The hopes of thousands of Ukrainian refugees are linked to getting a PESEL national identification number, which grants access to basic services like education, work, and healthcare assistance.

For this reason, the national stadium in Warsaw has been flooded with those fleeing the war in the neighboring country and seeking one of these numbers, with which they can begin to live a new life.

At gate number 11 of the sports facility -- a symbol of friendship between Poland and Ukraine, where their European 2012 championships were held -- refugees arrive in the early morning hours.

Women and children crowd the immense square in front of the entrance gates with volunteers wearing yellow tunics welcoming them and helped by workers in blue from the Stadion Narodowy.

Hopes linked to ID number

As the hours pass, the line becomes longer with grandmothers that walk a bit away with strollers to try to calm infants and the youngest children.They come from every part of Ukraine: Kiev, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Lviv.

They have stories to tell of their homes destroyed by bombs, of explosions, and of unending journeys to get to the border alone -- without the husbands and fathers who stayed in Ukraine to defend the country.

"What interests me most now," said a woman who had arrived over a week ago from Kiev, "is finding work. This is essential for me."

"At the moment we do not know anymore what to think," a girl said, "we hope that the rest of the world will intervene on the side of Ukraine. My husband stayed in Ukraine to do his best to defend our country from the invader."

In the first three days since the office opened at the Warsaw stadium, over 3,000 refugees asked for and received a PESEL number.

Following the Russian invasion, the government decided to grant the possibility to all Ukrainians arriving to get the number, which can also be requested in other offices across the country.

Volunteers provide information

At the stadium, however, there are almost 200 posts specifically for working through the procedural aspects. On the small tables, next to forms in Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian, are Ukrainian blue passports. Many women hold tightly onto professional and educational certificates.

Children run about in an area specifically for them, with markers and stuffed animals, with the youngest instead playing hide and seek in the photo machines.

The only males in line are those under age 18, who have their heads bent over their phones, talking to friends or playing videogames.

Similar scenes are seen in Vistola, in front of the Ukrainian consulate in Poland, but here the area for children is a park for playing in while outside the diplomatic offices -- guarded by the police -- are Lions Club volunteers that have set up a gazebo to provide information and free photocopies for the refugees.

A girl from Odessa asked for a few copies of the application form for PESEL, thanks those working and grabs one of the maps of the city made available by the volunteers.

"Tomorrow we will return with all the family to the stadium. Today the line was too long," she said before leaving.

Author: Domenico Palesse