IX. Sharing Joy - Lesvos, Greece

Rising early to arrive at Hope before the refugees woke, Anais and I scrambled. We made our way into the Hope living room, to see a few refugees huddled around the fire and volunteers moving slowly to wake up. After sharing a few "good mornings," we began cutting apples for 2 massive pots of oats, apples, cinnamon, raisins, and evaporated milk. We stirred the pot with delight, whispering prayers of peace into the food.

A Syrian elderly woman grew curious of what we were doing and brought herself to the pot. Within seconds, she was smelling the spices, trying the raisins, and telling us the names of them in Arabic. The 3 of us began to cook together in harmony: Anais and I stirring pots and our new sou chef pouring ingredients into the pot.

I resisted adding white sugar to the oats even though everyone insisted that no one would eat it unless it was intensely sweet. Many of the children's teeth were blackened or covered in metal - many of the adults teeth are in bad shape as well. While filling up tea, they tend to add 5+ full spoonfuls of sugar to a small cup.

Some volunteers tried the porridge and were delighted. At the sight of the food, the majority of the refugees chose to eat white bread and Nutella or cookies over the porridge. It broke my heart a bit. Most of them are happy and warm - this was a huge victory.

Two lifeguards from Lifeguard Hellas stopped in to help bring items we needed. I struck a conversation with one and talked about the conditions of the water and passing boats. There has been no sight of boats on our side of the coast. Yesterday a double decker ship flipped right off the coast of Turkey, and at least 40 people drowned. It is an absolute crime to allow these people to get aboard some of these makeshift boats.

Refugees play soccer outside of Hope!

According to the lifeguard, the police/coast guard are tightening up the Maritime laws and trying to get organizations like Pro Activa Open Arms, Green Peace, etc. off the water. The Coast Guard wants their territory back. This would be a huge disservice to the arriving boats, and would make things for volunteers on the beach much more difficult - as these boats are escorting incoming boats, communicating with people on shore, and making rescues if boats fail.

A local volunteer explained that this is a big business. The refugees are seen as ATMs. First they pay smugglers (mafia) a large sum to board a makeshift boat, then the Coast Guard intercepts them. In the past, the Coast Guard has been seen (through binoculars) beating the refugees and stealing their money. Refugees have arrived beaten and shared with the volunteers that they were robbed by the Coast Guard.

Ultimately, this local man does not see an end to this crisis for at least s, as corrupt organizations have found a way to capitalize off innocent people.

On top of this, there are racist groups on the island that are sabotaging certain camps. Yesterday an emergency medical tent was burned (after being slashed with knives days previous). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uFAU67q8zw&feature=youtu.be


After lunch, I received a phone call from Cookie - she called on request of the refugees, they wanted Anais and I to return before they left to say goodbye! We hurried back with a bag full of clementines to give, and shared many hugs, handshakes, smiles and Facebook names! One of the men said to me, "I love you." Ah! The gratitude of the people was obvious as they walked towards the bus with bags full of new blankets we gave them.  They were an incredible group of beings who spent most of the day helping the Hope Center with random tasks and construction. I will pray for them on their journey.

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/




A video hope center of last night shot by Eric Kempson (https://youtu.be/PFnW0VvuTgY)