The images of the Ukraine war in the news are particularly burdensome for older generations. Those who have experienced a war before. The Berliner Zeitung spoke to Thomas de Vachroi, the head of Haus Britz in Berlin-Neukölln, a facility for barrier-free living where many seniors live. He tells of the worries and needs of the residents in these tense and uncertain times.
“The most important thing now is to be there for these people and to listen to them,” says de Vachroi. Many had traumatic experiences during the Second World War, which are now coming up again and triggering a fear of life in them. “They ask, for example, whether we have a siren on the roof and what they should do if a bomb hits the building and whether the underground car park is safe enough to hide from the attacks there.” Especially the topic of “accommodation “ (Accommodation of soldiers in private quarters, editor’s note) employs the residents who grew up as children during wartime. “They want to know if they will soon have to accommodate someone in their rooms.”
Others, on the other hand, are concerned about starvation and a threat to drinking water and energy supplies. They start hoarding canned goods and drinking water bottles or consider buying emergency power generators for cooking, reports the head of the facility. The seniors who have children and grandchildren were primarily concerned about their future. “They care less about their own existence and more about that of their family members. How will they be able to go on living in the future when war breaks out?” They are less afraid of death than of the way in which they could die and are afraid of having to suffer for a long time.
They want to know how they can help
But the older people don’t just focus on themselves and their own needs, they also often ask whether they can help the Ukrainian refugees, says de Vachroi. “They want to give them some of their savings and small pensions, some of which are very small, and they show a lot of solidarity.” The fate of the women who come to Berlin alone with their children because their husbands have to fight at the front is very important to them Heart. It apparently reminds her of her own struggle for survival at the time. “An elderly lady told me how happy they were that the farmer gave them access to his field so that they could harvest potatoes and cabbages there. She believes that without his help they would have starved to death.” Another resident remembered how she used to collect beechnuts with her parents in the forest and later ground them at home so that the family would have something to eat.
Putin’s actions are very difficult for the seniors of the Britz family. “They wonder why one person can bring misery to so many other innocent people,” says de Vachroi. The residents are all very well informed because they watch the news every day and they deal intensively with political events in the world. Some also sit too much in front of the television or computer. He advises them to watch an exciting DVD or video or read a novel. Solving crossword puzzles is also a great distraction, as the employee at the Simeon Diakoniewerk, which runs the facility on Buschkrugallee, knows.
Many are now also experiencing crises of faith and are asking themselves, “Where is God, why does he even allow a war like the one in Ukraine?” To be the point of contact for their fears. The Protestant telephone counseling service has also reacted to the current situation and is offering support under the offer “The war is worrying you, talk about it” on 0800-111 0 111 and 0800-111 0 222. But some older war-disabled people need more attention. Therefore, de Vachroi thinks it would be helpful to set up a voluntary visiting service for Berlin seniors, who now regularly comes to the care facilities and takes care of the residents. He says: “We must not leave these people alone now.”