Ukrainian aid lorry fined by French – Oakland launch fundraiser to pay for fuel
BIG-HEARTED transport firm Oakland International was fined GBP300 by the French authorities as it sent a lorry load of donations to help refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The jobsworth French imposed the fine because a piece of paperwork was late as Oakland rushed to get a consignment of humanitarian aid to where it was needed most. “It happened to the first lot we sent out,” said Sam Attwell, who is handling the donations at Attwell Farm Park and Oakland’s Beoley depot, between Redditch and Bromsgrove.
“They said they weren’t happy with the paperwork and fined us GBP300 because some of it was late – it wasn’t what we wanted.” The French action so incensed Tony Taylor, manager at Muffin Break who had volunteered to help Sam and his team, that he’s written to both Redditch MP Rachel Maclean and Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid asking if they could compensate Oakland. “I could believe it when I heard,” said Tony.
“Here you have so many donations coming in, medical supplies from West Mercia Police, sleeping bags from Trespass, one woman had come up and given a donation of GBP500 and then you have the French fining them GBP300 – it’s outrageous.” Sam added that costs were an issue, particularly with the price of fuel. “We’ve currently paused our lorries to Ukraine while we take stock, as we also have a business to run,” he said.
“We’ve been trying to give a hand but we’ve had no help, from the government for instance, with the cost of fuel. “Even organisations like the Red Cross are more interested in raising money than taking aid out there. “So at the moment we’re just looking at how best we can target the aid, although we’ve already got enough for three lorry loads to go out.”
OAKLAND International have launched a Just Giving page for donations to pay for fuel to take aid out to Ukraine.
Dean Attwell, Sam’s father, is chief executive of Oakland International. He said: “To get this started, we agreed to fully fund up to 50 truck loads of delivery costs and handling. “We have now completed this target and I have personally been and visited the warehouses being used for the distribution of goods from the Polish-Ukraine borders into Ukraine.
We know that the aid being transported is getting to where it is needed. “People are asking us ‘How can I help?’ “We think the most effective way to provide immediate support is to help us fund another 50 truck loads of stock which will be delivered over the next two weeks.
“We already have nine more loads of essential food items kindly donated by Asda which need to be transported next week which we will need to fund. Another 6 loads are being planned from other donation centres and food and medical providers. “It costs around GBP2,000 to send a full articulated lorry over to the Eastern border warehouses in Poland.
“We can absolutely guarantee that all funds raised will be used for this essential work. “If we get a response to this appeal and have more than is required for transport, we will use the funds to contribute to the food box initiative which gives families a seven day supply per box. “If there are any additional funds still left then 100 per cent of remaining cash will be transferred directly to support the children’s Lyviv .
“If you cannot donate cash but have goods you can offer, please consider emailing [email protected] – we have a list of requests which changes weekly and we can update.”
To make a donation visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/transport-ukraine