By Dr. Bill Dienst April 29, 2016, Idomeni and Polykastro, Greece

The 40 year old man who stumbled in front of a Greek police bus while fixing his tent suffered a devastating crush injury to his head. He received immediate medical attention by Dr. Omar Al Heeti who works as part of our joint team of medical professionals from Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) and Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM), and with help from doctors from Medecins San Frontieres (MSF).

When the Greek Ambulance arrived, Dr. Omar traveled with the Ambulance crew all the way to the rural Kilkis Hospital, providing positive pressure ventilation and suctioning. The transport time was over an hour. At Kilkis, this man received intubation from a Greek anesthesiologist. Due to massive facial injuries, the intubation was extremely difficult. He was then transferred to the medical center in Thessaloniki. He remained comatose and died from his injuries two days later. He leaves behind a grieving wife and 4 small children who are still stranded in a tent in Idomeni camp.

On April 26, 2016, the Greek Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction issued the following notice in Arabic, Kurdish, Urdu and Farsi to refugees living in the camps around Idomeni:

Information to Refugees – Migrants

You are in Greece and you are guests in this country. It is your obligation to follow the rules and instructions of the Greek state.

The borders, and this is not a responsibility of the Greek government, are and will remain closed. This settlement does not cover any of your basic everyday needs. It will end its operations. You should move to the camps run by the Greek State, in a fast and coordinated way, under the responsibility of the Greek authorities.

The Greek State gives you the opportunity to stay in the temporary receptions facilities (camps, hotels, settlements and other facilities) in various areas in the country.

These facilities are open but are guarded and controlled so that you and your families are safe. There you will find food, medical care, clothes and personal hygiene items.

While in these reception facilities, you can move freely, going out and coming in, but you must return back at a specified time and you must observe the Operation Regulations. If you do not observe these rules, you will lose your right to Stay there.

You must also register. Soon after your enter the reception facility, the Greek Authorities will give you information on on your right to apply for asylum in Greece, and the option of relocation in another EU member state for those fulfilling the terms and conditions of the relocation programme. You will also receive information on the family reunification procedure so as to reunite with members of your family in EU member states.

You will also receive legal and financial aid so as to return to your country of origin in case your asylum application is rejected or in case you wish to return.

You are requested to follow the orders and instructions of the competent members of staff who will tell you how to leave this settlement in an orderly manner and how to be transported safely to the reception facilities.

Many of the refugees, and some of the international volunteers who have put so much time and effort developing the healthcare and humanitarian infrastructure at Idomeni camp, found this notice very upsetting. Some are angry with the Greek government for suggesting that Idomeni camp will soon be dismantled. MSF, Medicins du Monde, Praxis, ICRC, Safe the Children and hundreds of smaller NGO’s like us have invested tens of thousands of dollars trying to make life tolerable here. Infrastructure is still being developed: new showers, toilets, makeshift schools, etc.

Now we are finally catching up with the health care and humanitarian demands of this trapped population. For the first time, a dental clinic has started operations 5 days ago, fulfilling overwhelming dental needs. We hope to have similar dental services at the other gas station camps soon. Those of us who have been here awhile arrived to witness long queues of people shivering in the cold mud and torrential downpours of late winter rains. We had limited supplies and had to tell many people waiting in long lines “no, we don’t have the resources to help you right now with your problem.” Many of these limitations have been slowly but surely getting better.

The cold winter rains have subsided. Now, in spite of a few days of tear gas, sound grenades, rubber bullets and high winds which rip some of the tents to shreds, the overall weather and living conditions are improving.

It is no longer too cold, but soon, it will be too hot. I shudder to think what will happen in when the holy month of Ramadan starts in June and people are fasting from sunrise to sunset during the longest days of the year and summer swelter: heat stroke, dehydration, kidney stones etc. The treatment for heat stroke is to cool the patient down. But we have no air conditioned shelters, no ice, only tents, which can get hotter on the inside than on the outside during the daytime under these conditions. The nearest hospital in the town of Kilkis is over an hour away, and ambulances are limited.

No, the situations at Idomeni, EKO, BP and Hara gas stations are not tenable in the long run. We cannot blame the Greeks, for they did not ask for all this refugee crisis either. It was put upon them. The farmers in the tiny village of Idomeni (population 154) want their farmland back, and their way of life; and who can blame them? The railway station needs to reopen again soon someday.

This stalemate has to end sooner or later; maybe sooner would even be better than later, especially with the hot summer sun approaching. The problem that those of us serving the refugees face now has to do with timing: there is no way to accurately predict when the camps here will be dismantled. Meanwhile, we continue to develop further infrastructure to meet fundamental human needs for those who can’t wait.

