As of January 2016, we’ve only been here for just under two weeks and we’ve already heard stories of boats filling up with water as they cross, and others never making it across at all. It’s a dangerous trip, yet the hope of a safer life is waiting for them on the other side.
We are staying in the little town of Molyvos, which is a home-base for many of the volunteers here. It’s a prime destination spot for tourists during the summer months, and would normally be a quiet little town during the winter. The locals here are so supportive of the volunteers, and although they have been helping the refugees who travel through Lesvos for years now, they continue to do what they can to help. We see this as the local restaurants have stayed open and local hotels have offered housing to the volunteers at a discounted rate.
As there are a number of different relief organizations here on Lesvos Island, our team has worked at two different camps within our first weeks and have rotated through a few different shifts. The two camps we work at are Sykaminia and Moria. When the refugees come across the sea from Turkey they land on the beaches of Lesvos, usually on the northern and eastern coasts. Once they are safely on Greek land, volunteers make sure they have dry clothes and some food. From the beach, which we call Stage 1, they are brought up to Sykaminia, which is a Stage 2 camp. There the refugees are again given some food and hot tea, and given a bus number and ticket, and are only at this camp for no longer than 4 hours. Sykaminia is a bus transition camp, and isn’t made to function as an overnight facility. Once the refugees leave Sykaminia, they are bussed to either Kara Teppe camp, or Moria.
Kara Teppe is only for Syrian refugees and we haven’t worked at that camp. Moria is also for Syrian families, but also people from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other countries going through conflict. At Moria, the refugees go through the registration process and then can buy a ferry ticket for a 12 hour ride to Athens, where the traveling continues. Many families stay at Moria for at least one night, as the registration process can take several hours, depending on how many refugees came through the camps that day.
We’ve seen an ebb and flow type trend, in that when it’s bad weather on the sea hardly any refugees come over, but when it’s sunny and calm, a ton of people come through. There are different areas and camps within Moria, and we’ve been working at the Family Compound. At the Family Compound we try to only allow families, single moms, single women, pregnant women, the elderly, or sick stay in our rooms overnight. There are other areas in the camp for single men and for couples without children. Once the families come through our compound, they are given a warm meal and a warm place to stay for the night. Working shifts at Moria can be stressful and hard, as some nights we just physically run out of room to have people stay indoors. Even though it can be chaotic at times and having to turn people away is so very difficult, people are still so understanding of the circumstances and are very appreciative of what we can give them- lots of blankets and some warm food.
Please join us in praying for the thousands of people fleeing their home countries and heading towards our island in hopes of a safer and more peaceful life.
