Aug 22 Thursday
Day 12
Evening Shift
The last day in Lesvos was a good one. Three of us John, Renee and worked 8:00 to
5:00 yesterday and today we got to relax in the morning. We were going to walk down to the bay to have
coffee but Ellena and here husband Evangele accosted us and just about killed
us with kindness. They sat us down at
the patio table near their garden.
Ellena brought us Greek coffee which is like an espresso with the
grounds in it. It is very hot but that
is OK since the trick is to wait about 4 minutes so the grounds can
settle. Then you sip so you can be
careful when you reach near the bottom so as not to get a mouth full of
grounds. Then she brought cheese and
hard (really hard) cookies and bread. By
watching we figured out you are supposed to dunk the bread or cookies in the
coffee. Not bad. With the help of Google translate we found
that they have been married 65 years, and have run the hotel for 50. They have several children. One is a professional diver and one is a
doctor and one is a chef and one runs
the Kitchen Bites Restaurant where we ate several times.
The area below the red striped canopy was where we had morning coffee and conversation.
We then had to pack our bags to be ready to leave for the
airport at 5:45 the following morning. I left a pair of flip flops, a couple of
shirts and an airplane blanket with Kim in the hopes some of it could be
used. The rest I managed to pack in my
carry on which I did not but rather I checked it. Leaving home on a trip with everything in the
carry on and no checked bags, makes me feel secure knowing my stuff will arrive. On the return trip I am less paranoid since
if it does not arrive I will be at home with more stuff there. So my backpack became my carry on with my computer
and earphones and journal and a few other items.
We had lunch at
Skiniko with Jenny and Kim as well as the three folks from S. Carolina. The day and company were delightful and the
food while a bit slow in appearing at our table was still good.
At 4:00 the three of us started our last shift of service at
Moria. I asked if I could work in New
Arrivals since I had not done that. So
the process is when the coast guard brings a bus load of refugees the police
register them. They stay for up to 24
hours in the first reception area. While
there the EuroRelief people meet with them and take note of who is in their
family. Male Head of House size large,
wife size medium, girl age 4, boy age 6. They are then given a small piece of
paper with a number on it D23 or D24.
The paper work is taken to the New arrivals. It was my job to then look at the paper work and
pack a bag with a clothing burrito for each person, a hygiene kit (TP, soap,
toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, feminine hygiene pads). The kids get similar stuff but also a toy (a
ball, small stuffed toy, etc.). The
problem is that the demand is larger than the supply. Last night there were toothbrushes but no
toothpaste and no combs. Then we add
shoes if they have none and if we have some in their size, and then we add a
blanket for each person. The plastic bag
is then put on a shelf with the family number on it to wait for distribution of
the bag to the family. There are so many
new arrivals the camp cannot house them all in a timely fashion. So there are hundreds right now sleeping on
their blankets in any space they can claim, behind buildings, on the edge of
the street, outside the camp in the street or edge of the field.
Until they are assigned a “house” they get their meals at New
Arrivals. They get police papers (ID)
when they are processed. With their
papers and number, they can be checked on the computer and given food three
times a day.
Breakfast usually consists of a prepackaged croissant with a
chocolate filling and water. Lunch is a
small package (about the size of one of those frozen microwave meal from Gourmet)
of warm beans with a protein like chicken, bread and water. Dinner last night was a tomato, boiled egg,
bread and another bean dish.
After the dinner meal was handed out. The people stood in a mob, although we asked
them to stand in a line, came to the window and gave the window ladies their
ticket and the ladies called out the number and I ran up and down and found the
bags with their supplies and then we added the blankets and yelled the name out
into the mob and hand them their bag and the police papers.
During this whole food and clothing procedure there were
people standing and knocking on the door and saying “My friend, My Friend, I
need ________.” The policy does not
allow individual requests while we are doing the other things. Our standard response was come back later.
At 8:30 my job became guarding gate B where the unaccompanied
minor boys are living. I enjoy
this. I was able to recognize many of
the boys and do not have to see their papers to let them in. Some of them run in and out a dozen times a
night. Occasionally a friend who does
not live in section B will try to sneak in.
That is what we are trying to prevent because some are quite a bit
older.
The limited English results in the same conversations over
and over again, but that is OK. One
young man from Afghanistan had a very good command of English and we talked a
long time about religion and politics.
He claimed to be an atheist but was talking about good and bad people
and I asked him how his atheism allowed him to talk about good and evil. He then said he was really antireligion
rather than atheist. It was a good
conversation.
A bus of 52 refugees arrived at about 9:00 and John, Kim and
Renee brought them all food and water.
That was on top of the 4 that had already come earlier on Thursday. It turns out that the immigration people have
two busses that bring people from where they come ashore, usually on the north
shore of the island which is closer to the Greek shore and which is dark on the
shore of the Turkish land because there are no settlements, but one of the
busses is broken down and thus the other had to make all the 1.5 hour round
trips. That just took a long time.
My time at Moria has drawn to a close. I have mixed emotions. It felt right to be a part of the EuroRelief
team that fed, clothed, and housed (sorta) the least of these people. It was frustrating to know that the line of
people coming was not getting shorter and that the number of people in the camp
was growing. Winter is coming and since
Moria is on just about the same latitude as New York, winter can be harsh. It is hard to look at the faces of the babies
and children who will be living in tents, if they are lucky, or on the streets
and know that when the rains and snow comes what life will be like for them. I am glad I came. But it is difficult to know that what I did
was a drop in the bucket. A drop nonetheless, but only a drop.
Aug 23 Friday
Day 13
Trip Home
The day began began a few hours before day began. We loaded into the van and rental car and
headed for the airport near Mytilene.
The drive that time of morning is eerily quiet. Very few cars and even
fewer people on the streets.
The tiny airport that has about 4 flights per day from
Mytilene to Athens was actually very efficient.
They checked our bags to Chicago where we had to claim them to go
through customs.
We had a six hour layover in Athens which was forever but not
forever enough to allow sightseeing in Athens.
So we ate and starbucked.
The flight to Chicago and customs in Chicago were uneventful
and we made it home.
It was a very rewarding and very sad trip. It was what I believe I should have
done. I learned a great deal about
immigration. I am convinced that the USA
policy toward immigrants is not what I want it to be. This will be a matter of major importance to me
in the next election. I have thought a
lot about how God will judge the people who live in a democracy. Jesus said "Render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s." But in our world we are Caesar - we have a
responsibility to elect people that support Godly policies and not just on the
abortion issue. Will God at judgment say 'when I was a stranger you separated me from my parents and locked me in cages
because you voted for people who made that policy?' I do not know, but I suspect He might.
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