Photo credit: Alexandre Debiève
Date: May, 2023
Mihai Lupu is the Advisory to the Secretary of State, Raed Arafat, who is the chairman of the Department of Emergency Situations (DSU) and the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His role is instrumental in coordinating the DSU response to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis.
Please tell us about your role(s) during the humanitarian crisis.
The DSU is an umbrella organisation that responds to every emergency that may occur at the level of the state in coordination with the affiliated partners. Several institutions are part of the integrated response/ reaction, like the General Inspectorate of Aviation, the Emergency Reception Units (UPU), SMURD, the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), etc. As an Advisory to the Secretary of State, my area of expertise is in relation to the private sector, non-governmental institutions, and civil society. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I have been the contact person that creates the lines of communication between civil society, NGOs, and the DSU. We started with a Whatsapp group, which has gathered more than 200 members in the first week, as a temporary measure for various organisations to communicate and find solutions. Meanwhile, we looked for alternatives, and contacted the Employers’ Association of the Software and Services Industry (ANIS). We moved our platform to Microsoft Teams. Receiving 1000 licences from Microsoft, we expanded the group and detailed our work. The aim was to systemize all coordination efforts into an interdisciplinary inter-sector platform structured on different areas of crisis response. We, therefore, replaced the old WhatsApp group with a platform where people could easily find the requested information. Within the platform, there are sections related to border patrols, medical services and first aid, legal and psychological assistance, integration at the level of society, and logistics, all offered to the refugees. Also, there is an infographic detailing the first response process in case of an emergency like the current humanitarian crisis.
Did the use of technology make any difference?
We have established relations with different NGOs and academic structures. I will share a link where you can find more details about the role of technology. Mainly, the role of the DSU is to inform and protect the population, as we are in constant talk with many organisations. Apart from communicating with them, there are general meetings and common exercises to prepare a better response in case of an intervention. It is all about following the standard protocol and organising better. Regarding the digital ecosystem for Ukraine, there are shared practices with 20 organisations, as we want to keep them close and form protocols. Many have been invited to participate in the series of exercises in Targu Mures in May. We are undertaking these actions to calibrate our response.
Is there any need for better communication?
There is always a need for better communication between organisations. We should do this by engaging in similar projects and learning from each other. It is only natural to take part in concrete actions. For example, if an area from Greece is covered in fire, then through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Romania can send its help. In that case, you have to react instantly and use the knowledge of our experts from institutions and NGOs. Another example would be the recent events in Turkey with the earthquakes, as many organisations contacted us via the platform for Ukraine. As these associations did not have any background, we could not provide them with any recommendations. I know it was all the emotional hype back then, but we did not know with whom we were dealing. Besides the communication at the level of our institution, we have to inform our citizens and keep them updated. We launched an app for DSU and a new website called fiipregatit.ro, where people can find all sorts of useful information. We collaborated with CivicNet to create this online platform and continue to work on it. Also, starting from the end of March, the qualified personnel of Fiipregatit and SMURD launched two fully equipped vans where people could learn and simulate different emergent activities. We were able to reach many communities and want to extend the number of vans to four.
Can you tell us a meaningful moment from your experience with addressing the humanitarian crisis?
An important moment was starting to calibrate our response with the other organisations. It took a while to organise ourselves, but we understood the situation. As we were alone and needed to cooperate. The whole process taught us how to act efficiently. This is what I would call a meaningful moment.
Can you tell us a difficult moment?
A difficult moment is happening now. The transition from the 50/20 program was not easy at first. It was introduced as a measure to encourage the Romanian people to accommodate the Ukrainian refugees and to distribute them more easily. Yet, there are no conditions stipulated in the program to start the process of integration for these persons. Right now, they are changing the system, but there will still be a lot of pressure on the reception centres. Many people will potentially get evacuated from their current accommodation.
Last year was a difficult one for us. We always had to react quickly and adapt to each new challenge.
Region: Central and Eastern Europe
Country/(ies): Ukraine, Romania
