Blog Entry 2: First Day at Kara Tepe Refugee Village
Blog Entry #2
Kara Tepe Refugee Village
“The people
of Lesvos have answered the call of history and turned our island into a beacon
of
hope, solidarity and peace, pointing the right way to all
Europe, away from xenophobia and racism.”
-Spyros Galinos, Mayor of Lesvos
“I want to pay
tribute to the generosity, hospitality and solidarity of the people of
Lesvos. There is a big debt of gratitude
the international community needs to assume to the people of this island who
received refugees with open arms.”
-Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
“Lesvos is an
island of peace – you are a sea of solidarity.
Let us work together to make this world better for all, leaving no one
behind.”
-Ki-Moon Ban, UN Secretary General
“The legacy
of Lesvos will be to remind us of the power of compassion and helping those
cast adrift.”
-Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
******************************************************
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Gentle Reader,
The first day to Kara Tepe started like this…
My roommates Ben (from Australia) and Oolya (from
Belarus, now New York City) had me join them for a walk down to Carpe Diem Coffee
Shop, where we picked up coffee and some morning sandwiches and pastries. There are bakeries every couple blocks,
filled with cookies and croissants and so many alluring pastries. From there, we went to area where there are
usually taxis, but there were none today, so we began the trek to Mytilene
Port. It is about a twenty- minute walk
down to the port, and the walk is lovely as there are so many flower bushes in
bloom. There is also a beautiful park on
the way to the port. The roads are often
one way, and they are narrow. Both sides
of the street are lined with narrow sidewalks, which fit only one person. So, we walked in a line, making our way down
to the port.
Once at the Port, we easily found a taxi and hopped
in. The ride from there to Kara Tepe is
about ten minutes. There is an old
castle along the way. Ben tells me that
climbing up to the castle is well worth the trek. In his mind, the view from the castle
captures Myteline beautifully. That view
is Myteline for Ben.
Arriving at Kara Tepe, the first site is a powerful
sculpture of two hands together. The
quotes at the top of this blog post are on a plaque next to the sculpture. Surrounded by olive trees, this is a most
meaningful beginning of experiencing Kara Tepe.
There is a security gate, where all volunteers need to
sign in daily. I had to go through a
longer procedure with my passport for Day One entrance to the camp. Originally, Ben and Oolya were going to show
me around the camp, with Ben focusing on the garden he has started at Kara
Tepe. However, they remembered that
Leande, the Director of Movement on the Ground, really wants to orient each new
volunteer. So, I was asked to wait at
the gate for two hours until Leande arrived.
I think the security guard saw me sitting in the hot morning sun and
simply waved me into the camp.
As I began walking around on my own, for Ben and Oolya
had gone off in separate directions, a woman named Rosa stopped me and asked
who I was, etc… She took me under wing
and asked if I would like to share a cup of tea and cookies with the Because We
Carry Volunteer Group until Leande arrived for my orientation. We sat at a small table under an olive try,
claiming a little shade. I met many of
the Because We Carry volunteers, all of whom are from The Neatherlands. Several residents from Kara Tepe also
gathered around the table to chat. I met
Mohammad, a young man from Syria, who jokingly told me he was from Canada. There was much laughter and playfulness at
the table, amid the planning of the day for this volunteer group.
The first impression of Kara Tepe was very different from
the picture I had in my head. This place
feels like a village, like a community that works together under difficult
situations to help every resident feel valued as a human being. There is integrity and respect and a sense of
dignity here that is absolutely palpable.
There is also that powerful Zulu philosophy of “ubuntu.” The greeting is an invocation spoken in two
parts. One part is “sikhona,” which
means “I am here to be seen.” The other
part is “sawubona,” which means “I see you.”
Each person looks deep into the other’s eyes when pronouncing this
greeting. There is a very profound
conscious intention with this greeting. An
uncommon depth of connection is established without any words. (Ben, my gardener roommate, has talked to me
about friends he has established in the garden at Kara Tepe, with little or no
words, due to language differences. He
talked of the concept of An Ode to the Non-necessity of Words to characterize
his experience here.) Eye contact is directly
connected to soul contact.
Further, the ubuntu concept invokes the person’s spirit
to be present – to have a willingness to fully dwell in the moment and to
engage with integrity. Saying “to be
seen” draws on the idea of no masks, no defenses, this is the real me, and I
will speak my truth. This is an
agreement to no deception.