Dr. Bill Dienst is a rural family and emergency room physician from North Central Washington. He has extensive experience in medical exchange programs in Veracruz, Mexico and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is currently on assignment with Salaam Cultural Museum, a Seattle based nonprofit organization doing humanitarian and medical relief work with refugee populations in Lesbos and Idomeni, Greece.

Tuesday, March 16, 2016 by Dr. Bill Dienst

Aboard the Greek ferry Nisos Mykonos, leaving the Island of Lesvos for the Greek Mainland

During the last days we spent on the North shore of Lesvos, we witnessed the arrival of an armada of NATO naval ships from Germany, Canada and other countries passing in front our our seaside hotel through the straits between Greece and Turkey. There are 15 large warships, at least. As far as we can tell, they are probably heading to the South end of the Island. We think the are here to help stanch the flow of boat refugees that have still been crossing across the wider straits directly into Mytilini. During the past month, crossings have been very few in our area of operations in the North. The Turkish Coast Guard, under pressure from the EU, has effectively blocked most of the crossings.

So now our NGO, Salaam Cultural Museum is deploying much of our assets to the Greek Mainland in areas of crisis and greater need: specifically to the border village of Idomeni, where thousands of refugees are now stranded up against a barbwire fence set up by authorities of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). This is not to be confused with Macedonia, the region of Northern Greece where we are now setting up our operations. We packed up a large van with all the humanitarian and medical supplies that we could possibly stuff into it; and then we headed to the South of Lesvos, an hour’s drive over a twisty mountainous road, and into the Port of Mytilini.

The scene at the ferry terminal was poignant: A long cue of Syrian refugees, still with hopes in their hearts for a better future. Finally, they have made it across “the straits of death” at $1000 a piece paid to smugglers to get to Lesvos, and Europe. They spent their time in the transitional camps at Moria or Kara Tepe. Now for about $60 each, they can cross in comfort to Kavala on the Greek mainland: An 8 hour voyage with beautiful scenery, and relatively zero risk of drowning. From there, they will make their way to the North.

A Syrian man tells me confidently and triumphantly during our conversation in pidgin Arabic: “ I am going to Germany!” Knowing what I now know, I have my doubts about his ability to succeed, but I do not have the heart, nor the language skills in Arabic to warn him about the harrowing trail ahead, so I just let it go. We take pictures of ourselves together as habibis (good buddies). Another Syrian man tells me his family will stay with friends in Kavala and only head up to the Idomeni if the border opens again. This seems like a much better informed decision.

The Syrians climb the gangway up to the 6th level and are seated at the stern; they are they lucky ones. They are free to move about most areas of the ship, more or less, though there seems to be a dividing line starboard side aft. Forward from there are the second class passengers, mostly Greeks and other Westerners, including us. First Class passengers who do not want to deal with the refugee crisis are conveniently accommodated in the bow.

On the sixth level portside is a coffee shop, complete with WIFI. Forward from that is a roped off area where we are not allowed to go. But we can see a large contingent of Greek policemen, and what appear to be “prisoners” Some are handcuffed. They are mostly men, but there are a few women too. I suspect these are people, who for one reason or another, were unable to get registered. If these unregistered refugees dare to wander off from the internment camps where they are housed, and they get caught, they risk arrest.

Whether one gets registered or not often has to do with nationality: Syrians and sometimes Iraqis are favored and deemed “war refugees”. Afghans, Pakistanis, Moroccans and others are considered “economic refugees” and are less likely to be able to get registered. Of course, the details of each person’s individual case is much more complicated than that, as UNHCR has argued. Places like Afghanistan are hardly at peace. But the Greek Authorities are doing the best they can, trying to sort things out and restore order in the middle of the chaos of this refugee crisis.

To me, the whole process seems political. The Assad regime and ISIS, though on opposite sides of the spectrum, are American and Western European adversaries. The Shiite dominated Iraqi regime, placed in power after the US invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, are supposedly our friends. But ISIS exists there too, so there are friends and enemies there. Afghanistan has another regime placed in power following an American and NATO invasion. They are also “our friends”, but what about the Taliban? To me all I see in front of me are a lot of worn, tired huddled masses yearning to be free from war and to have a better future for their families. It doesn’t seem to matter much to me beyond that.

Then there is a limitation of incarceration facilities on Lesbos, so I suspect these “prisoners” are headed to more secure facilities on the Greek mainland. There, they will probably face more accelerated deportation procedures that try to send them back from wherever they came, or else Turkey. Then they will be Turkey’s problem, not Europe’s.

Above on the 7th deck, port side forward at midship, there are an overflow of Syrians who are allowed to walk outside on the observation decks. We befriend them, share photo shots, and I do my physical comedy schtick with the children and get them laughing. Behind the Syrians port side aft are another group of people guarded by a smaller contingent of Greek policemen.
They have darker complexions than the Syrians and their manner of dress is different. The police do not allow us to interact with them directly. I think they are Afghans or Pakistanis: those who are probably not registered. Their trips to the bathroom are monitored so they do not try and slip away to mix anonymously with the Syrians. When we reach landfall, they are probably headed to another internment camp on the mainland until their disposition is decided.

