miles away. Bus, too.

As soon as passengers disembark, there’s food, supplies and help at the ready inside the train station. What was once a shopping center has morphed into a hub for humanitarian aid. Hotel rooms are hard to come by because relief workers and volunteers like myself are filling them.

This is a quick note, as I need to get some overdue sleep. Along with about 30 volunteers from all over the United States, I started my shift today at World Central Kitchen. Some ten, maybe 12, were dispatched to various feeding centers, including the border, and the rest of us made ham and cheese sandwiches. About three thousand of them. More on that and the merry sandwich brigade united in our mission to feed body, mind and spirit. Night night.