Also, the greeting, according to Zulu tradition, offers
an intention to release any preconceptions and judgments, so that you can see
one another as God created you. It is an
affirmation that you do exist, that you are both equal, and that you have a
person’s respect.
“Ubuntu” translates roughly as “humanity toward all.” It is a reminder of our true identities. Through this greeting, we bring out the best
in ourselves, as well as the best in others.
In many ways, this greeting reminds me of “Namaste,” but with even more
philosophy behind the greeting.
And so this is my first impression of Kara Tepe. As a village.
As a community. As a place where
all are seen, valued, and respected. It
is a celebration of authenticity.
During our tea under the olive tree, I chatted with Hette
from The Netherlands. She told me about
her experience of coming over to Lesvos from Turkey on a ferry boat for 15
euros. She was safe and not in fear for
her life. She talked about what a
profound experience that was for her, traveling the same waters many of the
refugees traveled, but under incredibly different circumstances. As you may know from reading or from news reports,
many of the refugees at Kara Tepe came over under treacherous circumstances, in
inflatable rafts that were packed with three and four times the people they
were meant to carry. The refugees were
often victims of smugglers and people who wanted to profit off of their
misery. I have heard that even the
lifevests, which were supposed to be some safety measure crossing the perilous
waters, were often defective – filled with sponge that would cause people
wearing them to sink instead of float. Hette
told me that the ease in which she was able to cross was is such contrast to
the refugee journey.
Another volunteer from Because We Carry told me about
visiting the shores of Lesvos, seeing what has now been described as the “Lifejacket
Graveyard” or “Mountain of Misery” or “Life Jacket Memorial.” This
is an area along the shore with piles of bright orange life jackets, torn
rubber rafts, shoes, and children’s floaty devices. The growing pile of lifejackets is more than
three meters deep in some places. Eight
hundred thousand people have found their way to Greece in hopes of a better
life. In all, over a million people have
arrived in Europe by sea in 2015, seeking international protection. According to the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR,
the people are fleeing war, violence, and persecution in their country of
origin. At Kara Tepe, most of the
refugees are from Syria. There are many
folks form Iraq and Afghanistan, too, although I do not have the exact
figures. The main languages spoken by
the residents at Kara Tepe are Arabic, Farsi, and Kurdish. Many people also speak some English. My new friend described her emotionally moving
experience, crying as Hette did when she told me of her experiences. People who have seen this “Life Jacket
Memorial” talk of being able to feel the presence of thousands while
there. According to Pam Apffel, TerraMica
Director of Operations, “…each vest represents a person, a soul, and individual
pressed forward by fear and clinging to hope.”
In addition, Pam Apffel says the following:
“…People who are desperate to escape war, political
crisis, religious extremism, and/or economic crisis often turn to extreme
measures. They choose to flee from their
homeland, family, friends, and all they own in hopes of finding a place
offering peace, safety, and jobs. They
travel across multiple countries, pay smugglers to get them to Europe, where
they dream of a new life. Many come to
the shore of Turkey, where smugglers receive payment, toss them a life vest,
put them in a rubber raft overloaded with others, and point them to a Greek
Island, telling them ‘There is Europe.’
Their fears propel them to risk their lives and those of their families
to cross the Aegean Sea. Many lose their lives in the journey, or lose
children, family members. It is a
treacherous and terrifying journey. Upon
arriving at the shore of a Greek Island, those that survive the journey toss aside
their life jackets, and meet representatives of aid organizations who offer
them blankets and transportation to a refugee camp, where the processing
begins. And where they wait…”
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By 11 o’clock, after tea and cookies, I met Leande, the
director of Movement on the Ground. She gave
me a tour of Kara Tepe, emphasizing that residents and staff refer to this
place as a Village. Note that many of
you may have some familiarity with refugee camps on Lesvos; however, much of
what you find on the internet is about the Moria Camp, about 15 minutes from
Kara Tepe. Moria is run by the Defense
Department of Greece, is the hotspot which all refugees must be processed
through, and is occupied by armed military. Moria used to be a prison, so it has a strong
prison feeling to it. Kara Tepe, on the
other hand, is an overflow camp. It is run by the municipality of Lesvos. Kara Tepe is designed specifically for the
most vulnerable of populations:
families, small children, folks with various disabilities. There are no armed guards at Kara Tepe. Hence, the feeling at Kara Tepe is not one of
oppression or prison, but one of a community village filled with people looking
out for one another. Kara Tepe, by the
way, is known to be a model refugee place.
