Hello dear friends. Happy Holidaze and Happy New Year!! I hope this email finds you well. I, as most of you know, have been home from the refugee camps abroad for several months, but continue to stay in contact with families, individuals,volunteers and NGOs helping refugees abroad. Although at home, I continue to help those I met abroad, as well as help people I have learned to trust who are helping others on the move. The world continues to be influx…people giving up everything they know, risking their lives, all moving for safety and with hope for a better life,… fleeing wars, persecution, poverty often secondary to climate change. But amidst…
June 30, 2022: Third month in the Refugee Camp
Hello dear friends. My trip is coming to an end. It has been over two months that I have been working here with refugees. It is a very sad state of affairs. As I speak, 28 Kurdish refugees (from Syria) are being held on the border from Turkey to Greece. They are women and children and they are being starved out and not allowed to cross into Greece even though EU law states they have to be recognized as legitimate refugees and registered for asylum. https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1176658/28-migrants-trapped-on-evros-islet-rescued/ In February three refugees were thrown off a boat by the Samos Hellenic Coast Guard. Two drown and fortunately, the one who…
May 29, 2022: Second month in Refugee Camp
There is so much going on here…it is hard for me to know where to begin. I find myself involved with so many people in the camp, refugees living on the streets in Athens and in everyday life. A few nights ago, I even almost got myself arrested as I tried to stop a huge Greek police officer (they are as bad or worse here than other places) from beating the shit out of a small Pakistani man they were arresting. Okay…the man did not have papers…but was it necessary for the police to keep heavily pounding him in the face?? And the poor man, seeing me trying to stop…
May 13, 2022 Update on my Refugee Work
So much has gone on since two weeks ago when I last wrote. I have been every day in the camp from morning until night and then often on the weekends, I have been making trips to the refugee camps outside of Athens where many refugees are being moved. I teach English, help with a women’s group in the afternoon in the camp and when needed, run the little clothing room which consists of clothes that have been donated mostly from other EU countries. Other things that I have been doing on my own time: providing support for two Syrian fathers whose wives were killed back home and who are…
First Week back in Eleonas Camp: April 24, 2022
Hello Friends, I arrived Athens four days ago and have been busy every day in the camps and on the streets. There are many families and children on the street…many more than there were six months ago when I was here. I have heard from other volunteers that Afghan, Syrian, Iraqi, etc. families are being told they have to leave their small apartments (which were provided by the Greek UNHCR and Ministry Dept) to make room for Ukrainians who are now arriving. So sad. Is one human suffering more needy than another? Inside Eleonas Camp, there are about half as many residents (now about 2200), and no one knows what…
Sept 30, 2021 First Update Refugee Camp
It has now been a few weeks since I have been working in the refugee camp in Greece. I am in Eleonas Camp, which is on the outskirts of Athens. There had been two other camps (Skaramanga and another) but they have since closed down. Moria Camp is still in existence but they are letting in few NGO’s and pushing back refugees that are trying to make it over the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey. Eleonas Camp was built to hold 700 people, but now houses around 2,000- 3,000 refugees. It opened in August 2015 and was the first official temporary camp for asylum seekers in Greece, located right next…
Ready to fly out tomorrow to Athens.
I am ready with three bags packed with medical supplies, kites for kids, small stuffed animals for infants/toddlers at the medical clinic, and many other miscellaneous items. Thank all of you for your generous support. I will keep you abreast of my journey. Lexine
Moria Refugee Camp Pics
Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, is 4 miles from Turkey and is a gateway between the Middle East and Europe. Migrants running from war, persecution, torture, as well as the consequences of climate change, pass as they travel from east to west, hoping for a better life in Europe. Built to house about 3,000 people, it is now home to more than 13,000 (including an estimated 1,000 unaccompanied minors)—more than it has ever held. The refugees wait, sometimes for more than a year, for the slow wheels of Greek bureaucracy to turn, to review their asylum applications, to send them to the mainland for a decision. What is Moria? It…
Attacked by Fascists
Lesvos has been flooded with fascist groups that have been blocking all of the roads, beating up refugees, NGO volunteers and journalists. Yesterday after our medical clinic worked our 9 hour shift, we were told by our director that we could not safely drive back to the village where we stay as there were gangs of fascists blocking all of the main roads. In a caravan of 8 cars, we headed down dirt roads behind the refugee camp, trying to find alternative roads and paths back to the town of Mytilene. As soon as we got back on the main road, a group of about 50 heavily armed men with masks (with metal…
Medical Needs in a Refugee Camp
February 2020. I had spent months gathering donations to purchase medical supplies (over the counter medications such as aspirin, Tylenol, Motrin, bandaids, splints, diabetic test strips, anti-fungal medications, etc.) as well as mobile phones, iPads, and hundreds of small stuffed animals to give the young children receiving medical care in the clinic. I flew with 4 extra large-sized luggage bags filled with as much as I could carry. Kitrinos Clinic is the only medical clinic inside the refugee camp, housing 13,000 refugees. Five doctors, several nurses and EMT’s and myself as the social worker. We worked six days per week, 8:30 am – 5 pm. It is hard to describe…
Helping migrants in Tijuana
Spent ten days volunteering between a legal clinic (Al Otro Lado) and a medical clinic (Refugee Health Alliance). So many refugees fleeing violence and persecution from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (also many Haitian and Cameroonian refugees).
Tijuana volunteer work
Heading to volunteer at our border, Tijuana, with asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors. Will be at two different clinics with an MD and volunteer I met in Lesvos. We are both excited about helping more refugees stuck closer to home. The world is a very challenged place these days…maybe it always has been.