It's a Greek Thing

 Today I had on a jacket and blanket to work in the apartment.  As soon as we left to go to the metro for District Council, I took off the jacket because it was so warm outside.  These apartments are made so they don't retain the heat because of how hot it gets in the summer.  So we just keep putting on layers and taking them off.  You would not believe how many we see with heavy coats on.  They must be used to the hot summer.  I can hardly wait. 

When we got to the metro station it was pretty much deserted.  Each stop had few getting on.  We were told there was to be a riot today and the metro would not go to certain stops.  There was a student uprising on this day in 1973 against the current dictatorship.  It turned into a riot and a military tank came to the square and 24 protesters were killed.  Every year this day is remembered with sometimes peaceful demonstrations and sometimes not.  We saw many policemen as we got off the metro for our meeting. 

Tonight we went for the second time to the cleaners to get Kim's suit.  The men working in the shop did not speak any English.  Last night, it had not been cleaned and when we went back this time, Kim used Google Translate to finally get his suit out of hock.  We were all smiling as the right suit was retrieved.  In Athens and most of what we have seen in Greece, there are shops everywhere with apartments above.  We can easily walk to get a haircut, go grocery shopping, the bakery and to eat out.  It is all within a block or two.  

I took pictures of the flowers today.  It is nice that we still have flowers that adorn the yards in November. 

From the talk,  Our Earthly Stewardship, Bishop Causse quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupery: One day while traveling on a train, he found himself sitting amidst a group of refugees.  Deeply moved by the hopelessness he saw in the face of a young child, he exclaimed:  "When by mutation a new rose is born in a garden, all the gardeners rejoice.  They isolate the rose, tend it, foster it.  But there is no gardener for men."  He then asked if we could be our neighbor's gardener.  I have loved seeing so many that are caring for the refugees every way they can.  I am grateful for all I am learning about people.  

Sunshine in Lesbos

 We flew to Lesbos, an island near Turkey that is part of Greece, to visit the refugee camp.  We filled our time with appointments to meet the different organizations working in the camp and had some time to enjoy the island.  

The Salads in Greece are so good.  There is a huge variety and it is always big enough for two.  The cost is usually around $6.  

We ate in an outdoor Cafe in November.  It was delightful and this was our view.  We are in a little village near Mytilene.  We had a dog that really wanted our food.  

The Greeks are late night people.  We were here having dinner at 9 p.m. at an outdoor restaurant in Mytilene. 

Our group consisted of two German dentists, an assistant from UK and Syria ( lived through Moria), a Somalian,  Libya, the Netherlands, and several other countries.  We were all there eating tons of Greek food, and all speaking our common language of English with varied accents.  You could tell that they were good friends and  enjoyed working together in the clinic. 

Office to our Hotel and reception center

Weird sink

Our room.  It had this big open area where Kim is standing 

Once again, the stairs are circular leading to our apartment

The Entrance

Walking along the "beach" that had mostly rocks for the beach front

Empty of tourists but people still swim in the sea

Abandoned and unfinished

Looking towards Mytilene from our hotel

The Gardens at our hotel

Breakfast--the cheese is amazing.  There were croissants, different breads, granola, 

boiled eggs, omelets, poached eggs, yogurt, rice pudding, milk and juice, tomatoes and cucumbers 

( always)

toppings for the yogurt like peanut butter, maraschino cherries, prunes, Nutella, jam and nuts. 

The pool looked inviting but it was a little too cold for me. 

The castle at Mytilene: The original nucleus of the fortress, designed in Byzantine times, is believed to have been built on top of the ancient acropolis. 

Walking back to our car.  Parking was scarce even though tourist season is over. We parked where ever we could. 

Ice cream or gelato parlor and bakery.  Everything looked delicious but we are not fooled.  Been there and done that and now we just admire. 

My ice cream was pistachio pomegranate and it had pomegranate seeds in it.  It was delicious. 

This is looking out from the café to the harbor.  Everyone is out and enjoying the night life so don't let my empty chairs fool you.  

