There are few days in a year that we look forward to as much as we do for our birthdays. A truly special occasion to invite friends and family over; cake, candles, champagne and celebration are a few elements of the day. If you’re anything like me, you skip straight to number 3 of the convenient c-letter list.
However, your birthday day might become just another day, lacking glitz and glamor, when you’ve just left home in order to escape a war. Arina and her family had fled to Romania, and just as luck would have it, the little girl was turning 7. Yet, despite the circumstances, the volunteers of the refugee camp were not going to let this day go to waste! They threw the 7-year-old a party, so let’s get into the details.
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Romanian refugee camp volunteers threw a surprise birthday party for Arina, a 7-year-old Ukrainian girl
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
A now-viral video showed a Romanian refugee camp throwing a surprise birthday celebration for a 7-year-old Ukrainian girl named Arina.
Despite the cold snowy evening, the smile of an overjoyed Arina warms everyone’s hearts. She is shown emerging from a blue tent to a chorus of volunteers and officials holding pink balloons and singing "Happy Birthday" whilst one comes over to place a bright pink birthday hat on the girl's head.
Having learnt of the special occasion, the volunteers and even local authorities bought some balloons, party hats, cake and gifts for the little girl
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
Hugs and love were shared all around, the song "Happy Birthday" elevating the spirits of the cool night
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The girl received a hug and was lifted into the arms of an officer. The pair then observed a small cake with a bright candle being brought towards them. She blew the candle out without hesitation and the observers cheered, a woman calling out “молодец!”, meaning “bravo, girl!”
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
Arina is presented a cake with a "7"-shaped candle and blows it out like a champ
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The video was shared on the Facebook page of ISU Suceava, a local emergency situations service, which, at the point of writing, has received more than 22K views and over 500 likes.
Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs shared the video to their Twitter account, saying: "Happy birthday, Arina! We want this nightmare you live to end as soon as possible, and to celebrate your next birthday at home.”
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
A police officer adjusts the girl's party hat and before long she receives more gifts
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
Arina received a pizza as a gift and an officer came forth to try his best to gently adjust the pink birthday cap on the girl’s head. Truly a fatherly gesture, the large hands carefully embracing the girl’s small head. She received a stuffed animal and whilst the volunteers proceed to sing to Arina, the smile on the girl’s face grew and the awe in her eyes continued to shine; the moment is one of true magic.
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The joy in the girl's eyes cannot be mistaken, and it's all thanks to a psychologist who overheard her mother talking about the occasion
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The caption of the video stated that the surprise celebration happened after a psychologist working at the camp learned from Arina's mother that it was the girl's seventh birthday.
Codruța, the psychologist, posted the information on the volunteers’ social group and his colleagues set up the surprise. It continues to say that “Everyone in the camp mobilized, including the local authorities, and together they organized a special moment for the little girl. They took a cake, brought balloons and helmets, including presents.”
The moment touched many hearts that day and we hope that the happy memory will prevail in this complicated time
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The moment touched not only Arina, but also her mother. The caption shared that she was overcome with emotion, tears running freely after seeing everyone celebrate her daughter. Multiple volunteers gave her hugs whilst the little girl thanked everyone: "Дякую! Дякую!" (Thank you, thank you!).
"At least for a few moments, Arina was happy to be the center of attention," the caption stated and continued with hopes that “among her memories of this complicated period, this moment will prevail, when she was with a smile on her face, and we, in our souls.”
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
Psychologists are crucial to refugees, who have faced stress, fear, and continuous uncertainty
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
The importance of psychologists in these circumstances cannot be understated. According to Unite for Sight, refugees are exposed to multitudes of major psychological stressors, from the journey to the camps, to the adjustment to new surroundings and accommodation. They continue to say that because refugees have witnessed and experienced many traumatic events and chronic adversities, they have a high risk of developing mental health problems and psychological disorders, particularly depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Having to live through traumatic experiences can clearly make children and adults hyper-aware of their surroundings, which can negatively impact their ability to function both on a basic and higher level, thus, having psychologists there to aid people throughout these experiences and bring forth some form of normality and positive association might be key.
As the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, we must stay strong and facilitate feelings of "hope, love and peace!"
Image credits: ISU „Bucovina" Suceava
According to UNHCR, more than 3 million people are estimated to have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion on February 24. Refugees primarily include women and children, as Ukraine's President Zelenskyy imposed martial law, which requires men between the ages 18 and 60 to stay back and help fight the war. With the situation continuing to escalate, it is not difficult to believe these numbers will continue to rise.
Posted by ISU Suceava, the photo's caption sends us all a message: "From our border points, through our colleagues from the fire brigade, the police, the gendarmerie, the border police, immigration, we send you one thought: have a spring with hope, love and peace! We remain on duty, no matter the weather!"
Happy Birthday to Arina and we can only hope she and millions of others will be able to return home soon
As much as these stories warm our hearts, we must remember the circumstances. What we can do is help Ukraine with resources listed here and rejoice in the inspiring, touching, and, most importantly, human acts of kindness.
If you’d like to see more small yet powerful acts of resistance by Ukrainians and folks around the world against the war in Ukraine, check out the article here.
We continue to hope for this war to end without many more lives needing to be upheaved and ruined, so that Arina, other children and their families can return home.
Let us know what you thought of this story! And as always, have a good one and stay safe.
People have been touched by this story, sending love and good wishes to her and rejoicing in the kindness of others
