Romania cricketer Pavel Florin leads relief work for refugees

“I want to tell Russia and Ukraine that the only battle they need to fight should be on a cricket field," the all-rounder says as he helps refugees at the Ukraine-Romania border.

Pavel Florin is spent. Having driven for close to 10 hours and 350 kilometres from Siret, the busiest crossing at the Ukraine-Romania border from where he brought along a six-member Ukrainian family that fled the war, he craves rest. This, however, is not the time to put his feet up.

Florin at the relief camp at a border post on the Ukraine-Romania border.  (CERT Tansalvania/Facebook)

“I need to work. There’s war in my backyard and I can’t be sitting at home,” says the 43-year-old international cricketer who has played 16 ODIs for Romania.

So, Florin is working. Thrice a week he packs his car with essentials - food, water, clothes, medicines, grocery - and drives to the border crossings in Moldova, or Sighetul Marmatiei in Transilvania. There, the supplies are stocked in designated depots and distributed among the refugees.

“That’s the least I can do. I don’t think I am doing anything special. There's a war next door and I must help," he says from Cluj, a city in Northwestern Romania where he stays.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month, a number of people - mostly women and children - have been crossing Romania's border. The United Nations puts the number at approximately 80,000 plus. Local media reports reckon the number is more than double while Florin's calculation puts it approximately at 2,30,000, as of March 6.

Simply put, the crisis is worsening.

“They come more and more,” says Florin as he prepares to drive a Ukrainian woman and her two children to Hamburg in northern Germany, a punishing 17-hour 1,650 km stretch that traverses Austria, Czech Republic and north-central Germany.

"No problem, man. I don't look at them just as refugees. They are human beings in need, and it is my duty to help," says Florin.

Cluj has opened up to everyone who walks in. Convoys extending up to 40 cars leave the city multiple times a week for the border areas, carrying supplies. Florin has also tied up with CERT Transilvania, a charity doing relief work at the border.

“Cluj is more a community than city. Everyone looks out for everyone. Soon after the war broke out and people started crossing over, we thought of helping them with everything we could. Someone books a ticket, someone provides food, someone drives them to the airport.”

For the body builder turned cricketer the decision to help was "spontaneous”.

“I am no politician or expert. All I know is that wars are never the solution. People should not kill people. I have friends in both Russia and Ukraine and I find them equally warm.

“It’s the same with Indians and Pakistanis. Quite a few cricketers in Romania are of Indian or Pakistani descent but we never ask which nation they belong to. They exist peacefully, with us and among each other.”

Florin has sheltered people from Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey and the UAE. "My interactions tell me that nobody likes war. Wars are pointless."

Cricket has taken the backseat for now. Florin moved from the local Cluj Cricket Club - he was its captain and president - to Bucharest Gladiators in the Capital in the 2020-21 season. That requires Florin to drive about 500 km to reach his club's practice facilities.

“It’s not the same as India, where you have good practice grounds everywhere. I never thought of relocating because Cluj is where I have always lived, and the people are lovely.”

Florin also works as trainer and manager at Clujana Cluj-Napoca, a futsal (five-a-side football) club that plays in Romania's Liga 1.

“I love futsal. It’s fast and competitive, and exciting to watch. It also leaves me with a lot of time to do other part-time jobs on some days.” One such job was that of a bouncer at a Cluj nightclub, until it shut during the pandemic.

“I liked being a bouncer because I had all day to myself to work elsewhere. Losing that job was a blow, but life moves on. The more you see people suffer, the more you begin to appreciate life.

“I still feel like playing cricket on the streets, but this is not the time. What I am doing now is way too important than my cricket career, though I do hope to play again."

His current work - coordinating and conducting relief work at the borders - is limitless. Besides ferrying supplies, he helps distribute the commodities, sets up tents, and drives people to hospitals or airport.

“Anything they ask for,” he says. “Look, they had to leave their homes and loved ones. This is the least I can do. A few days back, I put a family on a plane to Spain. I have helped two families reach Germany. I have hosted rank strangers at my place. Such moments give me a lot of happiness. I have made friends for life, created memories to last a lifetime.

“I may be slightly popular here because I play cricket for Romania and people have watched me on television, but what I am doing is no different from what others in Cluj are doing.”

This is not the only time Florin has drawn attention. The first time the all-rounder became known, the world was still a few months from discovering its first Covid case. In July 2019, turning up for Cluj Cricket Club in European Cricket League, he went viral for his unique bowling action, which he had described as "not beautiful or effective."

A year on, Florin was in the news again, for a wild celebration in the European Cricket Series (ECS) T10 tournament. Turning up for Bucharest Gladiators, his joy knew no bounds after picking a wicket against Baneasa Cricket Club. He ran, a la Imran Tahir, all the way to the commentators - seated beyond the ropes - grabbed a headphone and yelled "Gladiators," leaving everyone in splits.

The war in the neighbourhood has robbed Florin of joy on the cricket field. He hasn't stopped spreading joy though.

“I want to tell Russia and Ukraine that the only battle they need to fight should be on a cricket field.”