Czech and Slovak aid in refugee camps in Balkans
Published: Apr 4, 2016 Reading time: 6 minutes
Idomeni, Šid, Lesbos – April 1st, 2016 – Karim comes from Idlib in Syria. He escaped from the enclave that was one of the most frequent shelling targets in Syria. He used the common route of escape – across Turkey and to the Greek islands. However, when he had the border at the end of his fingerprints, it was suddenly closed and he was forced to stay in Idomeni. From this moment on, the stories of the local refugees are almost identical. There are still 11 thousand refugees in the Idomeni temporary refugee camp in Greece. They are stuck with nowhere to return. The conditions in the camp are very bad and the tension between people is escalating. Organizations People in Peril and People in Need, together with the volunteers under the coordination of We Help People on the Run, are helping in the camp with the cooperation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They also operate in the Greek island Lesbos and in Serbia.
Uncertain future
"In Idomeni one has to deal with everything," says Karim, who is always trying to come up with new solutions, so he built a shower tent in Idomeni. "It is primitive, but still better than standing in line for several hours," says Karim as he points at the bucket, which has to be filled – in a better case – with water warmed up on the fire. He hopes that in the future he will be able to use his ability to come up with a solution for every situation somewhere else. "The atmosphere in the camp is very tense lately. Conflicts are escalating between various groups. People are gradually losing hope," says Martin Cehelník from People in Peril. "Therefore, our work here is very important. We are helping with food distribution, we are giving away tents, hygiene supplies, and we are taking care of some especially sensitive cases, such as families with pregnant women,"says Martin.
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Mohamed Zahir, one of the local refugees, is already a veteran of Idomeni. He has been here for more than 40 days. He is wanted in Iran, where he came from, because he was exposing bribery in hospitals. He got stuck here when Macedonia stopped letting in anybody but Iraqis, Afghans and Syrians. These groups used to envy each other. Today they are in the same situation. Sooner or later, they should all be sent to provisional refugee camps, where they will be provided with primary care such as food, accommodation, medical treatment and clothes. “Besides providing material support, we are also helping with health care and psychological care. In the future we are going to work in the camps even more intensively. We want to focus on social assistance and leisure activities for the children. Refugees lack purposeful activities to occupy themselves with. If it is in accordance with the legislation, we would also like to involve refugees and local communities in building camps' infrastructures," says Ondřej Nádvorník from People in Need.
Supporting the children
Entire families have left their homes, even with elderly relatives and children. Approximately one quarter of the refugees are children. Zirja is eight and she came to Idomeni from Syria. She does not know what a border barrier is and does not understand she can't walk around freely. She should be attending school, but that is impossible in the chaotic camp. Fortunately, some volunteers bring a toy or two from time to time. The camp offers the possibility to visit the Save The Children tent, where qualified teachers take care of the children. The demand is huge and several square meters are crowded with dozens of shouting children bumping into each other. Therefore, Zirja prefers a calmer tent, where she "lives" with her parents. According to UN estimates, half of the Syrian children are not going to school right now. People are talking about the so-called "lost generation". That is why People in Need focuses on the education of children directly in Syria, where PIN currently supports 20 schools in provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. More recently, PIN began to operate in three schools in southern Turkey. More than 1150 refugee children are visiting these schools.
Situation in Lesbos
People in Need, in cooperation with People in Peril, support the work of the volunteers on the island Lesbos as well. The volunteers patrolled a part of the island at night, helped to secure safe landing for the people in boats and assisted with clearing out the life jackets and rafts that accumulated on the island. Now they focus on the organization of one of the three big warehouses, which are used for the distribution of food and other necessary items. "Most of the non-profit organizations already pulled away from the island. Only few of them remain. We are taking care of the warehouse, where the things left here by other organizations are collected. Our future operation in these areas is still under consideration. The warehouse remains functional for now. However, in the future, once new storages are ready and the system is implemented, all the material should be moved to land. Most of the volunteers want to move to Athens. A new storage was opened there and they are needed there more," says Marian Cehelník from People in Peril.
The refugees are returning to Turkey
On Monday, April 4th, Greece began to send the first refugees back to Turkey under the agreement implemented by local authorities last week, after the deal European Union brokered with Ankara. "Today in the early hours of the morning, first ships left, transporting 131 refugees from Moria detention camp on the Lesbos island back to Turkey. They were accompanied by fairly large group of policemen with gloves and masks," Marián Cehelník describes the situation.
Boarding the ship went peacefully, without any conflicts. According to the local authorities, no one from the deported applied for asylum in Greece. Marián Cehelník thinks that this is suspicious. "According to the local Bureau for Migration and Asylum, majority of the 2,800 refugees in Moria applied for asylum in Greece. This will at least slow down the process of returning the refugees to Turkey, because every application has to be officially assessed in accordance with international law," says Marián.
Leaving Serbia
Czech and Slovak aid workers are currently shutting down the operations in the town of Šid in Serbia, where they have been working since November 2015. "We have managed to provide a direct assistance to more than 70,000 people in Serbia. We have decided to end our operations in Šid because of the closing Balkan Route. We are trying to relocate our help to the areas where it is required more. Remaining supplies are now distributed with the help of other humanitarian organizations operating in Serbia and northern Greece. A total of 11 volunteers and 3 workers from People in Need and People in Peril are now coordinating distribution of these supplies in Šid in the most effective way, so the supplies are given to people that need them the most," explains Ondřej Nádvorník.
Contacts:
Ondřej Nádvorník, People in Need, ondrej.nadvornik@peopleinneed.cz, M: +420 734 428 340
Monika Svetlikova, People in peril, monika.svetlikova@peopleinperil.sk, M: +421 904 904 828
Zuzana Lenhartová, We help people on the run, zuzana.lenhartova@pomocuprchlikum.cz,
M: +420 773 252 075
