A glimpse into the refugee crisis from the frontlines
A pile of life vests from refugees who fled to the island of Moira by boat.
Meg, a You Belong volunteer, who has spent time abroad in temporary refugee camps in Greece and gives her insights into the global crisis for displaced peoples.
"There are a multitude of crises facing our world today. From climate disruption, political instability to the global pandemic we find ourselves in. One such crisis that has been absent from the media in the past years is the global refugee crisis. There are more displaced people today than post World War 2 (UNHCR 2020). Whether that be the attempted genocide on the Rohingya people in Myanmar resulting in 723, 000 fleeing (National Geographic 2019) or the two million Venusians seeking refugees in surrounding nations without stability or permanent visas (Aljazeera 2020). We see displacement of vulnerable people in all corners of our world. One large migration has resulted in 1.2 million refugees arriving on the shore lines of Greek islands by September 2020. The emptying of 70% of Syria, large portions of Afghanistan, the Yemen, the DRC and many other people groups resulted in a surge of migration towards Europe with its human rights (UNHCR 2020).
On one of these small Greek islands only sixteen kilometres from Turkey is a temporary camp named Moria. This acts as a connection point and transition centre for refugees seeking asylum into the EU. It was once possible to travel without restrictions across Europe but since the 2016 EU-Turkey deal was made all arrivals via the Aegean Sea must be processed in Greece. A deal that has since gone sour and caused great issues for the different parties involved. More than politics, human rights or even a general overview it is important first to gain a sense of empathy. No man, woman or child should experience what goes on inside camps like Moira.
Every human being has intrinsic worth in my view. As an aid worker you cannot rely on outcomes, satisfaction from the work, your own effort to be loving not even your effort to be fair. The things you will face easily strip away altruistic motives and hidden agendas. At the end of the day it is just you and your tired body sitting on a torn tarp at the entrance of her tent. She, the tired and anxious mother who has spent years hoping for safety only to end up in a dangerous and unstable camp where she cannot bathe her newborn nor line up for food as it is too dangerous. We will just sit a while in the chaos of it all and hold eye contact, share a cup of chai or laugh at how absurd it is that we are meeting this way.
Striving for that connection and really seeing the person is what kept me going.
Working in Moria is like an invitation to step into some of the darkest parts of humanity all the while being surrounded by glimpses of hope. It is not a cheap hope as it would be much easier to believe the dark realities that you are seeing. Rather, it is the hope that stands in direct contrast to logic and the shadows cast. I see hope in the stubborn nature of fathers that will not let their family be forgotten in a clothing distribution, the sweet thin smiles of Afghani grandmothers as their dignity is stripped from them and I see hope in the next generation that will one day have access to education and a safer future." - Meg Sweeney
This World Refugee Week, we want to put the spotlight on the 80 million displaced people in the world and we have created a global bike challenge called Bike to Belong. During this week, we will be sharing regularly about the root causes of displacement and the tragic impact experienced especially by those who are most vulnerable. Most importantly we will share about the important work of You Belong and the many ways that we can all provide care, healing, and hope to the millions caught up in the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation.
