Week 11, Unfairly Imprisoned.

As the refugee situation here in Greece continues to evolve, much of which I’m sure you’ve seen in the media, I’d like to share a lesser known story of a smaller refugee demographic that I believe deserves more attention that it currently is getting.

It starts with a couple of us on the team who have going down to the town’s police station each night to serve tea and cup noodles to those in the prison.   A few of those detained have actually been charged with smuggling, including the boat smugglers that I wrote about in my last blog entry. 

Two smugglers were caught on this boat, which was brought safely to shore with more than 200 refugees aboard.

But that’s a sidebar.  I’m really writing about the majority of those who are in the prison.  A group of men who are being detained not because of what they’ve done, but because of where they were born.  As the Greek government tries different approaches to deal with the ongoing migrant situation, one decision has been to detain and jail any migrants of North African nationalities. 

The local police station has a prison cell that is sized appropriately for this small and peaceful island.  So needless to say, it is not large.  The numbers of detainees vary, but last night for example, there were 31 in the cell which I think has 6 beds, and the remainder were cuffed to the seats in the waiting area.

There is also no system to properly feed all those detained, hence we are permitted to go and hand out a simple cup of tea and cup noodles to each person every evening.

The men are generally polite, appreciative of us, the food we bring, and also just the short exchange of greetings and words.  A few of them speak quite fluent English and it’s tough, among the conversations, to continually be asked questions like: WHY are we in here? How long are we going to be here? and When can we leave to go to Germany?

The truth is, A. They’re in prison because they’re Moroccan and Algerian, if they held Syrian passports, they might already be halfway to Germany.  B. We have no idea how long they’ll be in prison but some have been over a month, and C. They most likely are not heading to Germany or anywhere else in Europe, but instead, for deportation to Turkey.

We’ve been told that once there are enough people in detainment, they’re sent to Athens to be officially processed for deportation Turkey.  They’ll have a chance there to either purchase a flight ticket back to their home country (which I’m sure the majority won’t have the money to do), or be further imprisoned in Turkey, which has a reputation for below standard facilities.  

So along with the Syrians, Afghanis, and Iraqis who are fleeing to the Greek shores, please remember the Moroccans and Algerians, who come from places that have their rightful share of problems as well. Like the other migrants, these have people sacrificed and left their homes in hopes of a decent life only to be met in Europe with handcuffs and deportation papers.

It is a difficult discussion between who is truly a refugee in the sense that they’re fleeing from war, and who is  "just" an economic migrant seeking the opportunity of a better life.  I don’t think that Europe in its current state is able to accommodate everyone who would like to live there.  However, I hope and pray that we would be able to give more consideration to each person, for who they are, rather than make sweeping verdicts over whole groups of people.

Drawn by a refugee and posted on the wall of a housing unit.

You have been a refuge for the poor, 
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall.

                                       - Isaiah 25:4

I was concerned that there wasn’t much media coverage about this situation, so was happy to see this fairly objective and well written article published a few days ago.  I share many of the same sentiments as the author. http://www.globalresearch.ca/locked-up-refugees-from-north-africa-on-samos-island-wed-rather-die-eaten-by-fish-than-eaten-by-worms/5500617

Καλή χρονιά! (Happy New Year)

 Hi Friends! 

I hope you've had a great Christmas and New Year's and had a chance to celebrate, catch up with family and friends, and rest and prepare for a new year ahead! 

New Year's eve 2015 was pretty special for me as I spent it with some of my team at the home of one of our local staff.  One of the joys of serving overseas is the wide breadth of cultures, languages, and backgrounds I get to meet.  With backgrounds from Albanian, to American, Canadian, Egyptian, French, Filipino, Turkish, and of course, Greek, and a combined 10+ languages (I lost count..) at the table, the conversation and topics truly range all over the globe! 

Apologies for the lull in posting.  Since the last post in November, I returned home after almost six weeks on the island of Lesvos, and then returned to Greece about three weeks ago, and have been splitting my time on several islands since my return.

Sunrise in Leros, awaiting a Coast Guard boat to arrive with a number of new arrivals.

So here's the first of what I'll try to make more regular updates.  It's a bit of a somber post to start the year, but just some of the thoughts and experiences from continuing to serve here.

One of our translators (let’s call him John) didn’t make it back to the hotel after his shift at the port refugee registration site this afternoon.  Someone thought he had perhaps had gone with the police to assist with some translations as there had been rumours that the police had detained two smugglers, suspected of running boats across from Turkey.   Not long after, John came into our office, visibly shaken, and exhausted, both physically and emotionally, having indeed spent hours at the Greek police station translating every word of the interrogations of the two smugglers.

We work in an environment where we meet daily the refugees newly arriving across the sea from Turkey.   The most fortunate arrive excited, elated at having made it to Europe, and they hope, their new homes and lives.  Most arrive cold, wet, exhausted, scared, having endured hours of harrowing waves crashing against their overcrowded plastic rafts aimed in the general direction of what the smugglers have told them is Europe.  Many others don’t arrive, having been turned back or rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.   And lastly, some arrive, in bags, often surrounded by destitute and grieved family, and somberly carried away off of the Coast Guard rescue boats. 