It was a true adventure going into the unknown...no tourist guide,  GPS not working, and just going for it.  It all worked out.  We learned so much.  We were grateful to fly home late at night where there was little traffic and to drop into our nice familiar bed.  It was not easy.  It was stressful.  It was a great adventure.  We don't know why we landed in Greece doing Humanitarian but we know that someday we will look back and get it.  We were told when we put our papers in for a mission that we could say what and where and have a great mission or we could be open to where the Lord would send us and have an amazing mission.   Well....amazing will come after I learn everything I need to and that's good enough for me. 

A Visit to Lesbos Refugee camp

 

This is a picture of the camp we visited in Lesbos.  It has changed since this picture.  We were asked to not take any pictures in the camp.  It has changed since this picture was taken.  Here is a picture I took from the community center. 

You can't see it very clearly but it gives you an idea of where the camp is. This camp was created after Moria burned down.  It has gone through many transitions and many of the refugees were sent to other locations so it is not as crowded as Moria.  There are many more bathroom and shower facilities, there are guards that patrol regularly, there is water in a big jug outside each trailer.  The trailers are like the moving pods in the US with a door and small window.  They have no heating and no air conditioning.  They are not to cook or use flammable anything.  Inside the camp there is a clinic with a doctor, a dentist, a phycologist,  and pharmacy.  Latter Day Saint Charities supports the clinic, the laundry called Drop in the Ocean, and the counseling provided outside the camp.  

We toured the Community Center and the Sports Center and were so happy to see that the refugees had some place outside the camp that they could go to and talk with other refugees, have activities, and get exercise.  The bikes in this picture are where they learn to fix bikes and come to repair their bikes.  Latter Day Saint Charities was able to donate some bikes to people. 

Closer view of the camp.  The tents are for the unaccompanied boys.  

This was an eating and visiting area of the Community Center.  They can get drinks and snacks.  We visited on a day when a volunteer group fixed barbecue.  It was grilled meat in a pita. It smelled yummy and the line was very long with people waiting to get theirs.  

Outside the Community Center playing basketball, ping pong, etc. 

Refugees walking to the community center.  It is a steep uphill climb!

I have to be careful about taking pictures that show faces up close. 

This was the Sports Center up the street from the Community Center.  It had Ariel Yoga, treadmills, bikes, climbing walls built by a volunteer group, boxing, and other equipment.  Since most of the people using the gym have no exercise clothes, there was a rack and boxes marked with sizes and shoes that they could check out and a laundry box to drop them in when done. 

Drop in the Ocean picks up the dirty clothes from the camp, washes them, folds them and returns them about a day later in a bag to the owners. We have supported them with washing machines. There are no laundry facilities in the camp.  

It was overwhelming but so worth the trip to see in person.  It was good to watch the people and see them smiling and wearing nice clothes and shoes.  It was so good to see so many people and organizations working so hard to meet the needs of the camp and to make it a positive experience.  As we visited with UNHCR, it was emphasized that the goal was to integrate those that wanted to stay in Greece and to help them be self sustaining.  It is a complicated challenge all over the world right now.  I am grateful to see and learn that a refugee is one that left their country for fear of persecution, conflict, violence, etc.  Refugees don't get to pick where they want to live.  Asylum seeker apply for asylum and are seeking international protection but refugee status has not been determined.  Then there are the migrants that are wanting to live somewhere else, usually to improve living conditions.  See--it is a complicated issue.  If you made it to the end of this posting, I will give you $5 when I get home.  

Roman Aqueduct in Moria

We missed the road to the Aqueducts.  It was a most unassuming dirt road that took off from the main road.  We backtracked and off we went following Miss GPS and hoping we were not off on a wild goose chase. I saw so many olive groves.  We saw beehives!  It felt like the Greece you see in movies with the small farms and houses along the way.  

 We were able to watch as men put forms in place to keep the arch supported.  They are restoring the aqueduct slowly.  Nothing seems to go fast in Greece but the motor scooters. 

This Roman aqueduct is near Moria where we saw the refugee camp that had burned down.  A few facts: the quality building were not equaled until many years later.  It was built in the last 2nd Century.  Its carrying capacity of water is thought to be 127,000 cubic meters or 33,549,850 gallons.  

It is approximately 14 miles long and is supported by gravity and incline. 

It took water from Lake Megali Limni to Mytilene and is made of large blocks of grey marble.

Some of the conduit were used to provide public fountains to drink from and for Greek baths. 

