Friday 30 October 2015
We spent our long time in transit at Athens airport getting Greek SIM cards and sorting them out. As we waited to board the plane to Mitilini, I met a lovely young woman, a medical social worker, who had flown in from Virginia. Her IT husband would be taking time off to care for their sons, 6 and 10, while she was away. She asked him to consider the contribution to her trip her Christmas present. United Airlines, warned ahead of three extra cases of donated goods, charged her $500 extra for them, instead of the $300 agreed on the phone. She was too shocked to consider repacking and just paid up. The UA supervisor weighed in, saying, "we can't be expected to support every humanitarian aid worker!"
I'm thinking of starting a blacklist hashtag on Twitter for companies that behave like this. Anyone have any ideas about this?
We had an extra suitcase too, by the way. Lufthansa waived the charge.
I also met a French journalist ?? politician ?? at the airport, who, hearing that I was going to help, demanded to know "How?". I said I didn't know. Perhaps unpack and sort clothes, I said. She exclaimed quite angrily "but that's not the solution!" as if I ought to be meeting up with Putin instead?? Not sure why she was coming to Lesvos: to strike a peace deal in Syria, perhaps?
Saturday 31 October 2015
We had an incredibly informative induction talk from T, one of the amazing core group of Starfish volunteers. She has given up her job in the UK to work here. She pointed out the importance of remaining calm... Even a lot of cheerful welcomes actually raises the anxiety level, and someone may leap out of his boat happily, only to break his ankle! She also cautioned that so many things are not what they seem. E.g. a volunteer was filmed briefly shouting at a line of refugees getting ready to board a bus. Once the cameras had gone and everyone was on the bus, the refugees all applauded her for getting it done in such an orderly way. That was not filmed! As T was talking to us, a young man who spoke only Arabic interrupted us to show us all a photo of someone he was trying to find. He looked terribly worried, so I looked around to give him a glass of water. "He's one of us!" someone said, staring at me. He was a member of the volunteer team. Also, a young boy begging outside was a local Greek boy...
Then we went to see Oxy, the "transit camp" run by Starfish. It is a rocky patch of land outside a former nightclub. This miserable space, smaller than a football field, beside a fast main road and 6 km from the beach, is the only place that could be agreed for the wet and exhausted refugees who come ashore to rest, get water and a sandwich before boarding buses to the capital, Mytilini. If there is a backlog or the buses don't come, they sleep here. There are a few small tents and one large one. At one point there were 6,000 people sleeping here. And then if it rains....
Sometimes they still have to walk to Oxy from the beach. We stood for a while watching the volunteers in the ticket booth give people coloured cards with pictures for the buses to Mytilini (one bus is e.g. pink card with a picture of a smiley, next bus is green with a banana). Syrians go to one camp, Afghans and others to the other. Some Afghans are angry about this, but it is because the buses go to different camps: Syrians to Kara Tepe, others to Moria.
Starfish has thirty different jobs involving food, clothes, buses, cleaning, helping on the beach, tickets, unpacking, transporting, etc most of which is 24/7. For three shifts a day they need 90 volunteers. Today there were 25. We were going to take our first weekend off, to get our bearings, but that is clearly impossible. We're starting at 9 tomorrow morning, making sandwiches.
Sunday 1 November 2015
Worked with a German man, G, who was feeling upset because he had turned up at 7 am to make sandwiches but the key to the sandwich factory had vanished and he had to wait until 9.
Today, three dinghies sailed right across from Turkey into Molyvos harbour instead of landing on beaches. This had never happened before. Evidently someone knew how and where to steer. They just landed neatly at the quayside, 100 people or so, waved and said "hello"!
So many people smoke here. Refugees ("not in the tent! Go outside to smoke!" hundreds of times a day.) Many of the volunteers smoke too. And at the restaurant we ate at, the owner sat smoking at the next table. Normally I can't stand this. But here, I've discovered strangely that it doesn't bother me. As if my body has automatically decided it's ridiculous to fuss about smoking when people's lives are at stake. Normally it makes me feel ill, and now it doesn't. Strange.
Monday 2 November 2015
Worked first shift at Oxy today, handing out food. The first time a refugee said to me "you really good people" I teared up a bit. "Where you from?" said another. "Holland" I said. "Ah, Arjen Robben" he said, and we smiled. Another man came and gave back his 3 bananas and 3 sandwiches and 3 bottles of water. Puzzled, I thought he had received too much by mistake and put them away. Then he asked for a plastic bag & I thought it a more than fair exchange. Perhaps I was getting a bit tired. Finally I understood that he needed the bag to put his food etc in and I gave it all back, in a bag. I laughed at the misunderstanding and so did he. We both cracked up laughing!
A Greek couple brought bananas. We already had too many but we are always grateful when locals come and donate food. They wanted to go round handing them out to children but buses had just left and at that moment there weren't many. They tried and then left the bananas at the food tent and went home.
I went to the pharmacy. The pharmacist is very gloomy. Thinks when this is all "finished", refugees gone, volunteers gone, tourists also gone because of negative vibes/publicity, island will be dead. I tried to introduce a note of cautious optimism but could tell he was firmly convinced of this doomsday scenario. Hope he's wrong. Lesvos is still a great place for a holiday, everyone! Great weather too...
