If We Knew
If my parents knew, they would beg me to stay safe. If they knew that last week the Greek government’s riot police released tear gas on civilians in Chios, Greece, the island where I was planning to volunteer, they would say, “See, you are lucky you weren’t there. You could have been one of the thousands of people beaten for protesting against the creation of expansive, locked-in refugee camps. You could have seen the Greek island’s mayor get sent to the hospital by Greek riot police along with dozens of others civilians as troops under the same flag marched on, destroying cars and crops in their way.”
If they knew that a warehouse organized by a group of locals called Solidarity Chios was burned down, destroying thousands of donated clothes, sanitary items, and toys for refugees and other local populations in need, they would have told me “See, you’re lucky that they didn’t burn the warehouse when you were there.” If they knew…
AFP / Manolis Lagoutaris
But they don’t know. My parents, along with my other family members and friends living in the United States, have heard little to nothing about the riots, the killings, and the drownings that have happened during the past week as the Greek government started to construct permanent refugee camps on the Greek islands of Lesvos and Chios. Most Americans are unaware of how people fleeing from war have been living on these islands since 2015, standing in line for most of the waking day to receive meals lacking in nutrients and possibly carrying maggots.
Greece’s refugee camps on the islands have reached four times their capacity as people live in endless rows of makeshift tents. On Lesvos, the camp which is supposed to house 3,000 people, houses nearly 13,000 people, almost exceeding the island’s local Greek population. As Dimitra Kalogeropoulou, Greek head of the International Rescue Committee expressed, this overcrowding "is good for no one; local communities feel their islands have been transformed into giant prisons, while asylum seekers are forced to live in dangerous conditions". With terrible accessibility to sanitation, education, and basic dignity, thousands of refugees have been asked by the European Union and the rest of the world to wait, while thousands of Greek locals seeking certainty and stability in their hometowns have been asked to do the same—to wait.
To wait for what? Should they wait for dozens of European Union and United Nation meetings to start and end without action plans in place to reconcile the lack of humanity people in power have been showing to innocent people fleeing from war? Should they wait for the Greek government to announce that they will build floating barriersto prevent more “invaders” from reaching their shores?
Or rather, should they wait for this past week when Greeks protested against permanent, prison-like refugee camps, when Turkey’s president proclaimed that their borders to the EU are open, and when Greece’s government announced that they will no longer accept asylum-requests. In other words, should they wait for Greek locals to shout at a boat filled with adults, young children, and crying babies for an hour before pushing the raft back to the ocean? Should they wait for the Greek Coast Guard to assault a group of refugees crossing on a raft and prompt yet another child to drown? Should they wait for tear gas to fill the lungs and sore eyes of thousands of more individuals trying to cross at the Greek-Turkey land borders?
Locals in Lesvos scream at people at refugees arriving on the shore for about an hour before pushing them back to sea.
Today, Turkey is hosting nearly 3.7 million Syrian refugees with some economic assistance from the European Union while also fighting against Assad’s Syrian Regime since close to the beginning of the Syrian War. Syria’s attack on Idlib last week sharply escalated the tension in Syria when at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike. In response to this, Turkish President Erdoğan decided to open Turkey’s borders, giving thousands of refugees free bus rides to the border in order to press Greece and the European Union to further assist with refugee resettlement and the war.
Greece, a country facing intense economic strains for decades, has been hosting more than 50,000 refugees, mostly on their small, overcrowded islands, while unsuccessfully pleading for their fellow European Nations economic support and aid in refugee resettlement. Shortly after Turkey’s declaration of their open borders, the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis suspended asylumapplications in Greece and reportedly blocked 10,000 migrants from entering Greece in 24 hours.As we speak, Turkey is using migrants who are stuck in-between borders as Marios Kaminarides, aPolitical Correspondent for Capital TV expressed as, “human blackmail against EU values” and Greece is continuing to fight and terrorize innocent people searching for refuge.
Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Meanwhile, across the sea—across thousands of miles where parents of American soldiers fighting in the Middle East live—the Corona Virus is dominating the international news. The virus is easier to talk about. The virus is easy to talk about, but if my grandma, a refugee from Chios, Greece who migrated to the United States during the German occupation of her island in the early 1940s, lived today she would quickly recognize where the real virus lies.
