I remember seeing the videos and pictures on the news. Syrian refugees in boats; cold and frightened. I read about hundreds of refugees drowning in accidents trying to get to Greece. The picture of the boy sitting dazed and bloody will forever be ingrained in my mind. I had always wanted to help, but these people seemed so far away.
The Refugee Crisis, as the media named it, has been going on since I was a Freshman in college. These people are in such need. All they want is a chance to live. Greece became a refuge. Due to its geographic location in Europe, proximity to the Middle East and location on the Mediterranean, it is usually the main point of entry for most refugees.
One of the reasons that I signed up for the route that I am on, was because Greece was on the list, and much of the volunteer work being done here involves working with refugees. Before we left, Greece was taken off of our route and swapped with Albania. I was disappointed, but I knew that there would probably still be a chance to work with refugees while I was in the Balkans. This month, when they told us that we did not have an assigned ministry, my heart leapt. This could be my chance to work with and help the people that I have longed to help.
We were able to connect with a church who partners with a refugee center. At the center we provide new clothes, food, showers and laundry services to refugees, not only from Syria, but from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Morocco.
One of the first days that I was working, I was playing with a child from Syria. And it struck me. She is here in Greece because she is fleeing for her life; escaping a war. She is here because the man who runs her country murders his citizens with gas that paralyzes and suffocates. I was talking to a man from Iraq. He is Urdu, which is a minority population. He is here in Greece because ISIS wants to murder him, because he is not Muslim. I met a family who had to leave Iran because they were Christians. If they had stayed, they would have been killed.
When you stand face to face with them, they no longer become news stories. When you look into their eyes it all becomes real. They are humans. They are not a world apart from me. They are not different from me. When you look into their eyes, you see both the horror and the goodness of humanity. They are mothers wanting to protect their children. They are fathers wanting to provide for their families. They are young adults wanting a shot at life. They are people wanting to worship whichever God they choose, without worry of persecution. Sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it?
At home in America, we hear all the sound bites and coverage about whether or not to let refugees into the country. The problems they will bring and the drain that they will be. We talk about them as if they are just a statistic. Just another number, some quantity that we can measure. I have heard heinous, hateful things said about refugees. I wonder if the people who have said these things or the people who are opposed to letting refugees in, have stopped to look at these people as humans. Not as a number or a burden, but as a mother, brother, father, sister or a friend.
When you put the rhetoric aside, pause, and look into their eyes, you see yourself.
–Caitlin
