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Author Topic: A fantastic result of some good samaritans  (Read 2355 times)

Offline Cosetta

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A fantastic result of some good samaritans
« on: February 22, 2016, 09:08:33 AM »
For those of you not on Colin's news list, here is a message from this morning.  About 6 months ago a few people (mainly 2 British women) started to help straggling refugees who were arriving on Meis from Kas.  The women found them food, shelter and clothes.  Many people contributed privately and have been kept abreast of the situation by email.  This came today.  Just look what a little help has been able to achieve (also with help from the internet)! Kudos to Kate and her fellow volunteers!
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"As a follow-up to my previous mail about a crises on the Island which had “gone viral” on the KKIP facebook page Kate, who was on the Island has writtne what happened as a result.

“MSF and MOAS have arrived!!

Two powerful organisations have stepped in to help in response to the massive surge in refugee numbers on Kastellorizo.

Whilst the the number of refugees arriving on other islands, such as Lesvos, Kos, Samos and Chios, dropped dramatically last week, the island of Kastellorizo saw a massive increase, with numbers rising way beyond the capacity of the island.

Throughout last week, arrivals increased daily, rising from around 45 on Sunday, to 70 on Monday; 110 Tuesday; 270 Wednesday; 350 Thursday and 170 Friday. By Tuesday night, the 4 hotels were full and very little space remained in the community sleeping hall. Around 40 men were obliged to sleep outside. Luckily, it wasn't raining or cold.

Late Wednesday evening, after a very demanding day with 270 arrivals, we heard that a boat had arrived on the nearby Mandriaki beach. Everyone rushed off to prepare for further arrivals. There was no room at the community hall - many people were already sleeping outside, and so doctor Yannis offered to take the women and children into the medical centre overnight. We went to our KKIP centre to dispatch warm clothing for the men, and to help the women and children into dry clothing. At the medical centre, there was a great sense of community; with the women and children waiting calmly while the doctor and UN team created sleeping 'pods' on the floor,

That day MSF had contacted for information about the situation on the island and said that they would visit the following week. I put them directly in touch with the two UN representatives to discuss urgent needs.

The following day MSF called again to ask for an update.

On Friday, an MSF field operative arrived on the boat from Rhodes with a huge container truck full of supplies! They certainly didn't waste any time!!

Also on Friday approx half of the refugees left on the Blue Star ferry to Athens. This still left around 400 people remaining, which is more than the capacity of the island and a major concern if people continued to arrive in similar numbers.

On Saturday, around midday, we heard that an extra (unscheduled) ship was coming from Athens to collect the refugees. This was contradicted by the travel office, who confirmed that the next scheduled Athens ferry would be on Monday. Confusion ensued as both stories spread rapidly around the town, leading to confusion amongst the locals, volunteers and refugees!!

Working on the principle that that there might be a ship, we tried our best to help as many people as we could with last minute clothing needs.

Around 1.15 a huge MOAS ship came into the harbour, and as I ran round to see what was happening, I saw many of the local residents standing open mouthed, watching the arrival of this unfamiliar ship.

At the departure point there was much excitement as people arrived with their precious possessions and waited to leave the island. UNHCR, MSF police and volunteers worked hard to control the crowd as people were transported to the main ship in small groups using the MOAS tender and a small coast guard boat. This took almost 3 hours.

We already had UNHCR visiting the island, but it seems that MSF and MOAS now have Kastellorizo in their sights. We can expect regular visits from UNHCR; MSF are actively supporting, and, if necessary, another MOAS boat may be sent next week!

Good things are happening at last!!

Kate Toope”



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