At Hansavest, we have helped our workers affected by the war in Ukraine by bringing their loved ones – and, where possible, other people too – to safety away from the fighting. This article answers questions about our company’s relief operation. It is based on an interview with our Key Account Manager, Panu Sarvilahti.
A staffing company operating in Finland is driving the families of its Ukrainian workers to safety in Finland and Estonia itself
Panu Sarvilahti, Key Account Manager at the staffing company Hansavest, has been a busy man in recent days. Instead of his normal work duties, his time has gone into helping set up and run an operation in Finland to help victims of the war in Ukraine. All of his colleagues have been doing the same.
Founded in Estonia, the company operates not only in its home country but also in Finland through two Finnish companies, and recruits workers for Finnish businesses. Hansavest has harnessed its entire organisation in Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine and Finland to help the family members of the Ukrainian workers it has recruited reach safety.
They are picked up from the border between Poland and Ukraine, from Slovenia and from Romania, and transported to Estonia and Finland. Minibuses, coaches and cars are being used.
“Vehicles run every day from morning to evening from Pärnu in Estonia to pick people up and back again,” says Panu Sarvilahti.
Drivers are always changed in Pärnu and Riga to make sure the journey is safe.
A child only feels relief once the family is together again
“We are in close contact with our Ukrainian workers and their families in Ukraine. We follow where each family is and how close to the border they are. Our Ukrainian team also operates inside Ukraine, which of course is not easy. Even so, we are able to gather people at certain locations and transport them to safety as the situation allows.”
Panu Sarvilahti says that once people reach safety, they are relieved and grateful. Some have walked dozens of kilometres with children because of traffic jams.
“But many children only feel relief at the buffet table on the ferry from Estonia to Finland, or when they are in their parent’s arms in Estonia. The escape of 2,000–3,000 kilometres only seems to end when they are together with their loved ones.”
“We wanted to help right from the start”
Panu Sarvilahti has been involved from the start of the process, talking with the workers together with one of the company’s Latvian employees who speaks Russian. Panu helped get the project up and running in Pärnu and, together with the whole company organisation, is now handling logistics, accommodation and cooperation with municipalities and the authorities. Client companies are also helping as much as they can.
Ukraine is going through a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War. Since the Russian invasion, the civilian population has been doing its best to flee the fighting.
“Right at the start of the war we wanted to do everything we could on a practical level to help our Ukrainian workers, their families and, where possible, others as well,” Sarvilahti says.
Most people are picked up from Poland, but wherever a request comes from, transport is arranged in the most sensible way.
“If necessary, we arrange travel by air from Romania, for example, or provide a driver to drive a mother and her 5- and 10-year-old children to Finland via Slovenia in the family’s own car,” Sarvilahti says.
Most of the company’s Ukrainian workers, around 1,500 people, work in Estonia. In Finland there are currently around 30 Ukrainian workers.
Hansavest recruits workers from Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine, trains them at its training centre in Pärnu and places them in jobs in Estonia and Finland.
Vehicles are coming all the way from Finland
The operation is based in Estonia, where most of the vehicle traffic has departed from.
Last Friday, Hansavest’s founder and board member Janek Sirg asked for extra help from Finland: “Panu, one bus to Pärnu Monday morning with two drivers. Our team member with English and Russian skills will jump onboard that bus.”
“I made one call to my friend Petteri Eteläpää at Liikenne Eteläpää Oy. Five minutes later it was sorted,” Sarvilahti says.
Petteri Eteläpää took the night ferry to Estonia and drove to Pärnu with a second driver. The bus was loaded with toilet paper, chocolate, Piltti baby food, water, food and whatever else, according to the latest information, was lacking at the border.
In addition to the transport company itself, members of Round Table, the international association for young men, have stepped in to help cover the costs of the Liikenne Eteläpää coach departing from Finland.
“When a request for help comes in the future, we will arrange a vehicle,” Panu replies. “Our team in Estonia that is responsible for the driving arrangements asks us for help when they need it.”
Help doesn’t end with transport
The operation is not just about transporting people to safety. Ukrainian refugees also need help after they have reached safety in Finland or Estonia.
Some may not have any family members here. As well as somewhere to live, people need many kinds of help, for example the services of a doctor or psychologist. Children may have had to witness shocking events of war.
“The Estonian state has started helping us with women and children who have no loved ones here, and we are grateful for that,” Sarvilahti says.
“The authorities have the expertise to help them, and we can focus on logistics and reuniting families, along with the practical matters involved. In Finland, the Finnish Immigration Service has truly competent staff, and they also have very precise, up-to-date instructions on their website on how to proceed.”
Snellman and Hansavest help together in Jakobstad
One example of Finns’ concrete support for the Ukrainian people can be found in Jakobstad (Pietarsaari), where the company Snellman has been working actively together with Hansavest. The story was first reported by the Keskipohjanmaa newspaper.
Snellman responded to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion as soon as it began. The company wanted to help its Ukrainian workers by bringing their loved ones from the war zone in Ukraine to safety in Jakobstad.
A third party, which does not wish to be named publicly, is also involved in the Jakobstad relief operation.
In Finland, families are also being reunited in Karkkila and Kajaani.
For more information in Finland, please contact Panu Sarvilahti, 0400 251 923, panu@hansavest.com, and Jari Heikka, 040 588 1314, jari@hansavest.com.
How you can help Ukrainians
According to UN figures, more than 1.5 million civilians have fled Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, and the number is rising all the time. The EU estimates that as many as four million people in total may try to leave the country.
You can help the victims of the crisis in Ukraine through organisations such as these:
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