{"id":4152,"date":"2016-04-20T15:27:32","date_gmt":"2016-04-20T14:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=50883"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:14","slug":"building-roads-in-refugee-camps-on-lesvos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/04\/20\/building-roads-in-refugee-camps-on-lesvos\/","title":{"rendered":"Building roads in refugee camps on Lesvos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>

Becky van Eijk (21) stayed at the Greek island Lesvos as a volunteer to help refugees. After the IBCoM student returned to her studies, she reflects on her time on the island and tells us her personal experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one guy, he travelled from Syria to Istanbul with his guitar and tattoo gun,\u201d laughs IBCoM student Becky van Eijk (21). \u201cHe\u2019s a metalhead with long, long hair and shaved sides, I mean, he just stood out like a sore thumb,\u201d she says of one of the friends she made whilst volunteering on the Greek Island of Lesvos. \u201cWe sat around playing music with him and everything. We\u2019re still in touch on Facebook and I said when I go back to Lesvos in the Summer, I\u2019ll be bringing his guitar and tattoo gun over from Istanbul for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to its close proximity to the Turkish coastline, the Greek island of Lesvos has received an overwhelming majority of the countless refugees fleeing conflict-ridden nations such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq in search of a better life in Europe. So far in 2016, the island has already recorded over 88,000 arrivals.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Refugees gathering at camp Pikpa.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPikpa Facebook page<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Even though the EU-Turkey deal officially came into force on March 20th<\/sup>, refugees continue to pay vast sums to people-smugglers in order to make the potentially deadly trip across the small stretch of the Aegean separating Turkey from the EU. Up until recently, those who made it across safely to Lesvos were greeted by self-organised and self-funded volunteers like Becky.<\/p>\n

From Rotterdam to Istanbul to Lesvos<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018There are certain areas here in Istanbul that you will see families with suitcases on the streets.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBecky about Istanbul\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

It was during her exchange semester as part of the ESHCC\u2019s IBCoM program that the 21 year old Dutch\/Venezuelean student decided to head to Lesvos. Living and studying in Istanbul, Becky saw first-hand the enormity of the crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain areas here in Istanbul that you will see families with suitcases on the streets. Seeing this, and that I was now much closer to it in Turkey, I really had no excuse not to do my part anymore.\u201d Through Facebook, Becky got in touch with a woman who ran the \u2018Help Syrians in Istanbul\u2019 Facebook group. Her journey began here, she got involved and \u201cstarted doing some volunteering in the city itself on the streets handing out aid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pre-conceived notions<\/h3>

For Becky, the decision to head to Lesvos and volunteer came somewhat unexpectedly. Planning a trip to Athens to visit friends, she thought about stopping off for a few days to help volunteers on the island, just as she had been doing in Istanbul. Whilst in the midst of planning however, she received a phone call from friends overseas \u2013 a young Afghan refugee was desperately looking for a place to stay in Istanbul. Could she help?<\/p>\n

Keen to help, she offered him a bed in her home. Becky recounts the shock she experienced as she learned that what she had expected upon meeting him was entirely different to the reality presenting itself on her doorstep. \u201cHe spoke perfect English, he had been studying just like me, and was just your average young person,\u201d she explains. \u201cFor me this really brought the human element into the crisis. Before meeting him, all I really knew was what was in the media \u2013 statistics, news of another boat capsizing and forty people having died \u2013 it\u2019s very dehumanizing. To actually meet one of these people hugely changed this for me,\u201d she says. After this experience, the original plan to head to Athens began to focus more on the stopover in Lesvos, and after fundraising over 1000 euro to purchase supplies for those on the island, she went to Lesvos for what would become a life-changing experience.<\/p>\n

Wild car-chases down the coast<\/h3>
\"\"

Volunteers and refugees together on Lesvos. Becky is second from the right.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Reflecting on her time on the island, Becky talks about the different volunteer projects and groups she worked with. \u201cOn the days which we had volunteer shifts to receive boats there was quite bad weather, so most of the time there were no boats coming in,\u201d Becky explains. \u201cWe stood as a big group on top of a cliff, which gives a big overview of where the boats are coming in. From there, you\u2019d spot a boat, and we\u2019d then go on a wild car-chase down the coast to try and get to the right spot where it would land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two boats which came in during our shift though, they came more into the harbour than onto the shore, so the Greek Authorities were there to help them.\u201d But, as Becky continued to explain, just because the Greek Authorities were present to assist, wouldn\u2019t necessarily mean the refugees would receive the best care. \u201cI\u2019ve heard a lot of bad things about the Greek Authorities there though. For example, when they\u2019re there they won\u2019t let independent volunteers go in to help people get warm, get food or anything, instead they just take them and put them straight onto the bus. They won\u2019t let any of the volunteers get close.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Moria<\/h3>

This, Becky believes, is problematic. Once a boat arrives, the people on-board are usually met by volunteers with water, food and foil blankets. Hypothermia is a very real threat with the crossings being made in winter, \u201cand it\u2019s important to have people in the group who are able to recognise the signs of hypothermia, and know what to do,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Prior to the EU-Turkey deal, buses would arrive shortly after a boat had landed to transport the refugees to the island\u2019s registration centre at the time, known as Moria. The camp at Moria was originally the island\u2019s detention centre, though prior to the new agreement, it was where refugees had to register their arrival, before making their onwards journey to Athens and beyond. Since March 20th<\/sup>\u00a0Moria has reverted to its original purpose as a detention centre, under Greek Military control where new arrivals are detained before their deportation back to Turkey.<\/p>\n

Toxic land<\/h3>

\u201cAfter arriving at Moria,\u00a0everyone would get a number. Refugees were at the time, registered based on the day which they arrived, with about a five day lag. So the whole process took anywhere from five days to over a week.\u201d She says, explaining the process whilst she was volunteering on the island. \u201cIn Moria there was the \u2018inside\u2019 and the \u2018outside\u2019. The inside was what is again being used as the detention centre, and the outside is actually private land.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the huge influx in numbers arriving at Lesvos in the past year, the \u2018inside\u2019 of the Moria camp struggled to cope, and people found themselves having to wait on the outside, without any facilities. \u201cIt belongs to an olive farmer, but the land has become toxic now. Smaller NGO\u2019s had started paying him for his land, so that they could build some infrastructure there. There was a tea tent, an arts therapy tent for the children and distribution points on the outside. The inside however, that belonged to the municipality, so the NGO\u2019s really had their hands tied \u2013 they couldn\u2019t change anything and it was really bad,\u201d said Becky.<\/p>\n

Doors on toilets<\/h3>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018We were told they were rejoicing about being able to put doors on the women\u2019s toilets. It was a huge deal for them.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the mud and poor accommodation on the inside which was the problem though. \u201cThe bathrooms for the women for example, there were no doors to the stalls and the windows were just covered with green mesh. You could look inside; you could see everything. So where the refugees are the most vulnerable \u2013 going to the bathroom \u2013 they couldn\u2019t even have their privacy there. They [NGO\u2019s] wanted to change things \u2013 anything. We were told they were rejoicing about being able to put doors on the women\u2019s toilets. It was a huge deal for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the EU-Turkey deal however, the \u2018outside\u2019 of the Moria camp has now been cleared, with only a few volunteers remaining to clean up the site. The tea tent, kitchens and arts-therapy tents are gone, as are the people. With Moria now operating as a detention facility, many of the volunteers and their projects who were active have moved on too.<\/p>\n