By LeSol | Member of Lesvos Solidarity
Where have we been up to so far?
This year has been truly challenging for the residents of Pikpa camp and the team of Lesvos Solidarity. Starting at the beginning of the year with racist attacks towards refugees and members and NGOs, the COVID-19 pandemic which led to multiple lockdowns, the fire in Moria camp which left refugees shelterless for many days, and ultimately the closure of dignified shelters, amongst them Pikpa camp. All these sad events were particularly challenging for our operations.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, we immediately responded by adding in our operation the accommodation of 30 unaccompanied minors in order to protect their health and to provide them a safe shelter away from Moria camp. In the meantime, we followed every measure necessary to keep Pikpa camp a COVID-free zone, and until the last day of its operations, we managed to have no cases on its residents. Additionally, we proceeded to donate medical equipment and protective gear to the public health system, which was vital and much needed.
In September, Moria camp was burned down, leaving the refugee population that lived there wandering around in the streets with no food or shelter. Due to the severity of the situation and the upcoming bad weather that was coming on the island, we started hosting single refugee mothers and their babies. Pikpa camp was prepared in a truly short period of time to respond to this emergency and within days we were able to provide support to the mothers and their babies. On top of that, our team and Pikpa’s residents prepared and distributed meals and hygiene products to the thousands of people who lost everything for the second time in their lives and were living in the streets. Lesvos Solidarity along with other actors formed a coalition demanding dignified living conditions and safety for all the refugees of the island.
Pikpa camp, a solidarity space that offered dignified shelter and support for the vulnerable refugee population, was facing a defamation attack and Mr. Mitarakis, the Greek minister of Migration and Asylum, announced its closure, along with the closure of other dignified shelters by October. The plan of the government was to host all the refugee population of Lesvos island in the new Kara Tepe camp, which was created right after the fire of Moria. We were mobilized with the support of many local and international actors to reverse this unfair decision but the authorities were determined to evict Pikpa and to place all the vulnerable residents in the new, closed-type camp they created.
A massive police operation took place on the 30th of October in Pikpa. After 8 years of operations, police forces, riot police and public prosecutor evacuated the camp and transferred the residents to the old Kara Tepe camp without any prior notice. The residents, the volunteers, and the team of Lesvos Solidarity were left in shock with the eviction, knowing the living conditions of so many refugees on the island and that a heavy winter was approaching.
Lesvos Solidarity will continue its mission on defending refugees’ safe access to human rights and dignified living conditions from Mosaik and Asklepios. In more detail, we are willing to continue the provision of medical, psychosocial support, and legal representation concerning their asylum case, as well as vocational training and informal educational programs. Additionally, we have started liaising with locals and other actors on the island to support our former residents with their integration into society. Their independence to the community is our main priority and we stand by their side all the way.
At the same time, we are regrouping and restructuring. The whole team is actively participating in the process of designing and starting new activities with fresh energy in 2021. We are confident that we will find the best possible way to continue our work in Lesvos, in solidarity with refugees and with the local community. You can learn more about our current operations by reading our latest newsletter.
With all that being said, we have decided to terminate our Medical Support for Lesvos Vulnerable Refugees campaign. With the generosity of all our friends and donors, we have gathered an amazing amount of $7,125.26. With your donations and your support, we managed to provide medical care to refugees that was much needed. Every single donation helped the refugees of Pikpa camp to receive medication, vaccinations, appointments with clinics for important tests and treatment, transportation to public hospitals and public medical clinics, and on top of that we were able to fund the salaries of our medical team.
For all your love and support we are thanking you from the bottoms of our hearts. Your love gave us the strength to continue and now with our new project on the platform of GlobalGiving, we are asking for your kind contributions to continue providing dignified housing, medical and psychosocial support to the vulnerable refugee population of the island of Lesvos. You can view our new project here.
Once again, the whole team of LeSol would like to thank each one of you and the GlobalGiving Platform for standing by our side. Thanks to all of you we are able to protect and take care of the vulnerable refugee children and adults on the island of Lesvos. We would be truly grateful if you show the same support to our new project “ Housing for the Vulnerable Refugees of Lesvos”. Please feel free to share it with whomever you think might be interested.
We truly hope that this brief report gives you a clear insight into our operations. However, if you need any clarification please contact us at info@lesvossolidarity.org.
With our warmest regards,
The Team of Lesvos Solidarity
Links:
By Stella Balouka | Member of Lesvos Solidarity
By Efi Latsoudi | Team Members
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