Jorge Hinojosa
FIVE friends from Spain were so moved by the situation affecting those fleeing the Ukraine that they decided to do what they did best: make a paella.
The group set off from Alicante with three vans full of ingredients to make the famous Valenciano dish; rice, chicken and vegetables as well as the giant pans to cook them in and headed for Poland.
On Sunday, after a 5,000km drive, they arrived in Przemysl, a city near the border with Ukraine that has become flooded with refugees fleeing Russian forces.
Since then they have been cooking up a storm and serving plates of the hot rice dish to new arrivals.
David Juan Diaz, one of the organisers of ‘Paella por la paz’, said “What is happening on the border is devastating.”
In a post on Instagram the group said:
“Our long and tiring journey has brought us from Alicante to PRZEMYSL, the main city closest to Medyka, on the border with Ukraine.
“Hundreds of people fleeing the war arrive here daily.
“For now we have established our base camp here, and once we finish setting up our tents and kitchens, we will start the paellas.
“From what we are finding out, perhaps in the next few days we will have to move to another area of the border, the situation and the flow of people change by the hour.
“We will go where we are most useful.”
The group which translates as ‘Paella for peace’ aims to cook 12,000 servings before driving back to Spain and bringing any refugees who want to return with them.
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