There are numerous folks working on transferring some of the basic
principles of Kara Tepe to Moria. Size
and composition of residents are major factors in the differences between the
two camps.
My daughters and friends were initially very worried that
I was coming to work at Kara Tepe. Their
concerns were largely based on articles they had been reading about Moria,
where sanitation is not steller, where women fear to use the restrooms for fear
of rape, where electricity is less reliable, where there is an Olive Garden
Tent Camp filled with 500 single men, etc… I’ve been told that Moria was designed for
2300 refugees, but is currently housing
7000. Getting accurate stats is difficult. Tensions erupt frequently at Moria, as the
conditions harsh and overcrowded. A
dangerous combination for people hoping to live in a peaceful, stable
setting. There are a few people working
at Kara Tepe that also serve at Moria. My former student Patrick, the person I
dedicate this blog to, worked at both Kara Tepe and Moria. When I mention Patrick here at Kara Tepe,
everyone knows him… and all smile as they give beautiful accounts of his
kindness, patience, negotiation skills, and his humanity. I will talk more about this in a future blog
post.
Here are some of the highlights of my orientation with
Leande at Kara Tepe:
1.
There is
a large yurt, designed as a theatre inside.
This is a place for presentations and entertainment. On Wednesday nights, a Women’s Dance Party is
held, sponsored by Movement on the Ground.
On Friday nights, there is a full
community Dance Party, sponsored by Because We Care. Friday nights is mostly males dancing,
although some teen girls also join in the dancing. Some of the cultures present here in the
village do not approve of women dancing in the presence of the men, which makes
the Wednesday night parties especially significant for Kara Tepe. More about that in another blog entry…
2.
Kara Tepe Square is a gathering place in the
village. One of the features there is
the Chai/Coffee Stand. Residents and
staff can get free chai or coffee, just by bringing their own cup, all day
long. Mosen is the person who often
volunteers at the Chai House. He and I
have had conversations about transportation, bicycle chains that keep breaking,
cars and commercials for cars in America, his wife and children, my daughters
and partner Scott, etc… I usually begin
work at 9am, so I like to arrive a bit early to observe the village waking up. Mamas and Papas often send their children to
the Chai House to have a thermos filled with tea. Older siblings are often caring for their
younger brothers and sisters. This is a
safe community, where people look out for one another. And Middle Eastern music flows from the Chai
House…
3.
The Shop is also in the Kara Tepe Square. This is the clothing store, stocked with
donations from around the world. I will
be spending quite a lot of my volunteer time here, I think. Families receive a “full kit” of clothing
when they arrive, with each family member receiving the following: 5 tops, 2 bottoms, 2 dresses/skirts,
underwear, bras, leggings, socks, shoes, headscarves, shorts, jacket, etc… We have far more clothes for women to choose
from. Many of the cultures here dress
quite conservatively, so long dresses are in high demand. We are woefully short on men’s shoes,
especially shoes appropriate to this setting and climate. Men are looking for flip flops or sneakers
that they can use to play football. The
old wing tips and boots donated simply sit on the shelves. We currently have 175 men/boys on a waiting
list for shoes. Occasionally, we get a
shipment of new flip flops or sneakers, which brings great delight to the
residents on the waiting list…. There
is a section of the store dubbed “the hall of shame.” This is a wall decorated with clothes no one
wants to be seen in at the village. Further, residents make appointments for The
Shop every three months, at which time they can get a new kit of clothes. Of the 1200 people at Kara Tepe, 600 are
children. They outgrow their clothes
quickly, passing clothes down to younger siblings as needed. We also have “emergency” shoppers, folks who
have received a transport out of Kara Tepe, perhaps on short notice. These families are most often going to Athens
for their next stop, and they can come to The Shop to get clothing for their
journey. There are usually one or two
translator volunteers in the clothing store to help with communication. We work with one family at a time to get a
kit, and each family has a full hour to find clothing they like. It is often a difficult task, and an hour
seems too short. It seems that the
average size family here is six: a
mother, father, and four children. There
are many pregnant women at Kara Tepe; there is approximately one baby born each
week. Mothers are transferred to
hospital for delivery. So far, I have
held a seven day of baby and a twenty five day old baby. One of the ways I can be helpful in the shop
is to hold babies as their mamas are searching for clothes. The infants respond so well to music, the universal
language.
Oh… and we have two tailors who
volunteer in The Shop. They do a lot of
repairing of clothing and hemming, hoping to make each garment fit each
resident to their liking.
4.