We spent our long time in transit at Athens airport getting Greek SIM cards and sorting them out. As we waited to board the plane to Mitilini, I met a lovely young woman, a medical social worker, who had flown in from Virginia. Her IT husband would be taking time off to care for their sons, 6 and 10, while she was away. She asked him to consider the contribution to her trip her Christmas present. United Airlines, warned ahead of three extra cases of donated goods, charged her $500 extra for them, instead of the $300 agreed on the phone. She was too shocked to consider repacking and just paid up. The UA supervisor weighed in, saying, "we can't be expected to support every humanitarian aid worker!"
I'm thinking of starting a blacklist hashtag on Twitter for companies that behave like this. Anyone have any ideas about this?
We had an extra suitcase too, by the way. Lufthansa waived the charge.
I also met a French journalist ?? politician ?? at the airport, who, hearing that I was going to help, demanded to know "How?". I said I didn't know. Perhaps unpack and sort clothes, I said. She exclaimed quite angrily "but that's not the solution!" as if I ought to be meeting up with Putin instead?? Not sure why she was coming to Lesvos: to strike a peace deal in Syria, perhaps?
Saturday 31 October 2015
We had an incredibly informative induction talk from T, one of the amazing core group of Starfish volunteers. She has given up her job in the UK to work here. She pointed out the importance of remaining calm... Even a lot of cheerful welcomes actually raises the anxiety level, and someone may leap out of his boat happily, only to break his ankle! She also cautioned that so many things are not what they seem. E.g. a volunteer was filmed briefly shouting at a line of refugees getting ready to board a bus. Once the cameras had gone and everyone was on the bus, the refugees all applauded her for getting it done in such an orderly way. That was not filmed! As T was talking to us, a young man who spoke only Arabic interrupted us to show us all a photo of someone he was trying to find. He looked terribly worried, so I looked around to give him a glass of water. "He's one of us!" someone said, staring at me. He was a member of the volunteer team. Also, a young boy begging outside was a local Greek boy...
Then we went to see Oxy, the "transit camp" run by Starfish. It is a rocky patch of land outside a former nightclub. This miserable space, smaller than a football field, beside a fast main road and 6 km from the beach, is the only place that could be agreed for the wet and exhausted refugees who come ashore to rest, get water and a sandwich before boarding buses to the capital, Mytilini. If there is a backlog or the buses don't come, they sleep here. There are a few small tents and one large one. At one point there were 6,000 people sleeping here. And then if it rains....
Sometimes they still have to walk to Oxy from the beach. We stood for a while watching the volunteers in the ticket booth give people coloured cards with pictures for the buses to Mytilini (one bus is e.g. pink card with a picture of a smiley, next bus is green with a banana). Syrians go to one camp, Afghans and others to the other. Some Afghans are angry about this, but it is because the buses go to different camps: Syrians to Kara Tepe, others to Moria.
Starfish has thirty different jobs involving food, clothes, buses, cleaning, helping on the beach, tickets, unpacking, transporting, etc most of which is 24/7. For three shifts a day they need 90 volunteers. Today there were 25. We were going to take our first weekend off, to get our bearings, but that is clearly impossible. We're starting at 9 tomorrow morning, making sandwiches.
Sunday 1 November 2015
Worked with a German man, G, who was feeling upset because he had turned up at 7 am to make sandwiches but the key to the sandwich factory had vanished and he had to wait until 9.
Today, three dinghies sailed right across from Turkey into Molyvos harbour instead of landing on beaches. This had never happened before. Evidently someone knew how and where to steer. They just landed neatly at the quayside, 100 people or so, waved and said "hello"!
So many people smoke here. Refugees ("not in the tent! Go outside to smoke!" hundreds of times a day.) Many of the volunteers smoke too. And at the restaurant we ate at, the owner sat smoking at the next table. Normally I can't stand this. But here, I've discovered strangely that it doesn't bother me. As if my body has automatically decided it's ridiculous to fuss about smoking when people's lives are at stake. Normally it makes me feel ill, and now it doesn't. Strange.
Monday 2 November 2015
Worked first shift at Oxy today, handing out food. The first time a refugee said to me "you really good people" I teared up a bit. "Where you from?" said another. "Holland" I said. "Ah, Arjen Robben" he said, and we smiled. Another man came and gave back his 3 bananas and 3 sandwiches and 3 bottles of water. Puzzled, I thought he had received too much by mistake and put them away. Then he asked for a plastic bag & I thought it a more than fair exchange. Perhaps I was getting a bit tired. Finally I understood that he needed the bag to put his food etc in and I gave it all back, in a bag. I laughed at the misunderstanding and so did he. We both cracked up laughing!
A Greek couple brought bananas. We already had too many but we are always grateful when locals come and donate food. They wanted to go round handing them out to children but buses had just left and at that moment there weren't many. They tried and then left the bananas at the food tent and went home.
I went to the pharmacy. The pharmacist is very gloomy. Thinks when this is all "finished", refugees gone, volunteers gone, tourists also gone because of negative vibes/publicity, island will be dead. I tried to introduce a note of cautious optimism but could tell he was firmly convinced of this doomsday scenario. Hope he's wrong. Lesvos is still a great place for a holiday, everyone! Great weather too...
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