It was pretty amazing to think how old these columns are.  It was a nice diversion from seeing the camps and thinking of the hard conditions so many are experiencing. 

Shadows of Moria

 We flew to Lesvos early in the morning.  That was nice because the traffic was light and we had never driven to the airport before.  We were going to take the metro and found out that there was a strike going on and the metro would not be running until later in the day.  Then we found out that the air tower was also going on strike but that they weren't starting until after our flight.  

We were shuttled way out to get to our plane

We were grateful it wasn't really busy because we could not figure out the parking ticket on the way in or for paying for it on the way out.  No one honked at us but helped us instead.  Thank you!

It takes an hour to get to Lesvos from Athens.  Those are the kind of flights I like.  We arrived on the island, rented a car and saw olive trees everywhere. 

 Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world,  Some of the olive trees that are still producing olives date back to the thirteenth century.

Eleven million olive trees cover 40% of the island together with other fruit trees. 

This is a great illustration of Jacob 5 and the Olive tree 

Lesvos or Lesbos is the third largest island in Greece.   Lesbos is one of the Greek islands most affected by the European migrant crisis that started in 2015. Refugees of the Syrian Civil War came to the island in multiple vessels every day. As of June 2018, 8,000 refugees were trapped when a deal between Europe and Turkey removed their route to the continent in 2016. After that, living conditions deteriorated and the possibility for movement on to Europe. 

Moria Refugee Camp was the largest refugee camp built to meet the needs of the refugees and held twice as many people as it was designed to accommodate. By May 2020, Moria had 17,421 refugees living there.  Elder Christensen and I  heard many stories about Moria and met some that lived there.   We were able to go tour the remains.  A  fire was started and it burned down Moria in Sept. 2020. In August 2018, it was dubbed  as "the worst refugee camp on earth". "I've never seen the level of suffering we are witnessing here every day", a Lesbos coordinator commented.  The camp was built to accommodate around 3,000 people, however there were around 20,000 people living in the camp in summer 2020, among whom 6,000 to 7,000 were children under the age of 18.  

                                               It was very sobering.  It was overwhelming. 

Looking down the hill where tents use to cover the hills

I wish I had taken better pictures.  I was filled with so much sadness as Jean told us where all the tents had once stood on  the hills that were now empty.  It was a good foundation for us to understand more of the refugee crisis the entire world is facing right now. 

We were able to spend the bulk of the day touring the current refuge camp outside of Mytilene.  I encourage everyone to read more about Moria.  

 

Acropolis Museum half price

This is the center we went to today in Athens where they were distributing food to those that have a need.  We were able to see how they distribute and keep track of those receiving food and what they put in the bags, etc.  It is one of the NGOs that LDS Charities supports.   We were impressed with their record keeping and how they arrived at finding a way to get food to those that need it.  

We decided that we should go visit a museum as long as we were done visiting the center and still had time.  Museums are 1/2 price after Oct. until March.  We decided to see the Acropolis museum since we had just gone to the Acropolis.  

It was still busy with tourists and tourists guides.  I stood by one group and listened to the accented English as she went into a long explanation of a statue.  You can also get head sets that walk you through the museum.  My favorite part was listening to two young boys that spoke French and were obviously not as interested in the museum as their grandmother hoped.  

We got brave and took the elevator to go see the ruins under the museum.  In our elevator was a woman that we learned was from Alaska.  I think we all thought how nice to speak to someone in English and discovered that she had just come from Turkey and was on her way to Lebanon to visit her friend that is a principal at a school.  She had stories to tell but what impressed me is that at the age of 75 she wrote a children's book about bears and their poop and made lots of money from the book.  It is on Amazon called, The Bear in the Blueberry and has lovely illustrations.  She is now 78 years old and traveling alone to many new places.  She is waiting out Alaska's winter in warm places!

This week I also fixed dinner for the missionaries in Athens.  It was Sister Reidhead's birthday and the sisters said what can we do?  I don't know if I will ever cook a meal for anyone again because it was so stressful to fit everything on the stove or oven which is a guessing game for temperature and so very small.  How do you get everything to be cooked and hot at the same time?  I was so happy we could celebrate her birthday but next time, eating out sounds really good.