Blaze destroys refugee reception centre in Slovakia, no casualties
Blaze destroys refugee reception centre in Slovakia, no casualties
GENEVA, September 12 (UNHCR) - Refugee children playing with a lighter are believed to have started a fire that destroyed a refugee reception centre in Slovakia. All 41 asylum seekers escaped the blaze, which erupted on Monday at a centre in Brezova pod Bradlom, 100 kms north of Bratislava.
"Some of those housed in the centre managed to take a few personal belongings, but most had to leave with only the clothes on their backs," UNHCR chief spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday. "The asylum seekers were taken to Gabcikovo, another accommodation centre east of Bratislava."
Investigators are examining the cause of the fire and interviewing eyewitnesses, but Redmond said refugee children playing with a lighter apparently started the blaze, which broke out at around 10:30 a.m. and spread rapidly in the wooden building. An administrative wing was partly saved.
The fire was detected quickly, giving the refugees - including 17 children - time to get out safely. UNHCR staff immediately visited the site to organise help for the refugees, who came from Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Moldova, Pakistan, Russia, Syria and Viet Nam.
On Tuesday, the Slovak Humanitarian Council distributed clothes, including underwear, hygiene items and shoes to the refugees, who were very concerned about the loss of money, mobile phones and documents such as birth certificates, identity papers and diplomas. UNHCR has compiled an inventory of the missing items and will present this to the government.
One woman who was preparing for voluntary repatriation said she would have to rethink her decision after losing all her money.
![Poland. Refugees from Ukraine at the Kapelanka hostel](/us/sites/en-us/files/RF1261127_0_3.jpg "Tetiana (50) with her daughter Masha (12) from Ukraine. They live in Interhouse hotel which is a shelter for refugees.Tetiana fled her home in Dnipro, Ukraine in March 2022 with her daughter Masha. They lived next to a military unit that was under attack all the time. Tetiana was terrified when Masha shouted, "Mom, they're shooting." Masha has Downs syndrome and epilepsy. She had a panic attack.In Poland, they first lived near the border somewhere in a school turned into a shelter. Now they live in a hotel. Tetiana receives 500 zloty a month from the Polish state for Masha and a child's pension from Ukraine, which is why she is able to meet her basic needs on her own. "I miss home. I have a vegetable garden there. I dream of going back there one day," she says. But she adds that he is learning Polish just in case. In Ukraine, Tetiana was a dance instructor, and she would like to continue her job in Poland.Tetiana is now worrying about her parents who are on her way from Donetsk to Krakow.")
