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May 2 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I have not had any time to watch #zib2 but my only comment to the entire official response from all official organizations to the Ukraine refugee crisis in Austria is one simple notion: the more Ukrainians you talk to, the more you will know the real story.
How many Ukrainians do you know who can afford their rent (€300/pm per contract will not be paid until June due to some technicality), food, daily needs on €215/pm per adult and €100/pm per kid when access to the labor market requires an extra step — employer must request?!
I am writing this from the @HOFER_Austria check out line waiting to buy more gift cards. “Thank you so much! There were also potatoes, carrots, onions, bananas not in the photo!”
41 grocery gift cards of €50 each going out this morning: 9 sent last night, another 15 bought and posted this morning, plus 2 + 10 posted directly by donors. 2 in person NÖ deliveries yesterday, I meet 3 Ukrainians living in hotels at the train station later today. DANKE ❤️

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More from @tanjamaier17

Tanja Maier Profile picture
May 3
Just finished at Wien HBF. I bought pensioner Yura a ticket back to Kyiv. He wants to go to Kharkiv. No talking him out of it. Says just to see his doctor…after May 9 he says, winking, hinting Putin might do something stupid before then.
Many messages of thanks and even more requests for Hofer cards. My inbox is exploding.

“It’s me Natalia from Odesa, do you remember me? You bought my son shoes.”

Ahh. How can I help?

A job? Money? Our next payment June 28 we have only €250 left & my daughter broke her arm. ImageImageImage
Today was all Odesa. A husband and wife and five kids trying to get to Italy. Night train. Mom says she hasn’t slept all night. Told her where the lounge is maybe she can lie down a bit. The other volunteer today is herself from Mykolaiv. Comes in to help her countrymen. Amazing.
Read 9 tweets
Tanja Maier Profile picture
May 2
Many Ukrainian women are writing me to thank us all for the Hofer gift cards, saying they will go shopping on Friday. Turns out there are "special prices" for many products incl. meat on Fridays. I've been here 9 years did not know that. They figured it out in less than 9 weeks.
“dear Tanja, thank you so much for the help, we received the card. We really needed the help as we have to stretch a whole month until the next payment. Thank you for your work, for helping Ukrainians. We will of course send a photo!” Image
Also you cannot judge a book by its cover. The woman who wrote that to me lives in 1190. Maybe someone let them stay somewhere for free for a few months. They still need to put food on the table. No work + €215/month = disaster at our current prices.
Read 7 tweets
Tanja Maier Profile picture
May 1
No Substack tonight, sorry. Had our neighbor from Dnipro over for dinner with her 3yo son. We had lasagna and cake. We talked about her job search and how kindergarten is going. Felt almost normal.

53 addressed envelopes waiting for supermarket gift cards. My inbox is on🔥.
I am having anxiety that I will soon have to tell some Ukrainians sorry, I couldn't raise any more funds, couldn't buy or receive any more supermarket gift cards. Others got to buy extra food and you didn't. Twitter has been so generous...but I know it won't last forever.
And I don't want to go into the charity "business". I want the state to recognize its official response is massively lacking and kids, pensioners, women are going hungry amongst us on €215/month per adult €100/month per kid. The Ukrainian women need legal jobs like yesterday.
Read 6 tweets
Tanja Maier Profile picture
May 1
Today I bought 20 McDonalds cards from an Afghan store manager who has been in Austria 20 years, speaks Russian (studied in Moscow), and asked me about the Ukrainians. “I have nothing against them, really, but we have had war for 32 years now.” That left me rather speechless.
Then helping at the train counter the staff were like “you’re in the paper” and I nodded and they were like “are you not happy?” and I said “I just want to raise awareness for donations…”. I don’t want to be doing this. I want the state to do its job. heute.at/s/mcdonalds-gu…
Most of my Ukrianian “customers” today were moving around, a lot back to Poland (seems to be some kind of 30 day cut off), they finally made a second line for Bratislava, and a few to Germany, Switzerland, one group even Paris.
Read 6 tweets
Tanja Maier Profile picture
May 1
“Thank you so much! My daughter and I did our first shop. Will it be possible to receive a card again?”

That’s when I have to explain we are nowhere near close to giving everyone who asked a first €50 card.

This is what a government policy & implementation failure looks like. Image
Tanja does not want to be in the supermarket gift card distribution business. Tanja wants the Austrian government to send a one time bridge payment to all Ukrainians in Austria who asked for social money right now, simply transfer to their Erste Bank accounts. You have the data.
This isn’t America. Austrians pay up to 50% tax on income. Should they really have to be feeding Ukrainians using income they already paid heavy taxes on? No. The state should be doing this using taxpayer money + immediate access to the labor market without any extra paperwork.
Read 4 tweets
Tanja Maier Profile picture
Apr 6
Met a Moscow friend for an hour in between flights. Everyone is in flux. They can't complain; they didn't flee war. But their cards don't work. Many don't know what to do. How/where to start over. We have real fascism now. The world will never forgive us, for generations.
A 32kg suitcase from Moscow to Istanbul to Belgrade to Croatia and now to France. Two cats from Moscow to Riga but only if their stool samples pass the test. How to sell your apartment if you can't take the money out of Russia? How to get a residence permit in Turkey, Serbia?
On the drive home, Austrian radio announced Ukraine warned residents of Luhansk, Donestk and Kharkiv oblasts to leave for their own safety. Where will they go? Europe is trying and so far mostly failing. But where are UK, Canada, US? Refugees don't have funds to wait for visas.
Read 5 tweets

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