DAYTON — More than 10 million Ukrainians have left their homes since the war in Ukraine started, according to the United Nations. More than two million of them are in Poland.
While it is unknown if any refugees will come to Dayton, Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims said if they did, the city would welcome them.
“They have a lot of pain, they’re scared. They want them in a safe place,” Mims said.
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Mims told News Center 7′s James Rider that there’s no guidelines or specific plans in place for refugees to come to Dayton yet. He said the city works with Catholic Social Services, which handles most of the work with refugees who make it to our area.
Mims, a Vietnam veteran, said he understands what it must be like in Ukraine.
“Being in a war torn environment is no fun, its not anything you would wish on anyone. Nonetheless, in 2022, seeing anything of this nature is happening anywhere in the world, there’s just no excuse,” Mims said.
When thinking about welcoming refugees, Mims said he thinks back to a lesson he and many others learned in school.
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“The wording at the base of the Statue of Liberty; ‘Give me your tired, [your poor], your huddled masses,’” Mims said.
He said diversity is one thing that has made the U.S. so great and for that reason that’s why it’s important to him to be able to offer this help to people that want to come to Dayton.
“Those diverse citizens who have come to Dayton have brought so much richness and character into who we are and the kind of contributions we make, not only to the citizens of Dayton, but the citizens across the state and the world,” Mims said.
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