This morning we met with Daniel Esdras, chief of mission of IOM Greece. A lovely man with a big heart for refugees.
He helped our team to get a better picture of the refugee crisis and was able to update us on the situation after the recent meeting of the EU leaders.
The numbers are just so overwhelming that no one knows how they will cope. In many ways people are praying that during the winter months things will slow down so that no lives will be lost because of the cold and the rough seas.
One thing that I was helped to understand was that the people smugglers are well organised on route all the way from the countries of origin to the countries of destination. The refugees who get on this big march pay a price to a smuggling ring to guide them all the way on their journey. They are the ones who through their mobile phones guide the people of where to catch the buses in Athens - a price that I heard was 7 to 10 thousand - and where and when to go to the borders and then they are guided as they go through the Balkan countries etc...
Every day my eyes continue to open to the fact that things are much more complicated than I knew them to be. This is why these meetings are very important in helping us to asses the needs and the gaps that exist and better co-ordinate with all those who seek to help.
Later on we had a meeting with members of an association of hoteliers here in Greece who were asking us about how could they best help the refugees. They were asking if through The Salvation Army they could provide accommodation or bedding or food etc...
Thank God for people who in the midst of this crisis continue to ask: "How can I help". The situation indeed is so overwhelming but if more and more people ask "how can I help" we and those other organisations who are seeking to help, may be able to respond in a more comprehensive way.
He helped our team to get a better picture of the refugee crisis and was able to update us on the situation after the recent meeting of the EU leaders.
The numbers are just so overwhelming that no one knows how they will cope. In many ways people are praying that during the winter months things will slow down so that no lives will be lost because of the cold and the rough seas.
One thing that I was helped to understand was that the people smugglers are well organised on route all the way from the countries of origin to the countries of destination. The refugees who get on this big march pay a price to a smuggling ring to guide them all the way on their journey. They are the ones who through their mobile phones guide the people of where to catch the buses in Athens - a price that I heard was 7 to 10 thousand - and where and when to go to the borders and then they are guided as they go through the Balkan countries etc...
Every day my eyes continue to open to the fact that things are much more complicated than I knew them to be. This is why these meetings are very important in helping us to asses the needs and the gaps that exist and better co-ordinate with all those who seek to help.
Later on we had a meeting with members of an association of hoteliers here in Greece who were asking us about how could they best help the refugees. They were asking if through The Salvation Army they could provide accommodation or bedding or food etc...
Thank God for people who in the midst of this crisis continue to ask: "How can I help". The situation indeed is so overwhelming but if more and more people ask "how can I help" we and those other organisations who are seeking to help, may be able to respond in a more comprehensive way.
The Team
(Left to right: Rik, Damaris, Maria, Jo, Polis, Jan and me)
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