Guatemala opens doors to Ukrainian refugees and awaits 10 children

Guatemala is open to receiving refugees from Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of that country, President Alejandro Giammattei reported this Sunday, March 6, who announced that he hopes to start with the arrival of 10 children in the coming days.

“Ukrainian families who wish to seek protection in another country to escape the conflict will have a guaranteed refuge in Guatemala,” Giammattei said during a televised message to the nation, in which he referred to the diplomatic efforts made by the Foreign Ministry so that the conflict is resolved through dialogue.

“The most serious thing is that the conflict puts the world in danger of a world war,” said the president. In his message, he also spoke of the economic impact that the war between Russia and Ukraine will have on the country, especially in terms of rising fuel prices.

The president pointed out that “the measures have been turned around” by the Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) to provide assistance, and that it has already accepted “the request to receive the first 10 Ukrainian children” this week.

An IGM official told AFP that there are 10 minors, “who come in the company of mothers and in some cases grandmothers,” who “mostly” seek to reunite with Ukrainian relatives residing in Guatemala.

“I wish to express my solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their brave president Volodymyr Zelenskyy since this act of war (by Russia) threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens and from the first moment has pushed them to the exodus in search of shelter,” added Giammattei.

According to the United Nations, as of Sunday, there were more than 1.5 million refugees who fled the war in Ukraine to neighbouring countries since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, mainly Poland.