There is
a warehouse of clothing supplies. This
is basically two trailer sized units filled with boxes of donated clothes and
shoes. It’s a short walk to the
warehouse from The Shop, so we often scrounge through the labeled boxes to find
something a particular family desires.
It’s a dusty old place, and pretty dark, but once you find the right box
among the hundreds of boxes, it’s all good.
5.
Digital Learning Lab… this is one of the Isobox
Housing Units turned into a computer lab.
There are ten computers. Students
can come to classes to access the typing program and/or the basic computer
classes. We also offer some English
language learning through a computer program that has students practice various
short writing exercises. The lab, as
with The Shop, has several people volunteering to help with translation.
6.
Two Music Labs… Each of these is an Isobox Unit
transformed into a music studio. One is
strictly for percussion. Another is for
learning guitar. I believe the company
running the music labs is Connect with Music.
More about this in a future blog!
7.
Kitchens… There are two large Isobox-like units
transformed into kitchens. One is the
Sun Kitchen, the other Moon Kitchen.
There are ten cooking stations in each unit. These are provided by a company outside Mytelene. The idea is for folks at the camp to be able
to cook their own meals, if they desire to do so. The food delivered, again by another company,
is rather generic and bland. The
kitchens allow the meal makers to tweek the food that gets delivered each day. Note that here at Kara Tepe, no one has to
stand in hot, long lines to obtain food.
Instead, the food is delivered daily to each housing unit. There is a long line of women outside the
kitchens each day, with each hoping to secure a place at a cooking
station. They bring their own
vegetables, oils, spices, pans, etc… It
is recommended that the food be chopped and prepped for cooking to save on time
in the kitchens. Residents are given one
hour to prepare their food. Children are
not allowed in the kitchens.
Currently, the Sun Kitchen is
closed because the cooking units are not working. The Moon Kitchen is open, with all units in
working order. Again, more about the
kitchens in a future blog…
8.
Isoboxes…. these are the individual family
units, which I believe are sponsored by the UN.
They are a rectangle about the size of a small trailer. Inside, there are beds. Electricity is provided by solar panels
installed around the camp. There are
approximately 225 Isoboxes on site at Kara Tepe. Each Isobox houses a full family. Average family is about5 to 6 people. There are rows and rows of Isoboxes, all on
ground with rocks and olive trees. Although volunteers enter the Isobox area only
when they have a purpose, to respect the living privacy of the residents, we
often go to individual Isoboxes to find a person for clothing distribution, a
class, an activity, etc…
There is camaraderie and
community between and around the Isoboxes.
It is typical to see women and children on blankets in between the
Isoboxes, spending time chatting and drinking tea and sharing snacks. Laundry is colorfully drying around the
Isobox units.
9.
Toilets/Showers…
Men and women have separate toilet and showering units, obviously. The toilets are squats and are cleaned a
couple times each day by a company. They
remain fairly clean most of the time.
And yes, I am grateful for my strong leg muscles that help when using
the squats. Everyone carries tissue with
them to use in the squats, and the tissues are piled in a bucket in the stall,
not tossed into the squat.
10.
There are
areas where children attend school at Kara Tepe. Keep in mind that the fighting in Syria has
been going on for seven years at least, so many of these children have never
been to a formal school. Movement on the
Ground is not certified to provide formal education by the Greek Education
Ministry, so they can only offer informal educational experiences. There is a kindergarten class, as well as a
class for older children. Some of the
students go into Mytelene for classes, if their parents allow this. Learning is difficult, as classes are in
Greek in town. Most of the refugees do
not speak Greek at all. Sometimes
students can find classes taught in English, but often that is difficult, and
their English is sometimes minimal. As a
result, some students do not attend school at all.
11.
Playground equipment, small soccer area,
volleyball area
12.
Medical Clinic on site
13.
Food truck… there is a food truck right outside
the gates of Kara Tepe. They serve
freshly made Arabic and Greek sandwiches, as well as some snacks and
beverages. There is a small tent with
tables and benches for staff and residents to take a break and eat together. This is also a good place to find some shade.
Food here is very reasonably priced.
Each family is given a small monetary allowance while staying at the
camp, but they often spend that money at the grocery, which is about five minutes
walking from the camp. Note that Kara
Tepe is not a lockdown camp, nor is Moria.
Residents are free to leave, go into town to shop, go to the grocery,
etc…
14.
Dogs.
