Turbulent Times

Turbulent times on Lesvos, Greece ~ in the heart of a major humanitarian crisis.

I picked Anais up from Moria a few days ago, and was aghast by the smell of sewage in the air. Refugees walking through sludge and mud, awaiting their deportation.

Each day levels of fear have risen on this island - Ferries have been leaving full of "illegal migrants" (or humans fleeing war) who await a 3 month period in jail before their deportation back to their homeland. Volunteer camps are being shut down, while others are awaiting their doomed fate.

Mo Chara continues to operate - last week we drew the night shift card, working shifts from midnight to 6 am, or 2-8. With radar on, ear open, and eyes peeled we patrol the waters helping refugees safely reach the coast.

Many boats arrive close to land and run out of petrol - resulting in a tow to land. Others are overfull (78 in one dinghy!) with hard steering and full of panic. Three nights ago, we arrived to a boat with 2 people on board suffering from heart attacks - both died on shore after medics did their best under the moonlight to revive them with CPR.

Help Support Refugee Rescue & Mo Chara (http://www.refugeerescue.co.uk/donate-now/) 

We continue to work with Greek Coast Guard, an international SAR Frontex group (German, Swedish, Norweigan), and Rescue boats from Netherlands & Spain.

Where has the humanity gone?

Freedom in Unity

What is beyond the Dark side of the moon? Perhaps if we shot a prism into the depth of space, our reflection would finally reach us. We would realize the brilliance of the prism, and celebrate our differences.

Uniqueness creates a human. Growing into manhood, my peers and I embraced "weirdness." As to be weird, is to be yourself - no boundaries, no borders.

Refugees planning their route on a map

For whatever reason, we have forgotten this basic principal of human existence on this planet. No two trees are alike. We celebrate the curves of a bonsai or the spots of a leopard. Yet we frequently judge humans based on their appearance, religion or job. We categorize each other depending on what shade of color our skin is, the food we eat, the God we pray to, the fabric we wrap our bodies and head in, etc etc etc etc etc. With time, we have progressively become more petty and judgmental; as a result, we are farther from one another.

I ask you, is this how you dream of Utopia?

Everyday I take action, either on MoChara or in a refugee camp, and I see the blatant bullshit we are living in. Because of a few idiots in power, the poison is everywhere, and it stinks. People are forced to live in this chaos we created, and slowly deteriorate as a result of the pollution of our thoughts in action.

Forget about it. Today I watched a group of Palestinian men protest "European Closed borders." These are beings that have given up everything: their farms, jobs, inheritance, saving, and homeland in search of a possibility that they might live a better life. We are disgusting. These are not murderers or terrorists, these are farmers, teachers, doctors, family men, etc.


I cannot give up on Humanity - as it is my duty to serve this planet and all she creates. I see the possibility for a future where we embrace one another in peace and love. It is your choice to dream what you dream. What do you choose? What kind of world do you wish your children to live in?


Begin dreaming now.

War Zone - Front Lines

The drama that began last week put a block in my writing flow. Attending a meeting of the "minds" behind many NGOs tuned me into the politics that are behind the actions of the volunteer movement in Lesvos. A misinterpreted statement combined with a reckless, unprofessional attitude resulted in a mishmash of slanders and threats directed at me. A story for a later time, perhaps...For now, I am happy to be a part of Refugee Rescue - a team full of good-hearted, professional individuals here for the right reasons. 

Since I last wrote, stormy weather moved in. It was an opportune moment for us to take the boat out of the water in order to service the engines and install our radar. A process that would take a few days. During these days, Ritchie traveled back home and our crew began scouting an area on the South part of the island to relocate.

The Refugee Rescue team ended up moving to a village, Panagiouda, just North of the capital Mytilene. Mochara, our boat, will be in the harbor here with Echo (ProActiva) and Charly (Dutch Boat Rescue Foundation). We will also be coordinating with Promead (Spanish) and ERCI (Greek) rescue teams to help reduce casualties on the water. 

We left port as the sun was rising. The ride past the ancient castle was smooth, as the weather has calmed. Connecting with other active groups and observing, we received the current situation on the water. Many NATO warships were visible, as well as Coast Guard and Frontex. It seemed impossible that any refugee boats would be able to make it past their state of the art technology.

Max, our newest crew member, recommended we practice a training exercise where the crew members drive the boat. So, I took the wheel and began carving through the water, rescuing inflatable black rings that the refugee boats littered. Within a few minutes, we caught site of a small dinghy approaching us. I put the boat in full throttle and took off.

