Wednesday 00:30. I was looking for some information about the country where many people come from here, Afghanistan. I read about the years of war, about all the different parties, conflicts... until I stumbled upon videos and pictures of Moria. The camp was on fire. A fire in Moria was not something new, but this was different. This was a very big fire. A devastating fire.
Last Wednesday the moment came, which every NGO has warned about for years. People forced to live in an extremely unsafe, unhygienic and inappropriate camp have been indescribably hard hit. People who have had to endure all the possible misery in this world, have had to leave everything behind, looking for a place of peace and security, Europe.
A few days before the fire, the first Covid-19 positive inhabitant was confirmed, many cases followed. As a solution, 13000 people were imprisoned. An extremely overcrowded camp in which everyone young and old had no chance to escape the virus. And now there is absolutely nothing left of it. 13000 people, including many babies, are on the streets.
Wednesday 03:00. The other 2 volunteers of CRR with whom I live in the same appartment complex had seen the same thing. We decided to go outside and face reality. Thousands of people were on the run again - now towards the capital of Lesbos Mytilini. We saw elderly, young people, babies and people in wheelchairs with everything they had left. Many had nothing left... What is the best place on the street for your 3 little children? We see groups consisting of families with young children. On the other side of the street there is an empty building of Honda. There are families sleeping and under the building there are many more people. We decide to give away everything we can find in water and food to them. They are grateful. They tell about the fire, show terrible videos, a boy shows his ticket to Athens (had to spend another 14 days in quarantine in camp before he was allowed to leave). He had 2 dogs, but he lost one.
Wednesday 08:00. Supermarket Lidl opens. We decide to go to the Lidl together with a German volunteer. We pack water and food. We hand it out. First we drive step by step. Later we go back and do it again. Now we hand out from the van. This creates gratitude, but also the double feeling 'if only I could give everyone everything they need.'
A group of unaccompanied minors comes to sit at our house. I get food and drinks from the store and give it to them. They are very grateful. They indicate that they have no idea what they can do now. One of the boys says that his life is his bag and his phone. 2 boys have lost their phone. They have lost all their contacts. The boys rest for a while, but then, when the locals notice the boys, they have to leave.
The next day we hear that almost all minors are in a hotel on the mainland. They flew to the mainland the same evening. They are doing well.
Wednesday 12:00. We are called back by Eurorelief. We walk towards the epicenter of misery, the parking lot of the Lidl and talk to people there. First we see a woman lying unconscious on the street. A sweet little boy, her son is standing there. I start to create some distractions and play with the little boy, while others take care of the woman (they know from the section).
Then I talk to an Afghan girl from a family. She tells us that they need food, drinks, diapers, soap, toothpaste. The fire burned everything. In the meantime, people show me their papers with medical information. They need medication, diagnosis: psychological and suicidal complaints or as someone describes it as 'a problem with nerves of the brain'. If only I could do something.
I talk to a nice, good English-speaking Afghani boy and his parents. He tells me that they have lived in Moria for 1 year and 6 months. Their structure in zone 12 is completely destroyed, but he is grateful. 'We have each other and are healthy.' I am impressed by their resilience. Besides food and drinks, they are only looking for one thing: 'a better place to live'.
I talk to another family with a 2 month old baby. They all don't speak English, but they look friendly. The mother of the family starts calling. She gives me the phone and apparently I get a family member on the phone who is in the hospital. She had serious breathing problems last night due to the inhalation of smoke and the combination with her asthma. Luckily she is doing a little better. She is also on her way back to the Lidl. I give her encouraging words and tell her that food is on its way. She does not stop expressing her gratitude to me. She is very happy with everything we do for them.
A boy speaks to me. He is together in a group of other boys (under 18 and without parents). The boy's eyes are tired and red and he is crying. 'All I have is pain, no home, no food, no drink, I have nothing. What can I do?'
And yes, what can he do?
I fall silent and can't utter a single word. In the end I try to encourage him and say that we will do everything (we can) to help them. Later we are told that UN is looking for all minors to bring them to the mainland. For now they are being held together at a specific place near the Lidl. The boy is there.
Then they call for medical help. I am a medical student, but I get nervous whether I can do anything. The Italian volunteer asks me to follow him. There is no one from a medical organization present so I go and look at it. I see a man with a lot of pain, mega thickening on his arm and a lot of pain in his shoulder. He tells that he jumped off a roof to escape the flames. This arm must be broken in several places, but how can I reach a doctor? The volunteer tells me that I have to walk to another camp Kara Tepe to ask for a doctor. That is what I do.
The doctor confirms my diagnosis, but he is not going to send an ambulance for this. I understand. I now experience the also medical harsh reality in a disaster. Life-threatening situations prevail, despite the fact that this man is in a lot of pain. Someone will have to drive him to the hospital. I call Eurorelief and no one can drive. Besides, we have to go back immediately, because there is another task waiting for us. The Italian volunteer promises me that he will do everything he can to arrange something. I hope for the best.
We are received kindly in the community center of the American volunteers. There are volunteers everywhere lying broken and tired on the ground. We receive food and we call our family. Then everyone has to go back home and nobody is allowed to leave his or her place. There have been threats and attacks on volunteers by fascists and local people...
In the evening, I am totally speechless.
Stichting Christian Refugee Relief
NL74 RABO 0306 6331 83
o.v.v. Noodhulp Moria
Comments