22-year-old Yuliia Sholtoian fled from Ukraine to Scotland after shelling started after the country was invaded by Russia back in February. She left behind a normal life. She talks to Nick Eddinton, a young Ukrainian journalist who has also become a refugee in Scotland, about her journey and her future.

Yuliia Sholtoian, a Ukrainian refugee in Scotland: “Edinburgh is a multi-ethnic city. I love that no one here cares that you’re different”

The street paper zebra. is located in South Tyrol, a region in northern Italy close to the border with Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The project is uniquely placed, not only because it is published in two languages – German and Italian – but also because its cohort of vendors is made up people from ten different countries and four continents, many of whom have ended up in the region having fled from a situation of poverty, war or persecution. Ahead of World Refugee Day on 20 June, zebra.’s social work team – Alessio Giordano, Patrizia Insam, Francesca Parisi and Niklas Klinge – explain how the organisation has found itself in the centre of the refugee crisis and how the street paper’s assistance can be life changing for the people who pass through it.

Northern Italian street paper zebra. on the journey and bureaucracy faced by refugees, and how street papers can help them through it

As Russia invades Ukraine, it’s anticipated that more than a million people may flee the country to seek refuge in neighbouring nations like Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Street papers in those places respond to the ongoing conflict, standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people’s right to democracy and in support of all those who may flee.

Tagged with 'refugees'

Yuliia Sholtoian, a Ukrainian refugee in Scotland: “Edinburgh is a multi-ethnic city. I love that no one here cares that you’re different”

Northern Italian street paper zebra. on the journey and bureaucracy faced by refugees, and how street papers can help them through it

Street Papers respond to the conflict in Ukraine