Serres

While in Athens, our group met with various members of various organizations related to the refugee crisis in Greece. We have spoken with representatives from the UNHCR, Humanity Crew (a Palestinian nonprofit), the Greek Refugee Council, we saw an anarchist movement which has cared for and housed hundreds of refugees, we have visited an artists’ cooperation which has provided community for so many vulnerable people. We heard from people with good intentions who could not get around the sticky web of bureaucracy in order to make things happen.

I saw hope but I also listened to some of the most disheartening stories that I have ever come across. There are many people who are working incredibly hard, working around the major organizations in order to swerve regulations, who are providing relief to hundreds. Just the same, there are many people who are taking advantage of this situation in order to exploit kind humanitarians, exploit refugees who have lost everything, and exploit the last bit of trust and hope in a person running for their life.

Athens was a whirlwind of meetings and discussion, asking questions directly to those who work “in the field” or “for the field,” and study.

For the past seven days, our group has been in northern Greece. Tomorrow, we leave already for the island of Lesbos. One short week here has left me with more questions than I arrived with. I have waited until the end of our trip to write about the experience, and even still there is more to process.

This town houses a highly vulnerable population of people: genocide survivors. The Yazidi people who are housed in this camp have seen more than most of the world can begin to comprehend. Working with them outside of the camp through a nonprofit organization, I was able to observe the psychosocial aid cultivated through the programs and respite that the nonprofit offers. A young woman named Hayley is the head of this organization, Lifting Hands International (https://www.liftinghandsinternational.org/). After three days of clothing distribution to the Yazidi people, Hayley gathered us all to speak a little bit about all that goes into a nonprofit such as this. She gave us her raw experience in the humanitarian field and gave us a glimpse into the grueling work that it entails.

One night this week, we went to an art show in town hosted by LHI. The show featured work by three young asylum seekers from the camp, and afterwards one man strummed a few songs on a tambur for everyone at the show. The walls were covered in painted family members, depictions of the genocide, and tiny white Greek villas covering a seaside town. One particular painting was of Yazidi men, women, and children who ran while mourning the loss of loved ones splayed out across the ground. It was a brutal reminder that the young artists lived through the scene themselves, only five years ago.

During this show, I noticed people begin to Facetime their families in. Grandmothers, mothers, fathers, siblings who are spread far and wide began to appear on Facetime as proud family members showed off the artwork on the walls, filmed the music, and showed the large audience who had come for support.

The Yazidi people have lost everything, time and time again. They are scattered over the world in exile. The people that I met guard their families with pride, and they also laugh– a lot. I am astonished at how little I knew about their history, culture, and genocide before I began studying for this trip.

If you are looking for more information, one good place to start is with Nadia Murad’s book The Last Girl (https://www.amazon.com/Last-Girl-Captivity-Against-Islamic-ebook/dp/B06WLJZRDN), or her interview on BBC here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRbHxsPLmkg

Our time with this nonprofit has given me incredible amounts of information to go forward with, and incredible amounts of information to untangle.