GUISSONA, Spain (AP) – As Ukrainian refugees fleeing bombs and bullets at home fan out across Western Europe, few places they arrive feel as welcoming as a Spanish town known for years as “Little Ukraine.”
Even before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine last month, one in seven residents of Guissona was originally from there. Guissona’s population more than doubled to around 7,500 residents, and drew in a lot of immigrant labor, including the Ukrainians, after a regional supermarket chain opened a distribution center nearby two decades ago.
More than 3.5 million people have already fled Russia’s war in Ukraine. The refugees are finding safe havens in small communities on the continent where family and friends who went to find work have put down roots.
In Guissona, refugees aren’t just staying with their relatives. Familiarity with the Ukrainian community bred local sympathy for the refugees’ plight, and Spaniards are making room for them too.
Miquel Julia, a local businessman, had an empty apartment for sale in the town. He says he’s made many Ukrainian friends in recent years, and when a local cousin of a Ukrainian refugee family asked him for help, he handed them the apartment until it’s safe for them to go back home.