Dogs. Dogs. They are everywhere. Many strays wander into the camp, but they
need to be adopted and taken to the vet for shots if a family wants to care for
a cat or dog. Far more dogs than
cats. There are currently two adorable
puppies wandering around. Generally, the dogs hang around the Movement Office,
where staffers leave water and food for them.
Occasionally, a family will “adopt” a dog for the daytime, then bring
him/her back to the office at the end of the day. One of the volunteers from Holland fell in
love with one of the dogs. She is
leaving today, after two weeks of service at Kara Tepe – and she is taking the
dog home to Holland with her. She had to
jump through much bureaucratic red tape to make this happen, including taking
the dog to the vet, securing papers, etc… I covered one of Kelly’s shifts in
the Digital Learning Lab late one afternoon so she could accomplish all she
needed to do in town with the dog to enable her to take him home with her. They are a happy human-dog couple now, ready
for their journey.
15.
Sadly, no
pictures may be taken on site at Kara Tepe.
This is for the protection of the residents. As you know, many photos people take end up
on some form of social media. Early on,
there were incidents where someone in hiding from a particularly dangerous
political situation at home had their photo appear on social media. Authorities then came looking for the person,
with the intent to send them back to their home country. So, the rule here is no pictures. As you will see, I will occasionally take a
photo at the camp with no people in the pictures. This is difficult to do, as there are people
everywhere, all the time. I want to be
respectful of the rules and honor the safety of the residents. Occasionally, I may be able to post a photo that
the director has approved and shared with us.
Largely, I will try to describe this journey here at Kara Tepe in words. Being a poet, I am used to grappling with
language to communicate. However, those
of you who know me well, know how very much I like to use photos to narrate the
experiences. I would love to show you
pictures of the beautiful children here, the interactions, the Papas who carry around
their babies, the Mamas caring for their families and cooking, the way the camp
looks as everyone wakes up and starts their day, the smile when you find the
perfect shoes for a teenage girl in The Shop, etc… Ah… I will have to try to paint these
memories of my heart with words so that I can share with you along this journey…
********************************************************
discovered a book in The Shop that I am reading while
here at Kara Tepe: The Girl From Aleppo
by Nujeen Mustafa with Christina Lamb.
It is the story of Nujeen’s escape from war to freedom. Nujeen is a Kurdish teenager from Syria, and
she has the added complication of fleeing a war torn country with cerebral
palsy. The opening of the book describes
her many operations connected to cerebral palsy, as a young girl. As the book progresses, she discusses the
emergence of the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia. Nujeen then tracks the spread of the Arab Spring
to Syria, focusing on Assad’s brutal response and how it effects her and her
family. And she tells her journey.
If you would like to immerse yourself in the experience
many refugees here at Kara Tepe have endured, especially coming out of Syria, I
highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Nujeen’s book. It is a very readable text, and I am able to
now fill in many of the political gaps about Syria that I did not know prior to
reading the book. Here’s a brief excerpt
from Nujeen’s book:
“…We had been
in the olive groves all night after being dropped off on the cliff road by the
smuggler’s mini-bus. From there we had
to walk down the hill to the shore which was about a mile. That many not sound much but if feels a very
long way in a wheelchair over a rough track with only your sister to push and a
fierce Turkish sun beating down and driving sweat into your eyes. There was a road zigzagging down the hill
which would have been much easier, but we couldn’t walk along that as we might
be spotted and arrested by the Turkish gendarmerie who could put us in a detention
center or even send us back…”
and
“…People say that history is written by the victors, but
here is something I don’t understand.
Why is it we always glorify the bad guys? Even though they have done terrible things we
talk about them being charismatic or brilliant military leaders… I hate the
fact that I didn’t know anything about the good people but everything about the
bad people. Stalin killed 6 million
people in his gulags and in the Great Terror.
Hitler’s regime was even more murderous – 11 million people were killed
and 17 million became refugees. But it’s
Stalin and Hitler I can tell you about, not any of their victims. In fifty years is it going to be the same
with Assad? People will remember all
about him and not the good people of Syria.
We willjust be numbers, me and Nasrine and Bland and all the rest, while
the tyrant will be engraved in history.
That is a scary thought…”
Perhaps you will join me in reading Nujeen’s book…
Nujeen is Kurdish, so to honor her strength and spirit, I
will end today’s blog with some Kurdish proverbs:
“A visitor
comes with ten blessings, eats one, and leaves nine.”
“A
thousand friends are too few; one enemy is one too many.”
“A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship.”
I wish you many cups of coffee/tea and friendship today…
and many blessings.
Namaste,
Marianne
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