Letters from Samos — Day 8

I have realised that by working closely with people doing physical, stressful and emotional tasks, you can quickly sense what kind of person they are. Here I find myself thinking I know someone, or knowing how they are on the inside, before I know much if anything about them or even their name. This is quite strange and utterly beautiful.

I have become a little hardened to the refugees who try to game the system. It sounds so harsh as I can understand what they have been through but some exploit the system. Now an emergency is difficult to define here and is always being redefined but it is not generally someone who has bad or ill fitting shoes but someone who is wet and cold. It is so hard to decide whether to give people stuff or not and a difficult responsibility to make that call — who am I to decide if someone who is asking for shoes should get them or not? It can be very stressful and just awful to turn someone away with no shoes whatever their situation…

I met Captain Hassan a few days ago and he explained his fascinating story. He lived in Lebanon and Newcastle for a couple of years, is a seaman of the highest qualifications, drove a boat from Turkey designed for thirty people but with fifty-five on board, paid to get his sister out of jail, has a kilo of gold and four lovely children. He invited me for a drink and I was amazed to hear his incredible coincidence that on landing in Samos he met his old friend Doctor Adam also from Syria, who has been a French citizen for ten years and was now out working with refugees for an NGO.

We shared stories or at least I listened in shock and fascination at his tales of prison, smuggling, war, fortune and women. He wouldn’t let me pay for even my own drinks let alone his and insisted I drank Chivas Regal. I had so much in common with Hassan that his experience as a refugee made the entire tragic scenario feel more real. It connected me to the plight of all the people and brought it closer to home.

Previous day: https:[email protected]/letters-from-samos-day-7-1079a30dcaf6#.gtsttcmd9

Next day: Coming tomorrow…

This piece is part of a series of letters one impossible user sent daily to his wife while he was volunteering on Samos, Greece. He has shared them with us as an insight into what is happening there and how much help is needed.
We’ll be posting one letter each day for the next 3 days. Follow us.