Currently, I’m on my way to Athens from Milan and then on to Mytilini on Lesvos Island after that. (This is being posted during my layover in Athens.) As you may already know, the purpose of my journey is to volunteer my time in Lesvos to refugees fleeing crisis in the Middle East. I will be spending one week on the island; not as much time as I would like maybe but hopefully enough time to make some sort of a difference.
Doing this kind of relief work has always been an ambition of mine, even from a young age. In high school I had decided that international aid, in some capacity, was for me; though back then I had no idea where any of this might take me or if I would even get to a point in my life where it could be possible. There were many detractors too; I was constantly told that such dangerous situations were not for “delicate” people like me.
“You’re the perfect target to be kidnapped and held for ransom,” said my mother.
“You’re too sensitive for that kind of work,” someone else told me.
I once had the so-called “privilege” of meeting a Canadian diplomat whose career had taken him all over the world. I remember finding his story inspiring and knew that I wanted to commit myself to a similar path. When I approached him to ask him for advice and words of encouragement he told me that as a woman I would probably find it hard to be a diplomat, especially if I planned on having children. He told me I would be better off working domestically for some international component of government (maybe foreign affairs) if that’s what I really wanted to do, but frankly my time would be better spent doing something else. I was 17 and completely dispirited. Thankfully now, at 27, I know better than to listen to the out-dated musings of an over privileged white male who probably spent most of his career perpetuating discriminatory culture more than anything else. Nevertheless, this rhetoric really worked on me for a long time; I really believed that the kind of work I wanted to do wasn’t something I could ever realistically achieve. So I did other things, I went to school, worked in offices, taught dance to kids, took summer vacations and led my life as the good, domesticated young lady I was meant to be. Still, the urge never went away and despite liking my work (for the most part), it’s always felt like something else has been waiting for me. So now here we are 10 years later doing exactly what I was told I shouldn’t even bother consider doing in the first place. Suck it, old white man.
The inspiration for this trip came from a girl I used to work with who had spent the last while working with refugees on the island; I’d been following her posts on Facebook and found myself a little jealous that she was doing what I had wanted to do for so long. My decision to go the island was made at 3 AM one Sunday night/Monday morning a few weeks before leaving for Europe. At the time I was planning my holiday to Italy to visit family over Christmas and was contemplating where to spend New Year’s. In the past, I had always spent it in a different European city either meeting up with friends or exploring new places on my own. After considering a few places where I knew I could meet with friends I found myself feeling frivolous for even wanting to take a New Year’s trip at all. But then, at 3 AM, while scrolling through Facebook, the whole thing seemed so obvious. More than obvious!
At first, the idea seemed too crazy – one that would never actually come into fruition. After all, it was 3 in the morning. What would my family say about their “delicate flower” running off to some random island in the middle of the Aegean Sea to help people in their greatest moment of need? Luckily, and to my surprise they were more than supportive. (Not that I needed their blessing, but I would need a ride to the airport so their support was and is greatly appreciated.) And so with that, I took an extra week off work and started planning my trip.
The truth is, I still have no idea what I’m doing once I get there. After researching the situation in Lesvos, joining endless groups on Facebook and connecting with people from all over the world, the only thing I really have set up is a place to sleep, and not even for the whole trip- just the first few days. My plan is to work in the warehouses for the first couple of days, sorting through donations and getting them ready for delivery to various parts of the island. After that, I hope to get in contact with groups on the ground and figure it out from there. The opportunities are endless from working in the camps (both inside and outside the barricades currently being controlled by the Greek authorities); to translating in the medical tents (though I don’t think my basic Farsi will be very useful there); to greeting people coming off the boats; to collecting discarded blankets and clothes to be laundered and redistributed; to delivering donation items to various places.
I have absolutely no idea where this journey will take me and while I’m aware of the situation I’m about to enter, I’m pretty sure nothing has prepared me for what I’m about to witness. All I can really hope for at this point is the mental, emotional and physical capacity to make it through this trip. I don’t expect it to be easy, and I don’t expect to make it out completely unscathed. What I do know is that I’ve never felt surer about an unsure decision in my short and domesticated 27 years.
Stay tuned and wish me luck!
Chloe
P.S. I plan to take pictures and post some along the way, however I’ve felt very conflicted about this from the beginning. While I want to be able to depict as much of a full picture as possible, I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of posting pictures of refugees as they are trying to make their way out of a dire situation. Not only does it seem insensitive, it’s also not what I’m here for. I hope to get a better feel for this on the ground, but as of right now I’d rather err on the side of caution. I will only post pictures with explicit permission and would ask that anyone who reads this blog does not reproduce any pictures without my consent.
P.P.S. While I personally have not made any effort to raise money for the refugees, I have been directing people to my friend Nancy’s GOFUNDME page. Nancy is the wonderful human who both inspired and help make this trip possible. I encourage everyone who reads this to make a contribution (of any amount) to help her reach her goal. All donations will go directly to helping refugees arriving on the island as they continue their journeys to new homes.
This Many Days to Freedom 