Paloma Faith says ‘we are all connected’ after meeting Ukrainian refugees

The singer travelled to Warsaw to meet refugees a year on from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Paloma Faith has said “we are all connected” after witnessing a “human chain of kindness” during a visit to meet Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

The 41-year-old singer visited projects supporting Ukrainian refugees and funded by donations from the British public through the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

To mark one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Faith travelled to the Polish capital Warsaw to see how donations to the DEC Ukraine appeal have been put to use.

Of the experience, Faith said: “Visiting these projects, I was really touched by how such a heart-breaking humanitarian situation has activated a human chain of kindness across borders.

“From the British public donating to the appeal, to local people in Poland using those funds to support refugees, to Ukrainian refugees volunteering to help fellow refugees, to children helping their mothers cope in the absence of fathers and extended families.

“I only hope this level of kindness will continue and be extended to other refugees facing the same issues across the globe, be it conflict or environmental disasters.

“After all, we are all connected.”

Faith performed during the Concert for Ukraine in Birmingham last year alongside the likes of Ed Sheeran and Camila Cabello.

The event, which was also broadcast on ITV, ultimately raised more than £13.4 million for the humanitarian effort in the war-torn nation.

During a three-day visit to Warsaw in February, Faith visited a number of different DEC-funded projects, including a refugee centre supporting mothers who had been forced to flee Ukraine with their children, and a Ukrainian school set up for refugee children where they are able to learn in their native language.

Reflecting on meeting women who had been forced to flee Ukraine – some with young children and others who were pregnant – Faith said: “It was so moving speaking to young mothers who have fled Ukraine.

“They had all made the difficult journey to Poland alone with their children, some of them crossing the border while they were pregnant.

“I met one woman, Emma, with a tiny baby and two other children and I could remember that feeling of trying to cope, trying to juggle everything.

“As a mother, all you want is for your children to be okay, to be happy and safe above all else – and you feel the pressure to make the best choices for them.

“Those women have had to make choices that no-one should ever have to.”

Faith is among a number of high-profile individuals to have travelled to Ukraine and Poland to meet with Ukrainian refugees since the outbreak of the conflict in February last year.

In June 2022, American actor and producer Ben Stiller visited Ukraine, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian citizens as part of his role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Oscar-winning American actor Sean Penn also spent time with Ukrainian people and President Zelensky during a trip to Ukraine to create a documentary about the ongoing Russian invasion.

Faith added: “Many families came to Poland expecting to be here only for a short period, but one year on from the start of the conflict, people are struggling with the reality of living in limbo for such a long time.”