Two men from Harrow are driving to the border of Ukraine, in Poland, to deliver much needed supplies and bring Ukrainian refugees to safety.
The two friends, Paolo Arrigo and Ali Fawzi, both from Harrow, have taken the mission upon themselves following the Russian invasion of the country.
Paolo Arrigo currently runs Franchi Seeds of Italy, based in Harrow, felt compelled to do something to help by taking aid to the refugees. They set off from Harrow at 8:30pm yesterday (1 March).
Ali Fawzi, a photographer from Harrow, said: “I believe my purpose in life is to serve humanity, my time at the cadets has definitely given me the skill set to do what we need to do and the maturity to go to the Ukraine border at 19 years old.”
He added: “One thing I learned from being part of motorbike community is that no rider gets left behind, and the same principle applies in my own conscience. These are families, people who lived very normal lives just like us before something out of their hands turned their lives upside down. We cannot allow ourselves as human race to stand by and watch this happen, we need to do what we can and we are doing exactly that.”
The pair have now completed their, 16-hour drive to Lublin, Poland near the Ukrainian border. They will be aiming to pick up refugees close to the border and potentially meet one of Paolo’s colleagues even closer tomorrow.
I'm leaving the safety of my home in Harrow, taking aid to Ukraine 🇺🇦 and bringing back desperate refugees. I'm very apprehensive but their need is bigger than mine. Wish us luck, we'll post on FB and twitter. It's going to be grim but I can no longer sit in Harrow and watch. X
— Seeds of Italy – Paolo #FBPE 3.5% (@FranchiSeedsUK) March 1, 2022
They hope to be able to drop off refugees in their seven seater car to countries like France, Germany and Belgium.
Paolo tweeted: “I’m leaving the safety of my home in Harrow, taking aid to Ukraine and bringing back desperate refugees. I’m very apprehensive but their need is bigger than mine. Wish us luck, we’ll post on FB and twitter. It’s going to be grim but I can no longer sit in Harrow and watch.”