Like ninjas, Charly and I switched our position. He took the helm and approached the boat with caution. There appeared to be 25 or so people, many children, that were in high spirits. I communicated the best I could from a distance and we successfully guided them to a soft sandy beach to land. A crew that we communicated with was waiting for the boat as it arrived. Our first successful shepherding experience in the South.

Two army RIBs full of Greek soldiers and weapons whizzed by us. Our attention followed them, as we continued to scan the waters. Off the coast of the southern tip of Lesvos, we spotted a refugee dinghy approximately 0.8 nautical miles off shore. 

Full speed ahead brought us to the boat in a few minutes. It soon became clear that the refugee's engine had died due to lack of petrol. There were 48 people on board, paying between 1,000-1,500 Euro per head, and the smuggler did not give them enough fuel to cross! Unreal.

We assured them that they were safe. They begged us to bring them to Greece and not back to Turkey. Our first instinct was to tow them - we would need permission from the CG to proceed. As David called in, a small CG boat approached us. It was obvious that they would be taking over. 

Our crew decided to make friends with George 1 & George 2, the two Greek Coast guards. Charlie tried cracking a couple of cheeky Skipper jokes and we offered to bring them coffee the next time around. Smiles crept on George 1's face, while George 2 kept his serious face on.

CG 060, the king ship of the Coast Guard approached us after around 30 minutes of waiting and reassuring the refugees. On board the ship were roughly 500+ refugees packed together. Some were sleeping while others looked exhausted. The two Georges took the lead and brought the refugee dinghy into position to unload.

The men wearing gloves and face masks guided a couple of strong men off first to help unload the rest up the boat ladder. We watched as the these men did their best to muscle up children and women. The staff receiving the refugees seemed angry and impatient. An older woman made her way up the ladder crying in pain. This seemed to set off one of the CG staff, as he began screaming at the top of his lungs at this old woman hunched over. My heart wailed.

Then it began to get worse. As refugees boarded the ship, the CG staff handled them roughly, pushing them on to the ground and then kicking them into place. It was painful to watch. An absolute disgrace on humanity. 

Mochara stayed until all the refugees were boarded, making our presence known - and hoping they would treat them with respect. The CG called us on the radio and asked us to tow the boat in to shore. We were pleased to help, as it has become a habit of the CG to slash and sink the refugee boats at sea - creating floating hazards as well as polluting their own sea. 

What to do now? Wake up tomorrow before the sun rises and get on the water. The camps on our little island are filling up fast. There are rumors about creating bigger camps here that can hold up to 20,000 refugees long term. 

Anais helped today in the main refugee camp, Moria. She connected with "Better days for Moria" and cooked, made tea, and served food all day. According to her, the vibes of Moria have become very intense. Today, a few fights broke out amongst the refugees, which has never happened before. Pressure is increasing by the day. 

XXIII. Release your Mind - Express your Heart

After a 5 hours of training on the boat (more or less), I was ready to soak in the local hot springs. As Charlie says, as the intensity rises it is important to have fun. Anais and I made the journey to the 600+ year old turkish baths - an old white structure with one small pool filled with very hot waters. To our dismay, the baths have been boarded up...again.

Apparently these springs are supposed to be for public use. The owner of the building adjacent runs a hotel-like building in the summer where people can rent rooms for private bathing. In the winter, the locals usually have free reign of the healing waters.

Not this year. We have visited these springs many times, and they have been open some and locked others. For some reason, today it made me extremely frustrated to arrive to a locked door on top of one of Mother Earth's greatest gifts - hot water.

Exploitation of our earth and her animals for the capitalization of individuals is a crime.

Europeans split up Nations as they created countries with borders. We are living in a world separated from each other through culture, language, money, beliefs, religion, and invisible lines (or walls). The new paradigm exists ~ and it will be reached through unity.

Believe that we can find peace through unity, and so shall it be. Imagine a world free of borders, free of nonsense rules, and free of capitalization on the exploitation of other humans beings, animals, plants, minerals, etc.

We are on the front lines of European culture meeting Middle eastern. When I look in the refugees' eyes, I see a human being. We bleed the same blood, breathe the same air, and eat the same food. We may not speak the same language, though we can feel each others hearts through joy or fear.

Release your mind - connect to your heart - bring heaven back on earth.

