Urgent Need on Lesbos: Refugee Aid - Diary

 
 
Alan Stone : Lesvos, Day 3 - 5 Dec. 2015
Started the day back at the warehouse to find two energetic guys already at work sorting clothing. A new shipment of factory seconds had arrived sometime during the night the the boys had brought it all inside so all the nice space we had created the day before was gone. The big issue of the day was boxes - we were terribly short of boxes to use for re-sorting items into categories for easy selection by various camp needs.
The table tops had arrived the day before making it much easier to do the sorting without bending over. Also, on Saturday evening Stavfros and I installed some lighting (see photos). Using a long extension cord we had brought from Galaxidi we connected (with permission) to the neighboring business and threaded it from next door into the warehouse. Stavros had purchased a few fluorescent light fixtures and we installed them on one side of the storage unit and hung another light from the high ceiling. Now work could be done during the night.
Today Rory (an eager young boy of 20 from Australia and I went out on a hunt for used boxes. Being Sunday all the grocery stores were closed so pilfering from their trash bins wasn't going to work. We started at the Moria Camp (sometimes referred to as Afghan Hill) and picked up a car-load of empty boxes the camp was finished with. After delivering them back to the warehouse we went out to hit local recycling bins around Mytilini and found enough for another load.
When we returned there were another 5 or 6 volunteers doing sorting and things were running along pretty smoothly without our interference. Terry and I decided to go grab lunch for ourselves and then brought back something for two of the volunteers. We left the sorting in more capable hands for the rest of the day and headed home for a little rest.
At about 6 we got a call from our friend Costa, from Cyprus Cares, who asked if we could meet him at the beach south of the airport as they were expecting a couple of boats to arrive sometime after 7. We met up with him by airport and spent about an hour waiting until they got a call that it was a false alarm. By then it was after 8 so we went for dinner to discuss plans for tomorrow.
What we've learned so far is that things move and change quickly here. Needs change by the day - even the hour. Plans can change at any moment and there's always something new that needs action.


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About Ofenis

H αγάπη για τον τόπο μας είναι δείγμα πολιτισμού.Τίποτα δε μας ανήκει όλα είναι δανεικά και τα οφείλουμε στις γενιές που ακολουθούν..
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