I am in my last month helping refugees here in Greece. Despite the cold winter months, people are still risking their lives to try to make it to a better life. So far this year, more than 49,000 asylum seekers and migrants – mostly from Syria, Palestine, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Eritrea – have arrived in Greece by sea from Turkiye. The camps are all full and the conditions grow worse. The European Court recently ruled that the living conditions in the camps constitute “inhumane and degrading treatment” and that human rights are systematically violated. There is great concern that the camps are becoming prisons, with no NGOs or volunteers being allowed inside, camps being moved out of cities into rural areas with little access to schools, medical clinics, or even markets.
Despite the desperation and lack of resources in the camp, it’s lively – children run, play, and call “hello” when I greet them outside the camp, already carrying stories beyond their years. A man with a friendly mustache carefully takes care of the plants he gathers at the entrance of the camp. He invites me in for tea, a gesture of hospitality that endures despite the circumstances, but I politely say I cannot, trying not to emphasize that we are no longer allowed inside the camp’s high fences. But despite these obstacles, I found time with many of the refugees outside of the camp, using my Google Translate to bridge words and worlds.
I am still buying lots of supplies…bus tickets so people can get from the camp into the city center to have legal and medical visits as well as have a sense of humanity where there is a sense of community, normalcy as well as markets and shops. In addition, I purchase bags and bags of underwear, socks, sweaters (for the cold months), as well as, food and medical supplies.
I have offered my services to an NGO that works specifically with single women and mothers and now have my own caseload that I’m following: a woman from Somalia with two children, a woman from Gaza (whose children remain in Gaza) and a Sudanese woman who has three beautiful young children who I have become very close to. In addition, I provide support for a woman from Cameroon whose baby was born with small intestine infections requiring five surgeries so far this year. I take care of her baby in the hospital one day a week, allowing her freedom to make asylum appointments as well as have respite from the hospital where she is required to stay 24/7.
So, one month left here and I return to my home in Oakland. My work continues there, each life I’ve touched taking a place in my and their futures. It is very hard leaving and the many I’ve encountered feel a deep sadness, not only that I am leaving but that I CAN LEAVE so easily. Born into a world with a Golden Passport which I am forever aware of.
Thank you all for your support, morally and in all ways. Lexine