XXII. Refugee Rescue - Night Owls

One may look at our current situation and wonder, "Where has humanity gone?" With a push of the button, the war in Syria could end - solving the refugee crisis amongst rising tensions in the Middle East. On the other side of the coin, we can look at the combined effort of the volunteers in Greece and observe an example of selfless service at humanities best.

Everyday people are working here; whether it be organizing clothes, feeding the hungry, cleaning, performing search and rescue operations, or coordinating efforts (to name a few). I continue to exist in awe at the collective effort of the volunteers on the island of light, Lesvos.

The days have begun to blur together for me. Our crew, Refugee Rescue, is out on the water most nights and some days; therefore, we have a sporadic sleep pattern. Resting for a few hours, then immediately jumping up to suit up and run to the boat. A full adrenaline rescue mission followed by a couple more hours of sleep. Then perhaps we train, hold debrief sessions, or service our boat. There is little down time to rest the mind - as we are always on call, standing by.

The past few nights we have helped shepherd in boats. Basically, we do our best to communicate with the refugees on board the boats, letting them know we are there to help and point a direction they should head their boat. Depending on the situation, we either take the lead and show them where to go, or we shepherd from the back, making sure there are no casualties. Ideally, more than one rescue boat will be on scene so we can have one in front and one in back.

A large percentage of the boats arriving in these days have been made of fiberglass, a cheap version of a speedboat that appears to be made as cheap and quick as possible. The possibility of these boats cracking is high - even with the impact of a strong wave. It seems that smugglers are trying to find methods to be faster and more discreet, as the pressure from Turkish coast guard continues to increase.

Around 1 AM a couple of nights ago, we guided a fiberglass boat safely to shore. A landing crew was present, and as the refugees piled off, the landing crew (including Anais) became aware that there was an 8.5 month pregnant woman with 2 kids on board. The impact of the boat into the beach gave her slight contractions and an ambulance with medics came to assist her. By the grace of Allah, her baby and the mother were safe and well.

Anais spent a few hours with this group around a big fire. She played her harmonica and laughed with the refugees. The husband of the pregnant mother agreed to share their story with Anais on camera, which he told in Arabic - when it is translated, we will share! The refugees were so excited to reach the coast safely, that they did not want to sleep, rather celebrate through the night.

A similar scenario played out this morning with a boat we escorted in to the beach. This time, there was a pregnant mother aboard and a man having heart problems. Certain teams bring medics with them, which we are grateful for, as they are trained and equipped to perform emergency procedures in remote landing areas. Because communication and teamwork was strong, we were able to make sure everyone was safe and received medical attention.

Refugee Rescue welcomed a new crew member, David from California, the other day. We are happy to have him as he is well trained, willing to learn, and experienced. Richie will be with us for one more week, so it is imperative that we get David up to speed so our team can continue to function effectively. We also welcomed a new skipper, Chris from Greece, a few hours ago. He will join us tonight to begin his training.

We continue to improve our methods and teamwork. We are functioning totally off of the support of individual donations. For this, we are in gratitude.

With love and peace we go, helping those who we can. Thank you.

XXI - 177 People Rescued from imminent danger

The Refugee Rescue team greeted the sunrise today on the water. As the first rays of light brought warmth to our faces, we spotted a two-story refugee boat carrying 177 people. Our captain beelined for the ship at top speed. As we arrived, only a lonely fisherman was trying to help guide the refugees to a safe landing spot. Unfortunately, they were headed straight for the rocks and extreme danger.

Crashing into the rocks would have certainly resulted in injuries amongst many other hazards, including drownings. There are no roads that connect to the zone we were at, so help would have been far off.

Charlie - Captain, Ritchie - Communications, Me - Spotter

With hand signals, our voices, and teamwork with another rescue boat, we were able to redirect the boat in the nick of time towards a small bay. As the boat turned at top speed, we watched the entire boat tip - our hearts sank and we urged the refugees to sit down.

At this point, we are not sure if engines failed, or they realized they needed help landing, or the boat driver was the smuggler (possibilities are endless), because their captain left the cockpit and the boat no longer moved.

Working with another crew, we tied our tow lines to the bow of the boat and began our way to the harbor. After about 20 minutes, they Hellenic Coast Guard barreled in and demanded we untie our ropes, allowing them to tow the boat and take responsibility. The Refugees desperately asked us, "Are you going to leave us? Please don't!" We reassured them that we were with them until they reached land safely.