We disembark in our huge van after the ferry arrives at Kavala. We see several large prison type buses and a lot more Greek policemen waiting to receive the unregistered passengers and prisoners. We drive onward through the night, arriving on the outskirts of the huge encampment of refugees at Idomeni just before midnight.

Originally posted March 14, 2016

Lesbos Greece, by Dr. Bill Dienst

After being part of an advance team sent to the Greek-Macedonian border this past week to scope out the situation of 20 thousand refugees stranded at the border, we are back in Lesbos for a few days more. Salaam Cultural Museum is now planning to deploy more of its resources to the border at Idomeni.

The situation here on the North Island of Lesbos has cooled down. The Turkish Coast Guard and NATO Naval forces have effectively cut off refugee boat crossings in Zone 1 on the North end of Lesbos where we are assigned. There are still significant numbers of crossings on the South part of the Island near Mytilini, but they are currently well staffed with medical and humanitarian volunteers there. So we will be moving some of our medical operations to the Greek Mainland, to where we can now be put to better use.

Today, I will take this time to reflect on information we received last week from the UN High Commission on Refugees.

Boat arrivals to Lesbos have been down; on March 8th, 20% down from the daily average of 1500 arrivals per day recorded the previous week. In spite of this, the populations in Moria and Tara Kepe Camps near Mytilini are still growing, mainly due to a slowdown on refugees leaving for Athens. The capacity in these camps is being built up to house a population of 6500, up from the current population of 4000.

Tickets for refugees to get to Athens and beyond are now being rationed. There are reports of tickets being scalped and sold at inflated rates. There are also reports of fraudulent counterfeit tickets being sold which have no value; some claiming direct ferry passage to Idomeni. The only problem is that Idomeni is inland from the sea by more than 50 kilometers and no ferry can get there. But refugees who fall for these fraudulent sales do not know that, and more of their remaining meager funds are being squandered by these ripoffs.

UNHCR believes that if the capacity at Moria Camp exceeds the 6500 currently allocated, more ferry tickets will become available and ferry traffic for refugees will be increased, with ticket sales acting as a “spigot” to allow any overflow in refugee populations to Athens.

Meanwhile there are negotiations and proposals between the EU and Turkey to have refugees sent back to Turkey. An agreement on this is pending in the next few days.

There are multiple social problems affecting the refugees that have now become apparent. First of all, the problem of separated families. In many cases, the father of a household left several months ago, arrived in Northern Europe, became somewhat settled, and then called back home to his host country and invited the rest of his family to come. So the wife, children and sometimes the elders set off and after a long ordeal, make it to Turkey or Greece, only to be stranded halfway between their relatives back home and their husband-breadwinner in Northern Europe. We have heard a few tragic stories of family abandonment by the father in Germany in some of these cases.

Then there is the fact that 40% of the current arrivals are children. For many children, there is an absence of a safety net. The ones who are traveling with both parents, or one parent, are relatively lucky. There are also children who are traveling only with extended relatives: aunts, uncles, etc. Then there are children traveling with no direct relatives at all: perhaps only with neighbors or people who are from their same village. Theses situations are being dubbed, “extended-extended families.”

There are teams of pediatricians and social workers in Greece trying to figure out how to handle children who seem to be on their own. In some cases, children are sent to children’s boarding houses in Athens. But these are “open” facilities; that is, these children are free to leave if they choose to do so. This then puts them at risk for predators: human trafficking, sexual enslavement, etc. Children’s rights organizations and Europol are now getting involved in efforts to handle this.

Originally posted on March 14, 2016

Last week the 5000th baby was born in Zaatari at the UN-operated Women and Girls Comprehensive Center. Many of the refugees thought they would only stay in the camp temporarily, then be able to go home, or move on to somewhere else. As the war in Syria has dragged on to it’s sixth year, many realized long ago they weren’t going anywhere soon and decided to get on with life, as in getting married and starting families. The mother and father of that 5000th baby are from the same village in Syria but got married in the camp. They decided to start their family, and now have two children. Many refugees have decided to get on with their lives and about 16 babies are born every day in the clinic.

We are going to be sending 200 New Baby Welcome Kits to Jordan for the delivery unit at Zaatari again this year, doubling what we did last year. Our kits will contain clothing, cloth diapers, teething rings and pacifiers, warm clothing and blankets and more, as well as a Baby Box that is also a bassinet. These boxes will contain just about everything a new mother needs for her newborn for the first year of their life. The supplies as well as the box will help get the little one off to a good start as well as provide a safe sleeping space for the baby.

