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.
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