Berlin, Dusseldorf One notices Peter Chaljawski’s emotion. “I think the wave of solidarity in the economy and in the German population is great and important,” says the founder and head of the e-commerce company Berlin Brands Group (BBG). “Local people feel that the world is by their side.”
The entrepreneur was born in Ukraine himself and came to Germany with his parents at the age of four. Many of his employees also have family and friends in the country where Putin’s war is raging.
It quickly became clear to the 35-year-old that he had to help. For example, BBG is helping a group of freelancers flee embattled Odessa. Employees in the branch office in Slovakia look after people who are fleeing Ukraine at the border. The online retailer has also set up a hub for aid transport in Berlin.
The fate of people in Ukraine touches many entrepreneurs. According to the refugee agency UNHCR, more than a million people have already fled the war zones, most of whom initially found shelter in neighboring countries such as Poland.
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The Munich agar and building materials dealer Baywa sent the first semitrailer there on Thursday, loaded with drinking water, hygiene articles and baby food for the people in a reception center on the border with Ukraine. In cooperation with the Johanniter, up to 20 more trucks are to follow in the next few days.
Logisticians organize storage and transport capacities
The idea came from a private initiative in the neighborhood, and now everyone in the group with 21,000 employees worldwide is getting involved. Purchasing calls the suppliers, the logisticians organize storage and transport capacities – and the Baywa Foundation promises to double every donation received from employees. The aim is that “the help will reach the people affected quickly and directly,” says Baywa boss Klaus Josef Lutz.
Sent a first articulated lorry with relief supplies on its way to Poland.
(Photo: BayWa AG)
A week after the fighting began in Ukraine, numerous companies and workers are helping to organize the necessities for the refugees – clothing, a roof over their heads, food. Sometimes it’s just about connecting with the people back home. For example, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone currently do not charge for calls and text messages to Ukraine.
“I find it remarkable the solidarity and sympathy not only shown by the citizens of Germany, but also by many German companies,” Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) told the Handelsblatt.
The most urgent thing is that people who have fled arrive safely in Germany and are well received and housed. But it is also important that people quickly get a perspective. The federal government is working with its European partners to create the legal prerequisites for quick and unbureaucratic admission of the refugees. “Then companies have completely different ways to help.”
“I find it remarkable the solidarity and sympathy not only shown by citizens in Germany, but also by many German companies.”
(Photo: imago images/photothek)
On Thursday, the EU interior ministers agreed to activate the so-called “mass influx” directive for the first time. The aim is to grant refugees temporary residence status, social security and access to the labor market without going through a lengthy asylum procedure.
>> Read here: Like the EU states Hwant to organize help for refugees from Ukraine
Once that is done, Habeck said that successful initiatives such as “Companies integrate refugees” could be followed. So far, almost 3,000 companies have been involved in the integration of people who had fled the wars in Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq in the network, which is based at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. “This is lived responsibility that we can be proud of,” says Habeck.
Even now, the DIHK supports companies that want to help, for example with an overview of the most urgently needed relief supplies. Numerous companies are already involved. The retailers Rossmann and Rewe donate water and food and in some cases even organize deliveries to Ukraine themselves. According to Rossmann, one transport had to deviate from the originally planned route due to hostilities and finally received an escort.
The Schwarz Group, with its Lidl and Kaufland trading divisions, has pledged a donation of ten million euros to care for refugees in areas close to the border. The car company VW and the energy supplier RWE have each donated one million euros for the same purpose, Vodafone 500,000 euros.
First of all, supplies with the essentials: Bavarian bus companies stow away aid supplies for refugees.
(Photo: State Association of Bavarian Bus Companies eV)
Some companies get involved in a very practical way: bus companies that transport donated relief supplies to the east take refugees with them on the way back. Within one day, around 50 bus companies from Bavaria responded to a corresponding call from the Bavarian bus company association, who set off for Poland with over 100 vehicles at short notice. Deutsche Bahn or Flixbus take refugees with them free of charge.
Free accommodation
The economy also helps when looking for a place to stay. The US company Airbnb wants to provide up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine free accommodation in Poland, Germany, Hungary or Romania. The offer is to be financed by the company, its own refugee fund and the hosts.
Deutsche Messe AG in Hanover is preparing a trade fair hall as makeshift accommodation, and the clinic operator Asklepios is accommodating refugees in the group’s vacant properties.
The group account provider Elinor, the non-profit GLS Bank, the search engine Ecosia and the donation platform Betterplace have jointly created an online platform on which people who can give a room to refugees for at least two weeks can register.
In the meantime, almost 50,000 supporters have found themselves offering more than 120,000 beds. Company employees are now taking care of bringing the refugees together with the hosts.
At the retailer Rewe, groceries are packed for transport.
(Photo: Rewe)
In the long term, it will also be about integrating refugees into the labor market if they are unable to return to Ukraine quickly. The Federal Employment Agency (BA) is already reporting many inquiries. BA boss Detlef Scheele emphasizes that the first priority is humanitarian aid, especially for women and children.
Nevertheless, companies are very willing to offer refugees a job or to help with placement. “It is also a question of human dignity that the refugees get a job here as quickly as possible,” says entrepreneur Marcus Diekmann.
Together with the digital companies Business-on.de, Minubo, Vow to the New and Shopware, he quickly set up a job placement portal at jobaidukraine.com. The “Handler help traders” initiative, in which 4,700 companies are organized, also helps with job acquisition.
“The next topic is the language,” says DIHK President Peter Adrian. “Here we need unbureaucratic language offers on site and also in digital formats.”
More: Economy helps – Interview with DIHK President Peter Adrian