The United States, a country founded for refugees is hiding from its responsibilities. Set to accept only a few thousands of refugees, one of the most powerful Nations in the world is turning a blind eye to the millions of people suffering miles away from their army bases, their economic trade-posts, their oil reserves. Even though most communities across the country are willing to accept refugees, The United States government, a government ruling over a country with a generally stable economy, and a history interwoven in diversity, has accepted its lowest number of refugees in forty years.
President Trump just recently announced that he is willing to provide Turkey with ammunition to fight in Syria, but where were the millions of dollars needed to provide this weaponry during conversations of resettling refugees in America. Why don’t we, as one of my past students from Syrian suggested, “Teach refugees, don’t kill them.”
Now, for you few fearful skeptics, I could show data proving how the chance of an American being murdered by a refugee-terrorist is 1 in 4 billion per year, but this is not the point. I could site statistic after statistic showing how refugees have already proven to exceptionally contribute to our Nation’s economic, societal, and infrastructural advancements, but that is not the point.
The point is that human life is not a currency. The point is that human life is not black-mail. The point is that human life is not to be ignored, and ignoring it is a sickness.
If we knew the agony of the mother whose baby cried as dozens with feet on the land they have been headed towards for months hovered over them, screamed at them in a foreign language, and pushed their raft back to sea. If we knew the pain of a young man’s parents learning the news that their son who left to support his sick father went another day without water of food as tear gas started to worsen his asthmatic condition. If we knew the last wish of the child who drowned somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea seconds after seeing a big ship pass by, before taking their last breath. If we knew, we would realize we are sick.
The state of humanity needs us to speak for those who are not headlined with two-minute stories, pitied for a moment and then forgotten. The state of humanity needs us to realize that participating in the systematic apathy towards our fellow human beings is just as bad as fighting on the wrong side of the war. The state of humanity needs us to combat this virus of indifference with a spirit of solidarity and love for the joys every person brings. The state of humanity needs you.
AFP PHOTO / ACHILLEAS ZAVALLIS)
Actions You Can Decide to Take Right Now
Sign and share this petitionto the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission, and Heads of Member States, to pressure Europe to immediately decongest the Aegean Islands.
Change your Facebook picture to Facebook profile picture to the “I Stand With Greece” filterto promote awarenessabout recent developments in the country due to its refugee crisis.
If you are in New York, attend the Migrant Crisis Awareness Rallyon Sunday March 8that Athens Square Park in Astoria, Queens where The Chian Federation and others will gatherfor refugees and Greeks locals, demanding the dignified resettlement of refugees.
Watch and share this 6-minute animated film “Sorry I Drowned”which was inspired by a letter found on someone who drowned somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea because of the prevailing politicization of human life.
Watch and promote The Cavea documentary by the award-winning, film-maker Feras Fayyad, who travelled back to Syria in order to capture the story of Amani Ballour and her medical team as she fights to save the lives of innocent civilians in Syria.
Stay tuned for and share Utica: The Last Refuge, a documentary that follows the stories of refugee families in Utica, New York and shows how the post-industrial town’s new-comers helped save their city.
Subscribe and support Immigrantly Podcastwhich features weekly cross-cultural conversations that bring you up close and personal with some of America’s immigrants, re-narrating what it means to be and immigrant in the United States.
Donate to the local team of Greeks on Chios called FEOX Rescue Team, who tirelessly assist refugees by providing clothes, shelter, toys, and smiles. During my short time volunteering with them, it is clear that all the donations they collectgo to those in need.
If you are in Greece, volunteer with the Hilton Humanitarian Prize winning NGO, METAdrasi, or other local organizations which help to restore the dignity in people who have left their homes because of war, poverty, and/or other types of persecutions.
If you would like to travel to Greece to volunteer, apply toGreek America Foundation’s volunteer opportunitiesby March 7thfor the chance to first-handedly contribute to the important work that local organizations are doing on the ground.
If you are an eligible voter in the United States, consider the millions of names of people you do not see on the ballot. Consider our position in the world and the responsibility that everyone has to hold themselves and their communities accountable to the respect of every human’s life.
If you are a young person finding what to do with your life or a person of any age determining their next career move, recognize that being useful in teams for the humanity of others is intensely fulfilling. Your job is not just a job; it is your life’s effort. Make it count for others and it will count for you.
Share this article widely and please take every known action in your mind and soul to depoliticize and develop human empathy. Smile at those walking by. Share your story and listen to others. Speak up for those who are not heard and act against the virus of indifference.
