Day 2 - Meeting Cris at breakfast - "I feel like I escaped prison."

I was having breakfast in our hotel while simultaneously rambling on social media in a search for more people who might be willing to talk with us. I was not having too much luck and feeling a little down on my luck. Then out of the blue I was approached by a guy wearing some standout flash wrap around shades. My first impression from his accent is that he was from the US.

"Where are you from?"

"The Ukraine."

"Really? When did you arrive?"

"Late last night. At midnight."

This is what happened next -

Cris was quite a character to say the least. I'm not sure this video does him justice. Since we left him at the train station he has trained to Warsaw and then onto Berlin. At the time of writing he is at the Danish customs in hope of going to Copenhagen where I believe he has a friend.

At Danish customs / Photo by Cris

Although he puts on a brave exterior it is clear that Cris is tired, sick and could probably do with a week in bed. As he says in the video he has lost everything and is at the moment 100% relying on the kindness of strangers. He has communicated to me that while some people have been very helpful - there are many that are not.

Also, it appears that a lot of the help and support on offer from countries is focused on supporting women - which puts him in a difficult situation.

Cris also believes he needs a laptop to try put his life back together.

We tried set up a GoFund me for Cris - but GoFund me is saying it could take days to approve fundraisers in relation to the Ukraine situation. It seems there are many who are taking advantage of the crisis.

So with all that said, if you would like to support Cris you can try reach out directly.

Here is his Facebook. You can also reach him on Telegram @imcriscaro . Cris suggests Paypal as possible the best route to support him.

Cris at the train station in Krakow / Photos by Rita Ansone

- Stephen O'Regan