Just this morning, while at port, we were told how some of the newly turned up refugees couldn’t even get of the boat or walk after having been beaten so badly by the smugglers for an unknown reason. All this to say that it is no secret the heartlessness of the smugglers, their incredibly greedy demands, their random acts of violence, and their carefree defiance in sending boat after ill equipped boat in even the most unforgiving conditions. 

Yet, I know for John, it was something entirely new and disturbing to have to listen to and translate the statements and confessions of the smugglers.  He told us that they explained how they smuggled people through the Turkish side, crammed as many people onto each boat to maximize profit, and decided it was such a profitable business to get into in the first place.   

I’m glad that they caught these two men, who will be sentenced without delay in Greek court tomorrow morning.  However, I know that for each of these men there exists multitudes more that continue to jeopardize helpless lives in the name of profit, and that probably will never be held to account for their evil deeds. 

John will be summoned again to translate tomorrow morning for the court sentencing which we hope will be quick given that the smugglers have already openly confessed to their crimes. 

Is this a win?  A small one I guess, although I don’t know that anyone is in a celebratory mood because of it.  But it’s a strong reminder to me of our brokenness, and how we can go astray if we don’t continually pursue a path of righteousness.

 Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

                                       - Isaiah 1:17

Week Two (and three), numbers.

Day 24, but who's counting?  Sorry for the absence in posting!  I've intended to blog (even started two drafts), reply to emails, even Facebook messages many times, but finally with some strong blowing winds and uncomfortable waking thoughts of toilets and hygiene promotion at 5am, I've found some uninterrupted time to write.  

Where to start?  It's been a challenging week. 

A boat with more than 250 people sank two days ago off the coast of the town of Molyvos, where I'm based on Lesvos Island.  The town was buzzing from the afternoon on, there was no mistaking that something was wrong, something bigger than usual.  242 people were rescued, 11 died, 34 still missing.  Maybe.  Depends which news source you choose.  In all honesty, I don't think the actual numbers can be known.  Or maybe they can. I'm sure the Turkish smugglers know exactly how many desperate people they mercilessly herded onto what proved to be a less than seaworthy boat that could probably pass for some scrap wood in other parts of the world.  

I don't know what makes the news back in Canada, but a number of Europeans here have said this one was big enough to make it onto the evening news back home. Sad.  

Just google Molyvos, Sikamineas, Lesvos, or hashtag it on Twitter, there's no shortage of news articles about it, or a similar, and probably now more recent shipwreck.  We saw one yesterday morning, although it was just a small one.

But these are numbers.  We try not to discuss numbers, unnecessarily anyway.  It takes away from the humanity of the situation.  People get lost in numbers.  Deaths become insignificant.  We don't process suffering, or I don't know that I do anyway, much different between 5, or 50, 500.   

Yep, it's been a tough week on the coast of Lesvos.    

But among that, there are glimmers of hope and happiness, stories of successes, and the many gestures of heartfelt gratitude from those that we seek to help, that serve as reminders that there is more than the news, and the numbers show.

Another stranded raft being towed to shore.

I loved hearing the story from a reporter about a group of Syrians they encountered along a coastal Turkish town, awaiting their turn to be called by smugglers for a chance of a new lift.  Of the thousands of the migrants arriving in Greece each day, they happened to spot them on a beach while reporting on the Greek side several days later.  Success.

Another person told me of a family with a son with Polio they'd met here on Lesvos, and after becoming Facebook friends, saw that they family had posted that they'd been expedited through the registration process due to the son's medical disease and had made it to Germany in just a few days.  Success.

We received an email of encouragement from our head office that someone in Austria was able to minister to a young woman and child at a train station which started because the woman was carrying one of the backpacks with hygiene supplies that our teams have been distributing along the European entry points.  Success.

On a smaller scale, we've had some amazing groups of volunteers who have been able to play with the children, facepaint. colour, blow balloons.  Normal kid activities in normal environments, but not at all normal in this situation.  

Another small group actually dressed up as clowns and performed in our camp for the several hundred refugees waiting for buses. I thought the ruckus was a fight, and one girl embarrassingly called for help thinking the same, but not this time. How refreshing to see and hear so many people smiling and laughing at the same time, especially in these transit camps. 

We've had a team of two Germans carpenters come and work tirelessly for 12 hours a day (more than the amount of daylight we have) the past two days building wooden floors in our tents to help prepare for the oncoming rains.  

Yesterday, I had a pleasant surprise of one UK nurse that we'd worked closely with in my first week show up on site again.  She'd worked 14 days straight at home and flew back right away to work in the camp on her 6 days off.

Or the Orthodox Church down the street that, among others, regularly just opens it's doors for whoever needs to spend the night.  http://www.pappaspost.com/greek-orthodox-churches-become-makeshift-shelters-for-refugees-on-lesvos/

Then there's the elderly Syrian man who kissed me on the cheek, and the family that held up the line to individually hug me, as they were leaving to board a bus to the next stop.  

