The view from Lesvos: How Palo Alto can help the Syrian refugees

The Syrian refugee crisis unfolding in Greece may feel far away from our comfortable lives in Palo Alto, but spend a few minutes with resident Amy Rao and you’ll quickly learn what she saw as a volunteer in Lesvos this fall: “The stories of the people who are fleeing to Europe are simply heartbreaking,” Amy said. “And their desires for safety and hope are no different from what we want here in Palo Alto or anywhere in the United States. We need to take action to help in any way possible.”

Rao, a board member of Human Rights Watch and the CEO and founder of Integrated Archive Systems, went to Lesbos to observe the work of a group of volunteer lifeguards from Barcelona, Proactiva Open Arms. What she experienced was a first hand view of the people who are landing on the shores of Greece in a desperate effort to escape war and seek a better life.

Looking beyond the numbers: the human story of the Syrian refugees

While the United Nations recently reported that over 800,000 people who have fled to Europe this year,  many through Greece– a conversation with Amy illuminated the humanity behind these statistics and the tragic stories of families who endure horrific experiences just to keep their children safe. Here is a highlight of what we learned…

Lesvos is a difficult and dangerous place to land

Amy described the coast of Lesvos as similar to Big Sur or the Marin Headlands- rocky and studded with steep cliffs, with only a few sandy beaches. As a result, the refugees are unable to come all the way to shore and have to unload in the water, which is very cold and often hazardous due to waves and currents.

Getting to shore is treacherous and many people do not make it

As a volunteer in Lesvos, Amy was tasked with doing whatever was needed to help, including driving refugees to medical stations, or ferrying people too cold and wet to undergo the long walk to a camp.  This work went on all day and late into the night, as boats were constantly arriving and the refugees were soaked, cold and often had hypothermia, broken bones or other injuries.  She personally witnessed one boat collapse and sink about one kilometer from the coast, filling the water with lifejackets. “We could see the orange dots bobbing up and down in the water but we were up on a cliff and were completely helpless,” Amy said, her eyes brimming with tears at the memory.

“The volunteer ProActiva lifeguards from Spain had just received their jet skis and just completed building the ramps that would allow them to get in the water.  Within minutes of the boat sinking, the lifeguards arrived on the scene and spent five hours in the water working to rescue people.   That day 243 people were pulled out of the water and survived, but it was estimated that well over 300 people were on the boat and we’ll never know how many didn’t make it. Bodies are still washing up on shore from that October tragedy.

The only people doing water rescue are volunteer lifeguards from Spain

Although the refugee rafts are overloaded with women and children-most of whom cannot swim- there are few resources available to aid with water rescues. “We have raised over $800,000 to get jet skis, water rescue equipment and dry suits for the ProActiva Open Arms lifeguards because they are literally the only ones in the water helping the refugees get to shore,” Amy said. “It’s impossible to describe how cold and difficult this work is, and the big coast guard ships that patrol the Aegean are not equipped to pull people out of the water, but rather to rescue or tow boats.”

“The Proactive lifeguards came to Lesvos because of the heart-breaking photo tweeted by Peter Boucheart of Human Rights Watch that showed a Syrian toddler who had drowned trying to make the journey to Greece. As water rescue experts, they were mystified about how someone could drown so close to shore, and wondered, ‘Where were the lifeguards?”

The Syrian refugees are willing to endure the worst experiences for a chance to escape war and turmoil

Amy took many women, children and families from the shore to the refugee camp, but she was particularly drawn to one couple,Waafa and Amar, who had gotten married right before they left Syria for Greece. Waafa introduced herself to Amy and said she had worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Syria.

In a story for the UNHCR website, Waafa described the couple’s horrible journey. ““The smugglers treated us like animals,” Wafaa recalled, ”They referred to people as ‘goods’. They beat people and forced them onto overcrowded boats. You had no say on who gets on what boat. They forced people to blow up the boats and push them out to sea. It was like slavery and you could not say or do anything. You were at their mercy. We went knowing these people would be bad, but we had no idea how bad.”

Amy helped Waafa and Amar find a room in a private house for the night, but they- like all of the refugees in Greece- were eager to try and reach Germany as quickly as possible so they did not stay on Lesvos beyond one night.

How to help? stay informed and give…

Stay informed: “I am urging people to stay informed and the best person I have found to follow is Peter Bouckaert, the Emergencies Director at Human Rights Watch,” said Amy. “You never have to worry for a second if you re-post or re-tweet any of his posts—he will only give you the facts. For me, good information is the first step to get action to end a crisis.”

• Follow Peter on Facebook
• Find Peter on Twitter @bouckap

Give: “There are many people who want to send clothes or to volunteer,” said Amy. “But what is most needed are resources to support the organizations that are already there.” Here is Amy’s recommendation of where and how to give:

• ProActiva Open Arms (en.proactivaopenarms.org): These volunteer lifeguards from Spain are doing remarkable work in Greece to help refugees reach the shore safely. As they describe on their website, “We landed here with €15.000 from our own pockets, with no public funding. With that budget we helped disembarked more than 20 boats per day, carrying 50 people each, including babies, kids and elderly people. In total, about 1.000 people land in our beaches every day. If we can’t cover the expenses of the next weeks, we will have to leave the islands. The more resources and materials we get, the more lives we will be able to save.”

Photo by Proactiva Open Arms

• UNHCR (www.unhcr.org) can get much-needed goods to Athens, such as coats, blankets and sleeping bags, but the organization needs donations to transport items to Lesvos and to help with distribution and aide.  For personal checks or from donor advised funds, the donation must note that the funds are for the “winterization appeal for Greece. ” Address: USA for UNHCR, 1775 K Street NW Suite 580, Washington DC 2006.

• IAMYOU (www.IAMYOU.se) is bringing top notch volunteers with language skills to Greece. It is a Swedish-based non- profit an American fiscal sponsor that (Sustainable Markets Foundation) that allows the donations to receive a 501c3 tax credit. Checks should be made out to “Sustainable Markets Foundation” with “IAMYOU” in the memo line and be sent to this address: Jay R. Halfon/Sustainable Markets Foundation, 45 West 36th St, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10018-7635.

• Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) is working to not only expose the injustices, abuses and discrimination experienced by the refugees, but also to advocate to governments and aid agencies to open borders, end abuses, extend rights and protect their plight. You can donate at www.hrw.org or send a check with “Refugee program” in the memo line. Address: Human Rights Watch, 350 Sansome Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104.