Romanian with family in Oak Ridge helps Ukrainian refugees
As war continues in Eastern Europe, a Romanian film producer visited his family in Oak Ridge.
Dragos Ion came to visit his second cousin, Blanche Dresner, and her husband Larry. He spoke to The Oak Ridger at the Dresners' Oak Ridge home.
He said he had visited the Dresners on previous occasions, but the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented him from coming in the last couple of years.
"I feel like I'm home, and I am home. I'm missing my family these years," he said.
Ion said he hoped to visit other relatives elsewhere in the United States before returning to Bucharest.
His visit coincided with the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Ion talked about the "thousands" of refugees arriving from Ukraine in his country.
He said he was involved in helping these refugees in terms of transportation, psychological counseling, or help with translating their language. He said most were women and children due to adult men staying and fighting.
"They were very surprised that the Romanian people were willing to help," he said. "They were not expecting such a warm welcome."
Ion described the refugees as "terrified" and said some were "ashamed of asking for help."
"I realized what a war really means and that we are all human beings," he said. "It's the natural way of a human being to help another human being in need."
Ion said his work as executive producer has included working on logistics such as crews and locations for films such as "Cold Mountain," "Wanted" and "Ghost Rider," the television series "Alex Rider," and commercials, mostly for broadcast in Europe.
Ion and Blanche Dresner's grandmothers were sisters who were originally from Moldova.
"The distance between us has caused me to miss much of his upbringing," Dresner told The Oak Ridger. However, the two have kept in touch.
"He just seems to fit in as one of the family," Dresner said of her second cousin in spite of their distance.
Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger. Call him at (865) 441-2317, email him at bpounds@oakridger.com and follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Romanian with family in Oak Ridge helps Ukrainian refugees
