Before coming to Greece, the refugee crisis sweeping across Europe and the rest of the world was such a large-scale idea, I struggled to comprehend it. It’s such a prevalent and complex topic. What could I do to be of any help?
Hours upon showing up to Thessaloniki, we were offered the opportunity to work at a refugee center. I couldn’t have been more thrilled. A couple days a week, we worked at the center that provides meals, showers, clothes, legal advice, and lessons in English and Greek. The refugees here are from all over: Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. Some fled because of religious persecution while others are seeking exile from harsh dictators.
Thessaloniki is a halfway point for these individuals and families. After arriving here, they wait anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for their permanent placement in Europe, living theirs lives in a bit of limbo until getting a definite answer.
It’s understandably easy to hear about the refugee crisis and feel overwhelmed. How do we help? Or even, should we take in refugees? We hear the term “refugee crisis,” especially “Syrian refugee crisis” and imagine a mass of people, one indistinguishable from the next.
While I still have much to learn, working with these individuals has altered and simplified my perspective.
It might come as a surprise, but they happen to be average people, just like you and I.
They’re families who want their children to be able to go to school. Individuals who want to be protected by a government, not live in fear because of one. They want what you and I want: freedom of speech, a trustworthy government, everyday safety, freedom of religion, a job, an education, friends, a home.
Each day at the center, I get to look at people, smile, and offer them a meal. Little girls who laugh when you play peekaboo over the kitchen counter. Husbands who absolutely beam when they look at their wives and children. Young 20-somethings looking for a future. People from minority pagan religions that worship that sun and are reviled by some in their countries because they are not Muslim. Christians who have to flee from persecution. People who are running away from all they’ve known in their home in Syria because their government wants to murder them. They’ve asked for a democracy and received bombs and gas in return.
Their situations are more complicated, yes, but when it comes down to it, they are simply people too. They are not a number or a statistic and they are especially not some scary stereotype propagated by the government and media. They are kind, warm people who want the same things in life. They just happen to be from places that don’t guarantee basic freedoms and safety.
You and I are lucky in that regard. We live in a country where we can say whatever, worship anything, and love anyone. Whether we all agree on these stances is beside the point. We have the luxury of disagreeing with our government and each other. We aren’t killed for it.
My friends are not a mass that we get to dehumanize and be afraid of from afar. They are people like you and I that we have the responsibility to treat as individuals and humans.
The next time you hear about the refugee crisis, I challenge you to look at the basic freedoms in your life and ask yourself, “Would I deny these basic rights to another human?”
For my friends who live in Oregon and want to actively help, look into these opportunities:
https://irco.org/
https://multco.us/global/refugee-services
http://catholicjusticecenter.org/volunteer/
And specifically for my friends in Corvallis, while this isn’t an opportunity to work with refugees, look into this program to gain a new friend and a new perspective on another culture:
http://international.oregonstate.edu/osu-cultural-ambassador-conversant-program