There's no shortage of moments, encounters, stories, and people that encourage, support and continue to build each of us up.  Despite the circumstances around us, the vastness of the situation, the seeming inability to affect change in  the big picture, there's so much we can still do.  To change one, five, or fifty lives.   

Shoot, I guess those are numbers.

Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail.

Week one, απίστευτος.

Just want to write a brief update as it's been more than a week since touching ground here in Greece and unfortunately haven't had a chance to do so yet.

It's been an incredible first week. Incredible in terms of the number of the refugees arriving on a daily basis.  Incredible in terms of those that are assisting with the relief efforts, both local and from abroad.  Incredible in terms of the severity of the situation.  Incredible in terms of the journey that I know these refugees have ahead of them to reach their end goal of just living a normal life again.  

The island of Lesvos is a breathtaking place, with beaches, waterfront cafes and beautiful hotels dotting the coastline.  Coincidentally, these are the same beaches that boatloads of refugees, from Syria, Afghananistan, Iran, Iraq, North Africa, and other places are arriving.  Daily.  And by the thousands.

This picture is what much of the northern coast of Lesvos looks like.  The mountains in the background are Turkey, just a few kilometres away, making this one of the shortest distances by water separating Europe, and the reason why this small Greek island with just 90,000 population has all of a sudden become one of the focal points of this global crisis. 

If you look towards the left side of the photo, you may be able to pick out the 100 or so refugees in two rubber rafts making their way to the Greek coast from Turkey.  You could sit at this point on any clear day and watch a number of boats arriving, right into the night. 

I've primarily been focused on the operation of one of two transit points on this island, where each newly arrived refugee will board buses destined for a camp in Mytilene (the largest city on the island) to be officially registered.  From there, the refugees are allowed to proceed onwards on their journey to whichever European country they choose (and whichever country keep their borders open).  

Sadly, the suffering is very real here each day.  Each of us sees or at least hears the stories of boats capsizing and people drowning.  Yesterday evening we took in a full boatload of people, where one woman had passed away en route, to be questioned by police the next day.  Fortunately, the great vast majority do make it safely ashore and they are elated to have reached a European country.  However, they still have such a long journey both physically and legally, to reach permanent safety.  

Thanks for the continued support and prayers and emails and messages so far.  I hope this helps bring nearer the reality of this refugee crisis, especially for those of us in distant North America.  This truly is a global issue that is not ending anytime soon and we all are able in some way to support the millions of people whose lives depend on it.

Wes

The orange dots in the picture below are life jackets, each a remnant of a newly arrived refugee along the coast of Lesvos.

En Route to Lesvos, Greece

Well, perhaps in even later than usual fashion, I am writing en route to the Island of Lesvos (also spelled Lesbos) in Greece where I'll be serving with the Samaritan's Purse Disaster Reponse team for the next 3+ weeks.  

As I'm sure you're aware, the civil conflict in Syria has continued to devastate the country and the citizens there, and has caused over half of the population to be displaced, both internally and also into surrounding countries with many now seeking refuge in Western European countries.  There are varying numbers but a conservative number is that there are 9 million Syrians alone that have left their homes, not including more who are fleeing other countries like Iraq and Lybia. 9 million people. That's basically the entire population of BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan combined.  

As the conflict continues month after month (even year after year), I've been guilty of perhaps glossing over the endless headlines that continue to capture the news headlines.  I wonder if it's because it maybe doesn't have the shock factor of an acute event such as an earthquake or a tsunami. In reality though, this conflict has affected far greater numbers than the recent natural disasters we have so shocked our senses. 

If you want to get a quick recap/intro to the situation, I thought this video was a pretty good, albeit much simplified, summary:  The European Refugee Crisis and Syria Explained

There's a page on the Samaritan's Purse website info with more info on the crisis and the work that they've been involved with so far: Refugee Crisis in Europe

So, how can you help? 

As it has done for several other recent crises, the Canadian Government are matching any donations relating to the Syrian crisis. So please consider donating.  We complain often about money, but put in a global perspective, almost of all of us have and live in excess and have resources that would be well spent helping those less fortunate. Canada Announces Matching Fund in Response to the Conflict in Syria

On my end, I'd appreciate your support and prayers for myself and the team here in Lesvos.  I'm sure I'll soon have a much better grasp of the situation and where I'll be able to contribute once I get on the ground, but this response is much different than any of the others that I've served with before.  As is clear by the news, countries across the globe, and Europe in particular, are struggling with how to best address this issue and I'm sure carries over to those serving on the ground as well.  The sheer number of people who need assistance is truly intimidating, and the situation is not getting better yet that anyone can see.  

One of my favourites, and words that I'm sure will be on my mind a lot in the coming weeks, is Micah 6:8: 

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you?  

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

A sincere thank you for reading and journeying with me in this work.

Wes