“Some believe that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I found it is the small things, every day deeds, by ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.” Gandalf, Lord of the Rings
I sat on the cold ground by the gate, the wind was blowing in the lightening storm I saw in the distance. The jacket and blanket I was wearing around me still didn’t keep the cold out. It was 5:30 am, the sky was still dark, and the camp was the quietest I had heard it all night. I sat there, staring up at the barbed wire, at the cage that surrounded me. I held the key, I had the power to freely walk in and out, I had the freedom to leave, but they didn’t.
What if this was me? What if one day I found myself staring at these fences from their shoes? What if I gave up everything and risked it all, only to find myself here?
The news right now is painting a picture for the world on what things are like here in Moria, and it’s my hope that this blog paints a new one, that people hear the truth first hand from someone volunteering inside.
Photo Credit: Middle East Eye. Pakistani men line up outside the gates of Moria.
The Situation
On March 19th before midnight, within 12 hours every refugee held here on the island of Lesvos was packed up and taken to northern Greece, and everyone arriving on March 20th was split into two categories, Syrian refugees and migrants. What this means is that technically if there is no official war you cannot be legally considered a refugee, so people who are also fleeing horrors in places like Somalia or Afghanistan cannot “technically” say they are a refugee.
The EU and Turkey signed a deal that basically involved billions of dollars being given to Turkey to help build camps and cover expenses, and that states that for every one person (ONLY SYRIAN REFUGEES) sent to Turkey, Turkey will send one person on to the EU. What this means is that for every person arriving here in Lesvos, if you aren’t Syrian you will be sent back, and if you are Syrian then you may be sent to Turkey, where you will be releasing someone else to move on to the EU and being detained in the hopes that someone is sent to release you to move on.
600 boats tried arriving before the deadline, many even after this agreement are still coming, because even those chances are still better than the chances they would have if they were to stay. The camps here are still maxed out. The day we arrived the first batch of people were sent to Turkey, but it just so happens that 13 of those 140 people had applied for asylum and were denied their rights, so the deal is now under review.
Currently, there are 3,100 people living in Moria, and there are 14 different nationalities here, 13 of them are seeking a better life in the EU but are not running from a “recognized war”, so are not considered to be refugees. Those nationalities are Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Yemen, Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, and Nepal.
Moria has transitioned from a refugee camp to a detention center.
Moria on the Inside
Photo taken by NBC News. This is what Moria looks like on the inside.
There are thousands of people living in a space that is over capacity. The camp has been split into different categories, so that single men are mostly in one area, families in another, children without parents in another, and so that different nationalities who do not speak the same language and who like to fight each other are not near each other. People are crammed into tents and units, living with and sleeping next to strangers, and when there weren’t enough tents people were sleeping on the ground.
During the day the suns heats the tents up and the smell that comes out from them is unreal, but there is nothing for them to do during the day and no where for them to go, so many sit in the hot tent because they are at least in the shade. During the night it is very cold, and people try and rest with 20 other people moving around and waking them up, not to mention all the people who come alive at night and make noise throughout the camp.
The only planned activities for them are the three meal times, in which they will stand in one meal line for hours in the hot sun. We must also consider due to different religions the attire they are in while doing this, most women are covered from head to toe, while men wear pants, longs shirts, and jackets.
Save the Children came back for awhile, they watched the kids for part of the day and gave them activities to do, but they aren’t staying, and what is there for kids to do all day? There are limited toys, there isn’t really any space for activities, they aren’t being educated or attending school, they are just running around causing mischief and asking for things because they are bored out of their minds.
As far as health care is concerned, there is one organization left in Moria, who is short handed and short on supplies. Doctors Without Borders is just one example of an organization that pulled out in protest of the detention center, and for good reason, because the conditions here are not right. People are waiting hours to be handed out Tylneol from small health problems to big health problems. The doctors are not even always here, due to lack of man power, but when they are the line outside of the tent is always so long, but they do what they can with what they have. The system isn’t as simple as showing up as a volunteer doctor and providing care, medical personal must be registered under an organization that has been approved to work with Moria.
Samaritans Purse is back and has taken over hygiene again, so people are getting tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap and shampoo. There are a few showers set up, most people will bath their children in the sinks of the bathroom or the pickets where people get drinking water from. The bathrooms floors are under water, the other day my team and I used brooms to try and push out the water, we scrubbed the walls, sinks, broken mirrors, and hole in the ground toilets with water and bleach, all that we had. I picked used feminine products off the window seals and walls. There are five stalls, for thousands of people, and the dirty water from the showers drips out onto the ground where 20 tents are set up.
In the clothing tent situation, there is always, and I mean always, a need for specifically mens shoes and underwear. Most people have left everything behind and are in need of new outfits. Recently, the system has changed to instead of people coming to the clothing tent for things, because it was absolute chaos and being broken into, we now send groups out to take orders, another group will fill those orders to the best of their abilities by putting together bags with the requested clothing and size, and then run them to the people and families. That can be very difficult, many items don’t fit properly, people don’t like them, they don’t really follow their custom wear, or we don’t have what they need.
You may be thinking to yourself well at least its something, if they were really that in need they should just be grateful. What if you had every choice in your life taken from you, right down to the clothes you put on your back? What if I handed you a shirt that was too small and said just deal with it, just deal with the shoes that are too small that make your feet bleed every day. I make it a point to do as many exchanges as I can, to make people feel like they have a say in their own life, even if that means running back and forth, back and forth. It’s hard because you want to get as many people as you can in a day, but there just isn’t enough man power for it, some people have to wait for days.
Volunteers here do all that they can, but they are worn out and frustrated. Every day you come in wondering if the people who you have become good friends with are even still there. Even in all the busyness, you run around to check, and when they aren’t there, you can’t even be happy for them because they got to leave because you know they have either been sent back, or sent to another camp where others may not care for them the way that you did.
Some days the lack of provisions and hands will portray you as the bad guy. Sometimes you are that person who couldn’t get them clothes, or shoes, or a blanket, or diapers, or who had to make them pack up their tents and move to a new location, or break up fights. You are that person that has to tell them “no” or “I’m sorry” or “we don’t have any.”
I believe that when you cage people like animals, you make them into animals. They have seen war, death, lost loved ones, sold everything, used their money to get here, to escape, to be free from it all, and then they are met with this… sitting in Moria and other camps day after day with their hopes of a better life or reuniting with family being shattered.
Yet the children still run to hug you and hold your hand, the families still invite you into their “homes” and offer you what little they have, they still sit up with you all night and keep you company while you man the gates, they still sing, they still kiss you on the cheek when you clean their bathrooms, they still entertain themselves by making pictures in the dirt with rocks and grass, and they still eagerly follow you around all day wanting to translate for anything that you need them to.
They are truly amazing, incredible human beings, who have been through hell and still have so much love in them to offer, and who just want to be free from it all. They are our friends, they are people that we love and care about, they are people that we hurt for, they are people that we want to see have justice. I know God is here in the trenches and that He cares. They aren’t just refugees, they aren’t just what you see on the news, they are your children, your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife, your best friend, your family… they are people, just like you and me, and they are worth fighting for.
