Andrew Kimmel

I am in Moldova and will use this thread to share stories, videos, and photos while on the ground here.

DAY 1: Started the day linking up with @UnitedHatzalah, an Israeli-based group of doctors/volunteers. Over 50 people from the org are now on the ground and are running a massive operation shuttling refugees from the border to their makeshift base… a temple in #Chisinău. https://t.co/VAMnAhEkVt

Rabbi Saltzman of Chișinău has opened the doors to his temple to provide shelter, medical attention, & food to refugees as well as space for @UnitedHatzalah (give them a follow) to work on logistics + operations. He is now sleeping in his car after giving his own bed to refugees. https://t.co/EGPvBWRnhs

Busses of refugees arrive to the synagogue and are checked in. It is all elderly and women with children and some pets. The journey here has taken some 3-4 days and this is still just another stop of many. One woman waved & laughed as she walked by and gave me a hug. #Moldova https://t.co/HjyorPe0ZX

Rabbi Saltzman shares that ~50 Jewish refugees brought their torah scrolls to his synagogue for safekeeping as they continued on with their journey. United Hatzalah volunteer Yael translates. Note that families (women/children) are currently living in the chapel of the synagogue. https://t.co/zzH1kbA6j8

A Ukrainian woman from Kyiv named Avigayil has taken shelter in the synagogue's chapel with her three boys... a six-month-old, a three-year-old, and a five-year-old. #Moldova https://t.co/g205DeJ0d3

A number of dogs and cats made the journey across the border. A grandmother calmed her grandson by pointing out the different animals to him. #Moldova #russianinvasion https://t.co/ymnzkkXJt9

Still many videos and photos to go through... but I must wake at 6am and need sleep. Tomorrow I'll be picking up an elderly couple from the border and transporting them to the field hospital outside of the synagogue and then following a group of Israeli clowns to a refugee camp.

Here is one of the clowns I met tonight teaching a trick to a young Ukrainian boy. #Moldova https://t.co/CthrUbh3TP

DAY 2: Starting the morning picking up two elderly refugees near the border to bring to the city. #Moldova https://t.co/5VnZzsOZyV

The couple, Anna/Jacob are from Kyiv. They fled on a bus that brought them far away to the southern border of Moldova. They hadn’t been offered food/water for two days. Jacob has cancer & struggles to walk. Taking them to the airport. @UnitedHatzala chartered a flight to Israel. https://t.co/I817YisNDi

Anna and Jacob have been dropped off at the airport and are now on their way to Israel. https://t.co/zAzpt4bXTq

After dropping off Anna and Jacob, I picked up three clowns named “Slinky”, “Buzz”, and “Shemesh” who are part of an organization called the Dream Doctors Project. We headed to a temporary refugee camp set up at the expo center. https://t.co/SOKu4Nm1mh

Here is a snippet of an interview I did with Ariel (Slinky), Ilia (Buzz), and Smadar (Shemesh) to discuss their role in such a crisis. https://t.co/gPDYGO1pUk

Closing the evening off with some feel-good highlights from today’s clown show for the kids. Have a great night everyone. https://t.co/jwXdUOFAUS

DAY 3: Good morning from Chișinău. Today I’m driving clowns from the Dream Doctors Project to the Ukrainian border where we’ll be distributing toys. Made a stop at the toy store this morning and the trunk is FULL. https://t.co/X8hxE24jCH

Fri Mar 11 09:04:35 +0000 2022