Yesterday I had the chance to go to Moria. I started my morning off in Pikpa, where we once again started assembling mats made of lifejackets. One volunteer also had the idea to take only a little insulation out of the jackets and wear it under his coat to keep warm. As it turns out this works brilliantly, so we made a few of those as well.
Afterward we loaded up the car and drove over to Moria which is located north of Mitilini in the hills amongst the olive groves. Just as we arrived, the LUSH Cosmetics tents were delivered and a group got straight to work putting them up. Kat, the woman organizing the delivery, asked me to come around with her to serve as translator while she interviewed some of the families moving into the tents. More on that below.
LUSH Cosmetics Tents
Due to the political issues surrounding the situation, the Greek government is not allowing Moria to be called a Refugee Camp, instead it is a Registration Camp. This means that once refugees have received their registration documents, they are free to enter Europe through Athens (which they get to by ferry). However, since more people come in over the course of day than can be processed by Frontex (the EU Border Agency) many are left waiting for several days, at times weeks, in order to be registered. Upon arrival to Moria, refugees are given a ticket with the date they arrived and a number. Everyday, outside the barbed-wire gates, Frontex announces which dates and numbers they will be processing; usually they are several days behind. Just to give you an idea, yesterday, was the 31st and Frontex was still processing people who had arrived on the 27th.
The camp is divided into two parts, the inside and what is being called Afghan Hill. It’s a little difficult to explain the terrain as (at least in my head) it all sort of blurs into one. This is part of the reason why the situation in Moria is so chaotic. There is little organization and close to no fluid communication amongst the Greek government, Frontex, NGOs and volunteers. What’s more is that the NGOs are severely limited by the kind of services they can provide and are not allowed to develop any infrastructure (i.e. bathrooms or running water) without several permits, which the Greek government has made nearly impossible to acquire. Currently, the land is being privately rented from the proprietor.
Afghan Hill from above
Abandoned tent on Afghan Hill
Currently there are refugees coming from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran as well as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. However at present all Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians are being denied registration all together and have been forced to set up on the beaches. The ONLY aid they are currently receiving is from Kitchens Without Borders. Furthermore, the Greek government is not even deporting people back to their countries, so many are simply stranded on the island.
From what I am told, the situation at Moria has been very calm over the past several days as there have been very few boats coming in. This has meant that the registration lines have been shorter (there were at most 50-60 people in the Syrian registration line yesterday, something that is practically unheard of). While I was there, the atmosphere was fairly serene; there were some clowns walking through the camp singing and dancing for the refugees and one man had even managed to get “the wave” going with a bunch of people who were waiting in line for water from the only clean source on the site. The weather however was quite bleak and the temperatures dropped below zero again last night.
As I mentioned, Kat had asked me to walk around with her and interview some of the families moving into the newly set up tents. We met one young man from Afghanistan who is hoping to move to Norway and study Computer Science. He had been travelling for 2 years, had left most of his family behind and told us he is looking forward to the day he can leave this journey behind him and start a new life.
We also met a family of 18 (8 of them children) who had been travelling for over a month, some of it by foot. They told us that their dream is to get to Germany where their children can study. One of the young girls, Leila, told us she wants to be a doctor and her family was quick to mention what an excellent student she was. After talking for some time one of the women asked Kat if it was possible to use her phone to call her sister in Afghanistan. Kat obliged and after a few attempts we were able to get connected. This was the first time the family was able to communicate with their relatives back home since leaving. (Kat and I had tears in our eyes, and even as I write this I can’t help but become emotional.) Just as we were about to leave them, the family was told they were up next for registration and to gather the children as they would soon be on their way.
I also had a long conversation with two men from Iran who were extremely friendly and chatty, as many Iranians (in my experience) are. One man, Ali, had been split from his partner 35 days ago (she is now in Finland) and he showed me a video of his newborn daughter whom he has yet to meet. He also showed me videos of his Martial Art competitions and told me he was one of the leading champions of his division in Iran. Ali is currently one of the refugees that is volunteering at Moria and plans to stay there for a little longer before going to join his family. The other man told me about his long and dangerous journey to get here. He said that travelling in the boat from Turkey was both the most dangerous and stupidest thing he has ever done; there were moments where he felt sure they would not make it to the other side. However after a moment he said, “But you know, I had to leave a bad situation back home and if this is what I have to do to start a better life, it is all worth it. Inshallah.” He told me about his plans to move to Denmark where a friend is waiting for him and asked me to tell him about my life in Canada. We drank some chai together and as we parted he thanked me for being here and we hugged.
Tonight I am off to do the night shift at Moria (Midnight- 8 am). As I mentioned there have been only a few boats coming in lately as the waters have been quite dangerous. This morning there were none that came into Mitilini, however I did hear that 4 boats (approximately 200 people) arrived on the north part of the island, Molyvos. The camp should be quiet tonight. My roommate told me many people were leaving on the ferry to Athens today and the general atmosphere is quite calm.
The weather is going to be warmer over the next couple of days, though they are projecting for quite a bit of rain. It’s hard to say which is better or worse frankly, the bitter cold that comes at night or the higher temperatures with rain.
I guess we’re all about to find out together.
On the outside of the main building at Pikpa
This Many Days to Freedom 