Tag Archives: new arrivals

Horror in the Port of Mytilini

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Tonight in the Port of Mitilini after the ELeftherios Venizelos left,
refugees sleep in front of the ticket offices, hoping to get on the next
boat.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
This people mostly Syrians and Afghans need human treatment and protection.
The European Union has to react and send immediately the needed help .
Tents, food, water supplies are not so difficult to organize
immediately.What are they waiting for? or does the european union maybe
want all this people to stay under such conditions in greece not to have
them at their central european countries?
Why did the Eleftherios Venizelos change suddenly its route and instead
of going to Thessaloniki and bring like planned the refugees with buses
till the Macedonian border it turned and goes to Pireus?
can it be that the pressure made to the greek government by the european
union is so strong to turn big boats?
The solution to bring the refugees to the nearest point of their
destination, was great. It is clear hat they want to get to other
european countries.

45 Syrian Refugees arriving at Charamida beach

Wow i don’t know how to explain about that night?
It was a Great memory for the night that I got to know new comers refugees in mytilini!
It was great for me because I was waiting and looking for the refugees boats already 3 nights .
It was 3:40 am in the morning that I heard some engine sound from the sea.
I saw a boat and it was coming to the beach.
I listen to their language and realized they were talking in Arabic .
I became sure that they are new refugees and I turned on my light and ran down the hill towards them.
Unfortunately they were scared of me and they turned back towards the sea .
I shouted in Arabic that I’m your friend and want help you,
And in that moment a friend of the camp came and shouted towards the refugees: “assalamualeikum! Assalamualeikum!” Then they finally decided to come to us.
I was helping them with my other friends out of the water. We gave them table water to drink and started to help .
There were 40/48 people in the boat
All of my friends helped and informed to the the other people at our place. We carried the children, women and old people to the registration center by the car .
I had 2 different feelings that time.
First: I was so happy to get to know the new refugees whom I waited for and I could help them and they become happy and thanked us a lot😝😝😝😝😝
Second: it was sad that the people have to leave their country and want to save their life because of the war😭😭😭😭

Journey back part III: One Day at the port

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The people face unbearable conditions here: families even with young children and babies have to sleep outside on the ground in the overcrowded camps and in the harbor, without a tent, without a blanket, often even without anything under them. Some of them lost everything on the boat: Today we met a woman, traveling alone with her three small children. She not only lost her passport, her money, everything on the boat between Turkey and Lesvos. We managed to buy some baby food and pampers, we could offer shoes for the children from our donations. But she is just one of so many people here on the island. Around 80.000 refugees arrived in 2015 on Lesvos. The island as a whole has 86.000 inhabitants.

Who goes today in the harbor? Who’s heading for Kara Tepe? And who to Moria? These are the finishing questions of our daily plenary. After “using” the midday heat in the shade sitting to reflect on the yesterday, and to plan the today, we head to these the three places – equipped with many info flyers, water, often also medicine, clothing and paper and pens.
To the harbor in Mitilini refugees go directly after they have arrived on the island and need to register for the first time. From there they are brought into the camps either Kara Tepe or Moria. After their second registration, after having got the white paper, with which they have the right to buy a ferry ticket to the mainland, they go again to the harbor for buying a ferry-ticket waiting for the date to have the chance to leave the island and go on their way to Europe.
Continue reading Journey back part III: One Day at the port

Journey III: First Impressions

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The first morning we stay at the beach in Charamida with a bigger group: About 4AM some of us hear the sound of an engine, people shouting. Directly at the beach next to us a boat with refugees from Syria and Iraq arrived. We go to welcome them and bring them some water and biscuits. It is a group of about 40 people, among them many families with children, who arrived from Turkey after 4 hours in the sea.
We call the coastguard, we call the police, but without much hope that they will come and pick them.

There are so many arrivals these days and mostly the people have to walk and walk for hours until they reach Mitilini where they have to register in the port. The way from Charamida to Mitilini is long.
Continue reading Journey III: First Impressions

Life not Death, by Efi Latsoudi

29th of August 2014
We received the information that there is a rescue operation in Nees Kydonies Lesvou. A 38-year-old woman has gone missing. Strong winds in the area. The coast guard boats are not sailing only a helicopter flies for a while over the area.

At noon 25 Afghan refugees arrived at PIKPA. Two dingy boats had arrived early that morning. Strong winds and waves can’t stop smugglers but also can’t stop the need of people escaping war. Among the survivors of the first boat there is a five year old girl with her uncle. Her mother is missing. The child is resting in PIKPA. PIKPA is overcrowded again. More than 150 people arrived yesterday. No available beds and the families taking care of the girl give her their own beds. We inform the Doctors of the world in Moria detention camp about the tragic incident as well as Red Cross International. The child has a sister and her father in Belgium and they talk on the phone when the child is transferred in Moria to be examined and supported by the doctors. Continue reading Life not Death, by Efi Latsoudi