Slipaczek met with Barnet MP Theresa Villiers on March 23. The two had a 30-minute Zoom call, after which Villiers agreed to send a letter to foreign secretary Liz Truss asking her to send more foreign aid to Poland.
The country has taken in more than 2mn Ukrainian refugees since Russia waged war on Ukraine, but this has taken its toll on Poland’s public resources.
Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s mayor, told FTAdviser’s sister publication Europe Express in mid-March: “We will do everything we can to make sure no one is left on the street, but it has to be said that we in Poland are slowly becoming overwhelmed and that is why we need a coordinated response from the west.”
What I’m worried about is in six or 12 months time, when Poland has still got to look after all these people.Filip SlipaczekMore than 300,000 Ukrainians have fled to Warsaw, Poland’s capital, since the Russian invasion, boosting its population by 15 per cent and pushing the city’s services to “the limit”, according to Trzaskowsk.
Slipaczek, who was born in the UK but is a Polish citizen and has family from Ukraine, told FTAdviser he is concerned not enough is being done to financially support those European countries bearing the brunt of the refugee crisis.
“The UK government may be giving Ukraine guns and armour - so are the Poles - but when it comes to physical help for the refugee crisis in Poland, very little has been given,” said Slipaczek.
This week (March 28), Truss announced joint plans with Australia to provide humanitarian assistance to people in Ukraine.
The first of two flights, which were set to leave yesterday (March 29), carried items such as hygiene kits, solar lights, heaters, groundsheets, kitchen sets and blankets.
While the two planes will land in Poland, the foreign office said the items will be distributed in Ukraine and Moldova - not Poland.
In total, the UK has committed £400mn in urgent economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine since the invasion, according to the foreign office’s website.
FTAdviser also understands UK assistance provided in Poland has included 763,000 medical items, and UK humanitarian experts on the ground.
“The problem I was trying to stress to Theresa is that Poland has taken in 2.2mn Ukrainians. This country has only taken in around 20,000. Poland has taken them in with no documentation. No visas. They have a right to remain for three years,” Slipaczek explained.
“Obviously, this is costing the Polish state and individual Polish people. What I’m worried about is in six or 12 months time, when Poland has still got to look after all these people. Help needs to be given, not only by this country but by the rest of the EU.
“Poland has got Ukrainian kids in their schools now. Warsaw’s mayor is pleading for support, saying they’re at breaking point.”
As of this week, 21,600 visas had been issued by the Home Office through its Ukraine Family Scheme, which allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK.
There are around 3.5mn Ukrainian refugees in total, the vast majority of which are currently in Poland.
Villiers confirmed to FTAdviser she will be sending a letter to Truss “by the end of this week”. Her office added: “Theresa agreed to relay Mr Slipaczek’s concerns and reiterate her view that the government should support (and is supporting) Poland.”
Currently, 63-year-old Slipaczek has 22 Ukrainians living in his home in the Tatra Mountains next to a village called Szczawa, an hour's drive from Poland’s second-largest city, Kraków.
The industry war effort
Other advisers and financial services professionals have gone above and beyond to help the war effort.
Earlier this month, Phil Billingham and his wife Shannon Currie, managing directors of Perceptive Planning, drove a van full of supplies to Przemyśl, a transit point in southern Poland next to the border.
Meanwhile Cameron Penny, a director at financial services PR firm Montieth & Company, dropped off supplies in Hrebenne - a refugee camp on the border between Poland and Ukraine. He then drove to Lviv, where he helped two families escape a city in dire need of food, tents and temporary homes.
“Their efforts absolutely need to be praised,” said Slipaczek.
David Crozier of Navigator Financial Planning and his friend Stephen Gallagher are gearing up to leave Ireland on April 5 for Kraków.
So far, they have raised nearly £7,000, which he says he will use to buy supplies such as sleeping bags, as well as more perishable supplies from local supermarkets.
"We've had a tremendous response, for which we are truly thankful. But no time for complacency - we travel to Kraków on April 5 to drop a load with the Slavic Mission there," Crozier told FTAdviser.
"Once there, we'll discover what they need on the ground and see if we can buy it there and then."
Tell us your story: Are you doing anything to help the Ukrainian war effort? Let us know: ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
