Across Europe, vast networks of collection points and delivery systems for aid to Ukrainian refugees are springing up, in some cases formally organized but often simply run by everyday people doing their bit. In a small city in rural France, I saw no less than three homemade signs pointing to such help on a short walk. Meanwhile, backed by volunteers, the Polish railways ministry is frantically rebuilding a line to move people through the region. Images of baby strollers left at Przemysl station on the Polish-Ukrainian border for those who need them have gone viral.

Cities across the continent have made public transport free for incoming Ukrainians. The Czech Republic, a country about the physical size of Scotland, has announced its ability to absorb up to two hundred fifty thousand Ukrainians. The EU’s internal borders remain resolutely open. There are severe problems, including reports of racism at the borders and attempts to dismiss such claims as Russian propaganda. But taken as a whole, Europe’s response to the sudden upheaval of millions of Ukrainians has been admirable.

It is a small silver lining to a dismal few weeks. Yet as someone who has followed and worked on migration and refugee protection for years, it is also maddening to watch this and realize that we were capable of such a response all along. Europe has worked diligently over the last decade or two to build one of the world’s most violent borders; including routine pushbacks that are linked to thousands of drownings every year. Dozens have drowned in the last few days alone.