As we neared the docks, it was clear they needed help, as the Coast Guard boat is quite large. Brilliantly, our skipper, Charlie, drove up to the Coast Guard and asked if we could help by attaching a tow line to the back of the ship to slow them down. In a frenzy, the Coast Guard agreed.

Captain Charlie works with CG

We slowly inched towards the stern of the refugee boat. Working with the passengers, we tied on to the back of their boat and kept them from gaining too much speed. Meanwhile, a smaller vessel towed the boat forward, two other rescue boats used their noses to position the boat, and fishermen on the shore used ropes to pull the boat safely on to the dock. It was truly incredible to be a part of and to witness - a smooth landing.

Richie Sharing water with thirsty Refugees

Richie, Charlie, and I made our way to shore and shared handshakes, hugs, kisses, and lots of love with the 177 refugees from different countries that walked by. Some of them had attempted the crossing 4 times, and others a few. Everyone seemed relieved and grateful to be safely on the shore, dry and in good hands.

Beautiful people

Moments like this make everything worth it.

Thank you!

XX - Sunrise Rescue

Aloha!

Today began a couple hours before sunrise with a full moon and a calm ocean. Charlie, Ritchie and I loaded up the boat and set off to sea. We received a message that a boat had landed on the coast a few hours prior, and no one could find the passengers. With our night vision binoculars, we began scanning the coasts with no luck. Our eyes stayed peeled and ears open for messages.

As it turns out, the boat was quite far from us (30 min in boat), and by the grace of God, was found by another rescue boat. We calmed down and pondered the red orange full moon as it began to set into the ocean, while the first sun rays began to break the bitter cold night. We received a call - and incoming vessel.

Charlie hit full throttle, Ritchie stayed tight on the Comms, and I stood up with my feet strapped in to spot the boat. We closed in on the incoming refugee dinghy, circled around, and slowly approached from behind. I could feel the nervous tension the 40+ people were holding ease as they realized we were allies.

I made my way to the bow of the boat to communicate with them via hand signals and smiles. Ritchie followed through with communications by calling the Coast Guard and Jude. The refugees looked dry and without medical emergency. We began contacting Anais and landing crew to prepare for a 30 minute arrival when we received a phone call from Frontex, European border control.

Frontex instructed us to pull up to the boat and ask them to turn their engines off. They would arrive in approximately 12 minutes to board the refugees and take them to shore. As much as our guts went against this, it is not our intent to go against authority - rather work with them. We approached the refugee boat with caution and spotted the best English speaker. We shared a few words, and we asked him to turn the engine off.

In trust, they stopped the boat in the middle of the sea. We linked up with their boat, to look for medical emergencies. As we came to a slow drift, women and children began to stand up from the middle of the boat to get a look at us. Happiness filled the air. Many of these Afghan refugees had been traveling for over a month, and some had not eaten in days. We noticed a few were beginning to shiver.

There was no sign of Frontex after the allotted time they asked us to wait. We used our judgement as hypothermia is a real risk, and instructed the boat to turn their engine on and drive to shore. With hand signals we guided them safely into the harbor where the landing team was waiting.

We continued on with our boat to Molyvos to get the electronics tuned up. On the way back, our boat was greeted by a small pod of dolphins! It was a warm afternoon on the ocean, with sunshine and dolphins. It was a time of celebration, as our team has begun to gel and perform.

After lunch, we drove to the local hot springs to have a soak and debrief. It is possible that we will move to a remote part of the island where refugee boat traffic is growing. In certain areas, Turkish police/Coast Guard is present and sending refugees back, so smugglers are looking for new zones to send them from. If we do decided to move to this new harbor that Jude has scoped out, we will be all on our own. Therefore, we will be without lighthouse Karakus and their wonderful spotters with high-tech thermal vision.

Refugee Rescue is still in the process of building crew, both on the boat and on the land, and our equipment. As of now, I will be spotting on the boat. We have a $400 pair of thermal binoculars that only work within 50 meters or so. Anything beyond and they only pick up light. We need a better pair so I can spot refugees from a far distance while on the boat. Please contact me, mdenicola9@gmail.com, if you can help us obtain a professional set of thermal vision. Thank you!

We are blessed to be sharing this experience of life. Mahalo!

Thank you to all the supporters that have helped Anais and I get out here. Sat Nam Foundation is sponsoring us to be out here, and to provide the refugees with the care they need. Please support us at: http://satnamfoundation.org/index.php/campaign/lesbos/