Winter is coming…
The seasons are changing, and for a lot people that means many things. For refugees and those seeking asylum in Greece, especially on the island Lesvos winter can bring dire consequences. Lesvos captured global attention in 2015, when thousands of people would arrive by boat to their shore, however while the international media is no longer there, people are still arriving by the hundreds daily. The camps are over capacity and dangerously unprepared, even more so than they were in winters past.
This summer I spent about a week on the island of Lesvos, just trying to understand what was still happening on the island. When you are on the island you understand why people try to cross the sea, I could see Turkey, yet what you can’t tell is how cold the water is, even in the summer. While it was a refreshing respite from the brutal summer heat, now I shudder to think now how cold it might be. On the last day I was on Lesvos, I had the chance to go up to Moria which is one of the key camps on the island and the one that processes all of the arrivals. Most of the main, large international NGOs either had already left or were the process of leaving because of Greece’s new restrictions on funding. So in some ways the place felt like a ghost town, especially where the service providers once were, in others the camp feels like the one of the worst places on earth. It’s surrounded by and sectioned with 20 ft+ chain-linked, barb-wire topped fences. There is trash strewn about and a stench that would make even the strongest stomachs flip. There really isn’t shelter within the camp from the elements, so it is ridiculously hot in the summer and brutally cold in the winter. Prior winters have been deadly in Moria, people have literally frozen to death and the camp has also caught on fire numerous times as residents have tried to use open fires to stay warm.
In order to respond in a meaningful way, we are expanding our partnership with Needslist with their Giving Tuesday campaign to bring more winterization supplies to refugees and asylum seekers on Lesvos. Needlist is a benefit corporation that helps companies and people directly supply the needs that local grassroots organizations have access to the people in need on Lesvos who are in need, specifically at camps like Moria. The team at Needslist listens to those on the ground to really understand what is needed and then works with local vendors in Greece to purchase those supplies. The goal behind Needslist’s #GivingTuesday campaign is to help shield the residents of the camp from the elements and hopefully save lives.
If you would like to help those on Lesvos, take a look at Needslist’s campaign here.
Christine Mendonça is the CEO and Co-Founder of Humans on the Move, a social impact advisory that connects the private, public, and humanitarian sectors to rethink the response to the global forced displacement crisis.
