‘This Isn’t Supposed to Happen in the 21st Century’: Ukrainian Refugees Speak to Norah O’Donnell About the Dangers They Face

CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell reported from the Ukraine-Poland border for a special which aired on Friday night. O’Donnell spoke to Ukrainian refugees who fled their war-torn country and now face both an uncertain and still dangerous future.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in more than three million Ukrainians fleeing the country, some 2 million have made their way to Poland. The Ukrainian refugees in the country are now equal to Warsaw, Poland’s capital and largest city.

O’Donnell spoke with children, mothers, and fathers about their experiences and what they plan to go next. O’Donnell recounted the trauma and shock she saw among the refugees, “As one woman said to me, this is not supposed to happen in the 21st century… A war like this.”

“Are you scared?” She asked a young boy.

“I’m so scared,” he responded. “Where will you go next?” she asked him. “We try to immigrate to Canada or USA,” the boy replied.

“Canada or USA?” O’Donnell added. “My father has a sister in USA,” he responded.

O’Donnell spoke to two women who traveled from Kharkiv to Poland by train with three children, but no food.

She asked them where they will go, they responded via translator, “They are not familiar with Poland so will pick a small town where they can rest and figure things out.”

O’Donnell then spoke with a UN official named Mohamed Refaat about the dangers these refugees, mostly women, and children, are facing.

“We are preventing any random cars to come and pick people,” Refaat said.

“How dangerous does it get at night?” O’Donnell asked.

“In this site not very dangerous now because we have a light system all around …. built by the municipality and also, we have police now working 24 hours. As you can see there is no, still, an identification system so anyone can enter the site,” Refaat responded.

“And it’s sex trafficking?” O’Donnell asked, trying to understand the dangers these refugees are facing.

“It’s hard to decide now. It’s definitely not labor trafficking,” Refaat responded. “It’s very obvious from the attempt, it’s old guys trying to pick young girls, so you can assume it’s…”

“Old guys trying to get young girls,” O’Donnell pushed, “Have there been arrests for human trafficking?”

“Yes,” Refaat replied.

Watch the full special above, via CBS News.