The People Who Walk Army Gear Into Ukraine, One Bag At A Time

[LiberalArkie]

http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/the-ants-of-medyka/



It begins with a note on Facebook: the next batch of helmets for the Ukrainian soldiers has arrived at the border with Poland. They need to be carried across into Ukraine, one by one. “It looks like the operation will last three days. We won’t be able to get them across in one night.”

This is the pedestrian border crossing at Medyka, on Poland’s eastern border. The long walkway through Polish and then Ukrainian passport control stretches ahead between high fences, exposed to sun, rain and snow. Here and there delicate flowers grow on the metal fencing. On the other side of the fence, the queue of cars stretches back into infinity. Crossing by foot is the quickest (and cheapest) route between Ukraine and Poland. I’ve crossed this border in every season, carrying five pounds of apples from a friend’s garden in summer, or queuing for hours on the treacherous ice, hurrying to catch a train home for Christmas.

Over the past six months, Ukraine has experienced a revolution, the loss of Crimea and now an armed conflict against Russia-backed rebels that is tearing the country’s east to pieces. And business at the border has become part of the war effort. Yes, during the day trade continues as before: On the Polish side, locals stand around selling the same cheap vodka from Ukraine, the same cheap cigarettes. Others head in the other direction, laden with heavy bags of groceries and other household goods, which are overpriced or unavailable in Ukraine, to sell on in their hometowns. It’s their job.


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