The box idea is based on the Finnish Baby Box that was developed by Finland in 1938 to help reduce the very high infant mortality rate in that country. Boxes were given to low income mothers at first, but then eventually to all new mothers. We hope to provide new mothers in Zaatari with a similar helping hand.

For more about the Baby Box, visit the Baby Box Company, whom we are partnering with to get the boxes to the refugees. We also have a group of amazing knitters and sewers that are making numerous items to go in the kits – blankets, hats, mittens, socks, sweaters, and more. To fill out the rest of the kits, we have posted items on our Amazon Wish List. If you would like to contribute to the fund to get the boxes and any supplies we aren’t able to collect, you can go to our fundraising page and donate: New Baby Welcome Kits for Refugees in Jordan.

Originally posted March 11, 2016

Idomeni, Greece by Dr. Bill Dienst

The border at the village of Idomeni between Greece and Macedonia was sealed with a barbwire fence about 4 weeks ago. Meanwhile, the refugee population has exploded exponentially. A week ago, there were about 5 thousand people living in tents. Today there are over 15 thousand refugees officially; but some estimates put the number at over 20 thousand lost souls aspiring for a better future free from poverty and war. The future is totally uncertain for these people at this point.

Three days ago, about 500 refugees were allowed to cross into the Republic of Macedonia on their way to Serbia, Slovenia, Austria and ultimately Germany or other locations in Northern Europe. This number of people allowed passage is markedly diminished from the thousands that were crossing daily before. Today, that number is zero. On March 8th, the border was completely sealed for refugees. The EU is putting pressure on Turkey to stem the flow of refugees crossing into the Greek Islands. So now refugees are being stranded in both Turkey and Greece.

According to sources we interviewed here in Idomeni, members of the Greek Army and Police arrived 3 days ago and blocked the highway heading North to the Macedonian border. Afghans were forced out of the area back to Athens and other unknown destinations.

 

Based on a walk through visit of the Idomeni camps yesterday, we are seeing that the majority of refugees remaining are now Syrians, with a minority from other ethnicities. Current UNHCR reports are that about 60% of the refugees remaining in Idomeni are Syrians, the remaining 40% are split among other ethnicities: Iraqis, Iranians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Moroccans, etc. 63% of the current population are women and children.

According to Spanish journalist Juan Naza who works for a Russian news agency and who has been in the Idomeni area for 10 days, there is a general lack of information among the refugees. Some have been stranded here for over 3 weeks and the majority don’t know what to believe or what to do. Some have the ability to search the internet, but many don’t even know how to go about consulting the UN about how to proceed.

Medecins San Frontiere has erected 8 giant tents that shelter about 250 refugees each. UNHCR is deploying additional tents for families, and about half the remaining refugees are in individual tents scattered haphazardly in different makeshift zones now designated as Areas A, B, C, D and E. The tents generally do not have fly tents, so the rain soaks through. It has been cold and raining very hard for the past few days and so everyone is getting thoroughly muddy and drenched. Many people don’t have tents at all. The railway station at Idomeni is no longer functioning. Trains are being bypassed around Idomeni. Its platform, relatively dry ground, has become completely covered with tents and temporary shelters. The snack bars are still functioning, currently chock full of people trying to stay dry.

UNHCR and MSF have erected feeding tents. People cue for over an hour to receive a sandwich, an orange and water. For many this is the only meal that they receive for the day. Some other volunteer organizations are providing additional hot meals as well. Limitations in food supply are being burdened by rapid expansion in demand, and the fact that MSF and UNHCR are facing multiple refugee crises around the world. Some, like in Sudan, are bigger than here. The EU is also trying to provide additional funds, but that demands a political process between the Left and the Right. In Greece, the far-right party are saying things like: “All of Greece will become like Idomeni if we allow this to go on.”

MSF has erected portable toilets and showers, but the showers only run cold water, so many people are going without bathing, and hygiene is suffering. A large portion of the population are suffering from upper respiratory infections.

The Greek government has also deployed security police, but they too are feeling overwhelmed, with about 40-50 officers for 20 thousand refugees.

There are now moves by the Greek government to set up reception centers along the lines of what we witnessed in Idomeni. (See previous article by Kirsten Senturia, “A day in the Life of a Refugee in Moria Camp.” ) The advantage of these reception centers, often placed on military bases, is that there is more order, and some hygiene measures can be better implemented, but at a cost of personal autonomy for the refugees. But many of these reception centers are located in the middle of nowhere. Some refugees are grudgingly returning to Athens, at a cost of 35 Euros each for bus tickets.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now saying that it is a mistake to close the Balkan route to Northern Europe. But solutions to this humanitarian crisis remain murky.

This is a link to a good information source about the refugee crisis in Greece and the humanitarian response.

Refugee Flows to Lesvos: Evolution of a Humanitarian Response