Above: Refugee Camp, Ritsona. Photo Credit: Brian Cronin
As the Refugee crisis continues, UCD Student Brian Cronin discusses his time as a volunteer in a refugee camp in Ritsona, Greece.
Imagine if in the morning you had to take all of your personal belongings and flee. You simply had to drop everything you are familiar with, including your home and even members of your family. This apparently inconceivable scenario has become reality for millions of Syrians and other Middle Eastern people. These people are the same as you or I. Many of them are highly educated and motivated, alongside those who are struggling in poverty. They are not voluntarily migrating to Europe. Instead they are fleeing war, persecution, death, and violent dictatorships. Fate has dealt them a cruel hand. When a parent decides that putting their child into a flimsy rubber boat in the Aegean Sea is safer than the land they are fleeing, it indicates that things must be bad.
“Sarah” is a 7 year old Syrian girl. Everyday she has school from 5-7:30pm. Everyday, Sarah and her friends line up for class from 4pm onwards. They value education more than we can ever appreciate. Education offers them a fleeting glimpse of normality in a chaotic world. The Child Friendly Space in the Ritsona refugee camp is their sanctuary. They want to learn, in order to achieve the best life they possibly can. Living in a refugee camp and awaiting asylum registration – which will take months at best – is not conducive to achieving these aims. The mindset of Sarah and her friends is the norm rather than the exception amongst the 800 people in the 150 tent camp – a camp with one operational shower and running water that runs dry by mid afternoon.
The adults there were highly skilled people with expertise across a broad array of disciplines. The camp boasted qualified architects. Carpenters capable of building the most amazing structures out of simple wood pallets. Nurses. Medical students. Tradesmen. While we were in the camp a refugee – an electrical engineer – installed electricity in the camp solely by himself (it was subsequently dug up by the ‘powers that be’ for an alleged breach of camp regulations). The intellectual, cultural, and social diversity of these people would benefit our European society immeasurably.
Once you meet these people you realise that creating a distinction between us and them is a fallacy. When you look into the eyes of such affectionate and loving children; or see the joy on their faces playing ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’; or hear them fervently reciting their ‘ABCs’; laughing at your mere presence – you realise that there is no difference. You could just as easily be in an Irish primary school. The sheer joy, innocence, and happiness of these children alone warrants far more meaningful action from the European Union.
Some reporting of the crisis would have you believe otherwise, but these people are not terrorists, extremists, or criminals. They are loving daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. They just want to be happy like us. To live in peace. To spend time with their family. Our similarities far outweigh our differences. Individual ignorance and media bias overstates and disproportionately emphasises these differences. Yet despite the fact that they now have very little material possessions, they still retain their dignity and respect.
“You could just as easily be in an Irish primary school. The sheer joy, innocence, and happiness of these children alone warrants far more meaningful action from the European Union.”
Their generosity blew us away. Whether it was drinking coffee in a tent and playing backgammon; or sharing a precious home cooked evening meal with two wonderful Syrian families, their hospitality and kind-heartedness left a lasting impression and restored our faith in humanity. I miss the friends we made and I know people reading this article would feel the same – if they had the opportunity to get to know the people who find themselves in these camps through no fault of their own.
So what can we do to help? Donating your time is crucial as volunteers are badly needed. All of the organisations we met were clearly understaffed. There are independent organisations doing fantastic work in these refugee camps. Expertise is greatly valued as skilled people here in Ireland could provide an unprecedented amount of benefit to the refugees in these camps. For instance we noticed that the majority of the children in the camp had teeth full of decay. Dentists are needed. So are teachers. Midwives. Builders. The list is endless. Any skill would be put to good use.
Based on our experience we would recommend donating your hard earned money to independent organisations. From what we witnessed the full sum of the money is put to good use and is not spent on bureaucratic expenses. As well as that, people in Ireland can create awareness and question conventional thinking – the narrative that is often portrayed about the migrant crisis can be misleading and selective. We can confidently say that these people appeared to be wonderful, kind, and loving individuals.
“Expertise is greatly valued as skilled people here in Ireland could provide an unprecedented amount of benefit to the refugees in these camps.”
Lobby your politicians, MEPs, UNHCR, any individuals or organisations of influence. Don’t underestimate the power of one email, letter, or conversation. We must hold people in power accountable and ensure they act positively during this crisis.
As global citizens we all have a moral obligation to alleviate the suffering of others where possible. Every generation has been faced with a large scale humanitarian crisis. This is our generation’s opportunity to display our collective kindness and humanity. We should not forget that during World War II, countries like Syria and Palestine received tens of thousands of displaced European refugees. History is cyclical – the similarities are striking. Now the roles have been reversed, so let us return the favour by welcoming these people into our countries. This can only happen through the eradication of political, social, and intellectual discrimination.
Unfortunately the crisis is not going away. The numbers of people affected are simply too great – in 2015 there were over one million asylum applications to Europe. We cannot underestimate the significance of our response – the effects will reverberate for decades. How we treat these people is a manifestation of how much we value ourselves as citizens of this world. Do not underestimate your own ability to influence events. The collective impact of our individual efforts is powerful beyond measure. Let’s act now.
At a fundamental level we are all one. Irish. Syrian. Christian. Muslim. We are not defined by artificially constructed national barriers or by minor religious differences. We are human beings belonging to this earth. Winning the genetic lottery should not confer the right to refuse people seeking a better life entry into our country. Yes there are cultural and social integration issues to consider, but these cannot warrant refusing a 7 year old girl from Syria the right to an education and a home. It could just as easily be any of us in their shoes.
Brian Cronin worked with the independent charity Lighthouse Relief. Visit their website here.
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