Considering the insane complexity and gravity of the current situation, addressing each and every aspect of this conflict and its implications with the due sophistication that is seen as necessary in a brief summary is nearly impossible. Therefore, the sole purpose of this short overview is to provide a dense insight into the current state of the crisis (as of the 27th of March), taking into consideration the context and environment in which BBYO Hungary also had to navigate its response. Throughout, we will attempt to highlight some of the unexpected factors and the lessons already learned, so that they may be able to inform other chapters and communities in formulating their responses.

ככל שהמתחים באזור המשיכו לעלות בהתמדה מאז תחילת 2022, הסבירות למלחמה החלה להניע את הקהילה היהודית ההונגרית, כולה, להתכונן לגרוע מכל. בעוד שאיש כנראה לא ציפה לעימות כולל של ממש, והדבר תפס את רוב בעלי העניין בהפתעה, העובדה שארגון ניהול המשברים של הקהילה המקומית, הסוכנות היהודית לישראל, שגרירות ישראל בהונגריה, שירותי הביטחון של הקהילה המקומית והקהילות עצמן החלו להיערך יותר ויותר, כנראה תרמה לתגובה המדהימה שראינו עד כה.

תפנית נוספת, ומפתיעה למדי, הייתה תגובת העם ההונגרי. כמות התמיכה והיוזמות החברתיות שצצו (מהתנדבות ועד תרומות, כל מה שאנשים יכלו לחשוב עליו), שהונעו בעיקר על ידי הונגרים ממוצעים שניסו לעזור, הייתה בלתי נתפסת ובהחלט בלתי צפויה. כמעט באופן מיידי, אנשים החלו להציע לינה, אוכל, הזדמנויות תחבורה ועוד הרבה יותר. ובעוד שהתגובה יכלה להיות מתואמת טוב יותר, הרצון האמיתי פשוט לעזור ולתרום אכן עשה את ההבדל.

Consequently, BBYO Hungary’s contribution has been largely accelerated and supported by the local, much wider societal response. That said, another additional factor that enabled BBYO Hungary to make a slightly greater impact was its previous strictly apolitical approach to the affairs of the local Jewish community. This has positioned BBYO Hungary in a niche way that allowed for establishing a platform for more efficient cooperation by allowing all potential contributors and supporters to freely cooperate with each other throughout.

This was especially crucial in the first few days of the crisis, when there was still a lack of coordination when attempting to manage the sudden and huge influx of refugees. What we soon came to realise was that whilst there were insane amount of resources and support available for the refugees, people had no idea where and how to ensure that they arrive at the right place. As such, Linda, our BBYO Advisor from Hungary established a Facebook group inviting all parties from our network who were keen to contribute to the response, which has accelerated this coordination process greatly. Furthermore, Linda has organised several local and international coordination, fundraising or logistics related calls to ensure that the support, supplies and donations make their way to the refugees as efficiently as possible. Apparently, the group is still actively used to provide support with accommodation, food, transport paperwork, and much more.

יתר על כן, לינדה יזמה והובילה פרויקט לפיתוח מדריך באוקראינית שיספק הדרכה ותמיכה לפליטים יהודים, תוך פנייה ושיתוף בעלי העניין המרכזיים על מנת להבטיח שהמדריך יכיל את כל המידע הרלוונטי והמעודכן הנחוץ כדי להסתדר ולדעת לאן לפנות, במידת הצורך. 

In addition to that, with the amazing support that BBYO Hungary has received form its local network, large amounts of donations have been collected and delivered to the local JCC, which now also serves as a logistics headquarters for distributing supplies. Nevertheless, the JCC also hosts families and provides childcare activities to allow the parents to arrange paperwork or other obligations a bit more conveniently. To further support such activities, BBYO Hungary has donated 60 books in Russian to families with young children, which were written by Linda and address religious topics such as Jewish holidays or stories from the Torah.

To further demonstrate just how powerful and caring our amazing BBYO Parents and network members are, since the beginning of the crisis, they volunteered dozens of hours at railway stations and elsewhere, to assist refugees the best they can. Furthermore, Ben, also our BBYO Advisor, has volunteered days to support the Aliyah process of the families trying to seek refuge in Israel.

Moreover, BBYO Hungary has also put considerable effort into trying to assist teens across the community with specialised programs. As part of these, we invited a professional psychologist to conduct specific exercises to help teens identify and process emotions, and to provide a safe platform for them openly discuss anxiety or worries in relation to the war in our neighbouring country. Whilst in our perception, the teens did need such a programme, for us, it was a lot more interesting and also surprising how apparently, they also desired support in trying to make sense of all of this on a more rational level. Therefore, we conducted follow up programs (due to the high demand) to also address these the best we can. Lastly, but not least as part of these programs we have prepared over 200 sandwiches for those who arrived to Budapest by trains, delivering the sandwiches to the Western Railway Station.

To sum up, we would never have expected these outcomes and we are rather proud to have engaged with, supported and facilitated, at least in some part, the societal level response and support that Hungarians provided to the Ukrainian refugees. Whilst we realise that the overall contribution by BBYO Hungary with the relatively limited resources was not as significant as those of larger organisations, in our perception, we still successfully managed to have some impact despite all the challenges that we have encountered on our way.

עם זאת, כיוון שהמלחמה נראית מתמשכת ואכזרית יותר מיום ליום, נשתדל להבטיח שנוכל לספק תמיכה עקבית ובת קיימא לכל אורך הדרך, כל עוד יידרש, ואנו ממליצים לכם לעודד זאת גם בקהילות שלכם.

BBYO Hungary was one of many contributors to the food, supplies, toys, and more pictured below.