The restaurant, with the waters of the Aegean lapping at our feet, is warmed by its ebullient owner, Eleni. She knows we are on the island of Samos, Greece, to help the refugees, and she tells us she has rented out her cottage to two young Syrian women.
“Their father, Mahmood, didn’t think the refugee camp was safe, and wanted to find a place for them outside the camp,” says Eleni. “They have just gone for a walk. I’ll introduce them to you when they return.”
The five of us – my partner and I, retired-still-energetic Canadians, Sallie, a bright-eyed 81-year-old American woman, Jane, a soft-spoken Brit, and Markus, a lanky young man from Austria – knew the camp was overcrowded and that social protocols would be difficult to uphold, so it was not surprising to hear of a father’s concern. We hadn’t realized, however, that local Greeks, like Eleni, were stepping in to help in cases like these. In a few minutes, Eleni, with two young women smartly dressed in long robes and matching hijabs, approach our table. They are introduced to us as Almas and Fatima, and we learn they had both left homes in Aleppo to escape the war. Almas, whose English is excellent, speaks on behalf of both of them.
“My family was too afraid to go outside in Aleppo, as it was too dangerous to be on the streets,” she says. “We were like prisoners in our own home. That was when my father decided we needed to leave.”
Almas sketches her family’s journey through Syria and Turkey. Her friend, Fatima, had made the journey on her own.
“There were many times that people offered her help, but she would not take it as she was never sure if the offers were genuine. It is amazing that she got here, and now she has us to look after her!” Almas says, putting her arm around Fatima.
The young women are thrilled with the little cottage Eleni has provided them. They beam as they talk about being able to freely go for walks by the sea, to stop for a coffee along the way, and to know that Theo, Eleni’s puppy, will be waiting for them upon their return. Eleni’s smile, in return, lights up the restaurant.
And so begins our first experience as volunteers on Samos, one of the five islands at the easternmost edge of Greece that are struggling to deal with refugees smuggled from Turkey who are now “shipwrecked” on their shores. The volunteer opportunity came amidst our six-week hiking holiday through the Greek islands; Samos had initially been on our radar for its climbing possibilities (boasting the tallest mountain in the Aegean). The ongoing severity of the refugee issue and the confirmed need for volunteers convinced us that a tithe for our freedom (in the form of time and labour) could be given to help those who were fighting for theirs.
The situation was dire. In less than a year, more than a million refugees from the Middle East and Africa had traversed through Greece; the largest migration of displaced persons since World War II. Where the islands of Kos, Leros, Samos, Chios and Lesbos had formerly been transit points for refugees, with the closing of the northern borders of Greece, the refugees’ layover on these islands had become much longer and increasingly less hospitable. Their status had shifted from political refugee to political detainee and they were now forced to await their fate in hastily commandeered facilities that had been meant to house asylum-seekers only temporarily.
Often, these facilities are abandoned army barracks complete with razor-edged barbed-wire fencing, metal boxes or tents for housing, concrete or dirt flooring, sketchy electricity and plumbing, and dodgy food. With dinghies of people still arriving daily, the scant resources in these camps were having to suffice for more and more people.
Fortunately, there are still several international NGOs (such as Red Cross, Save the Children, Médicins Sans Frontières, and the UNHCR) and local charitable organizations ensuring that basic needs of the refugees in these camps are being met, some of them dependent on volunteers for this work. Our willingness to help while in Greece was welcomed by Samos Volunteers, a grassroots humanitarian organization on the island of Samos that have taken on the job of supplying the refugees with basic survival needs – bedding, tents, clothing, shoes, hygiene kits – and psychological support.
As short-term volunteers, we were assigned to the unpacking and sorting of the mountains of donations shipped to the island and stored in Samos Volunteers’ warehouse. What an eye-opener to be at the receiving end of all the charities, church groups and families throughout Europe that have collected boxes of clothing, shoes, baby needs, toys and warm bedding for people in need! The extent of the proceeds was staggering; a thousand boxes of kids’ sweaters, toddlers’ trousers, women’s sleepwear, teens’ rain jackets, etc. lined the warehouse walls, and every day there were a hundred more ready to unpack and sort. And items shipped aren’t just the hand-me-downs for the fourth child, either. Rather, the lovingly labelled boxes reveal neatly pressed corduroys, blouses with sales tags still attached, “onesies” that had been worn once, if at all. Kindness, so carefully and quietly dispensed…
Each morning, we would report to the warehouse to prepare clothes and kits for the camp; 50 teen tops, 30 men’s summer trousers, six newborn baby kits, six size 25 shoes for girls, eight size 35 for teen boys, etc. And there were always survival kits to prepare – sets of warm and dry clothing – for the people plucked from the sea that day. It was satisfying to know, at the end of the day, that the better we had done our job, the more efficiently the needs of the refugees had been met.
In addition to helping with Samos Volunteers, I was asked by another organization – Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) – to conduct some music/art activities for children of “pregnant families” housed in the hotel where we were staying. Given my experience as a music teacher, I was delighted to oblige. Within moments of greeting the children, all of them – ages two to 13 – were holding hands in a circle, clapping, stamping, marching, looby looing, london bridging, bamba-ing and laughing for the sheer joy of it. No matter how non-existent my Farsi and how little their English, melody and rhythm easily carried the day.
A sheet mural of “Paradise Garden” (a reference to the hotel we were in), with their handprints and mine amidst a collage of birds and flowers and butterflies and bees, wrapped up our final day together. Standing amongst the children’s peace symbols by our Paradise Garden mural put the multi-sided political angles of the refugee crisis in its place. Remember the children and the vulnerable in their involuntary journey to freedom.
With these thoughts foremost in our minds, it was difficult to shift our focus back to the privilege of planning our onward journey and resuming our leisurely amble through the Greek islands. We left our volunteer compatriots deeply involved in their work with the refugees: Sallie preparing a documentary based on her interviews with refugees; Markus extending his stay another week because he had been asked to lend a hand to the distribution centre; and Jane excited about distributing 400 pairs of men’s sandals that she had purchased locally with the help of donated funds. Hiking poles once more in hand, we walked onto the ferry bound for the mountainous island of Ikaria, sensing there will be no summit equal to the tower of humanity we had witnessed while volunteering on the island of Samos. Without question, we will return.
Information about Volunteer Organizations on Samos
Samos Volunteers is an independent non-registered organization working alongside other agencies to assist refugees on the island of Samos. Primarily involved in the distribution of non-food items, Samos Volunteers also assists in identifying needs of new arrivals and vulnerable people, offering psychological support and providing educational and recreational projects to both children and adults.
Samos Volunteers are open to applicants who are capable of working hard within the ethos of a team, can cope with high-pressure situations, are available for a minimum of one month, and are over 19 years of age. Specialized sets of skillls such as the ability to speak Greek, French, Arabic, Urdu or Farsi, to teach English or lead recreational activities are definitely an asset.
To apply, go to Samosvolunteers.org. On the Samos Volunteers website, you will also find extensive information about transport and accommodation. Being sensitive to the needs of the local economy, Samos Volunteers expects all volunteers to provide for their own accommodation, meals and transport. Car rental is encouraged to access camp and warehouse and to help in the transportation of warehouse items.
There are useful links to other organizations operating on Samos, such as Iokatis Kitchen, Friendly Humans and No More Borders, No More Tears. Most of these have been initiated by local residents and points of contact are via their Facebook pages.
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