Call for longer-term accommodation for refugees in the Axarquía

The bus that set off from Nerja for the Ukraine-Polish border on Sunday 13 March returned last Friday (18 March) with 57 refugees, who spent the weekend at the Las Piedras and Casa Arts hotels in the village of Axarquía village of Alcaucín.

They have all now gone to longer-term accommodation in the Nerja and Frigiliana area, with some also in Periana. Gareth Arnold, who has been working closely with his Ukrainian friend and long-term Nerja resident, Viktor Zolotukhin, to get the refugees to Spain, said, “They received amazing care from the local community. The emotions witnessed included pure exhaustion, relief, happiness and above all amazing gratitude.”

Adrian Stone, owner of Las Piedras hotel, said that Alcaucín town hall has been "very supportive" and as the arrival of the refugees coincided with the village's feria (fair), they organised a huge paella to welcome them.

Gareth went on to explain that the accommodation currently offered ranges from two weeks to three months. However, the team are still looking for longer-term offers of accommodation in the Axarquía area. They are still continuing to ask for financial support to help the families with day to day needs and to provide financial assistance through sponsorship to the host families who are now facing additional costs.

The team, led by Viktor who is originally from Ukraine, are in the process of setting up a registered charity to support the refugees that have come to the area and indeed continue to help those in Ukraine. Gareth explained that everything has moved “so quickly” that the official charity has not been fully established and as such do not yet have access to official funds.

For further information and offers of accommodation in the Axarquía area and to help to sponsor a family, email Gareth on: help.ukraine.nerja@gmail.com