By Country Staff | Greece
Greece is generally viewed as a temporary stopping point or transition point for refugees along their way to other “final” destinations. As a result, both refugees and Greek locals tend to view the refugee situation in Greece as “temporary”: many refugees do not expect to stay in Greece and hope to be reunited with family in Germany or elsewhere in Europe, while the seemingly temporary nature of refugees’ stay in Greece creates one of many barriers for interaction between locals and refugees and the cultural integration of refugees in Greek society. However, all those who arrived after the E.U.-Turkey Deal in March 2016 are ineligible for relocation to the rest of the E.U. and will only be able to apply for asylum to stay in Greece. An estimated one-half of the current population of refugees in Greece will stay in Greece long-term. IsraAID began its operation in Greece in September 2015 at Lesbos and has been working in Northern Greece since April 2016.
LESBOS ISLAND
Medical Clinic
With a renewed influx of boats this past week, IsraAID's medical team has returned to the north shore of Lesvos to provide emergency medical attention to those in need. The team treated unconscious individuals, pregnant women as well as some infants with complications from the treacherous crossing.
Our team also continues to offer daily medical services at clinics in camps and local villages. So far, they have treated 866 patients, 436 (51%) males and 427 (49%) females. Out of the 866 patients 334 were children under 18 (38%).
Apart from the regular work in the clinic, the team is also leading several health education trainings on issues such as breast cancer detection, CPR, wound and cut treatment, prevention and treatment (what to do before coming to the doctor) for fever and cough. During the month of Ramadan, the team was also discussing how to behave during the summer months, especially during the fast. See attached link to a video about one of IsraAID’s doctors.
Mental Health
Theater Workshop - Youth refugees in Lesbos performed a beautiful and moving piece titled, “This is Not the End of the Story”; written and directed by the group. The audience felt the unaccompanied minors' hardships, courage and perseverance through their story-telling and acting. There was not a dry eye in the house!
The performance was a culmination of a ten-day theater workshop run by two Israeli drama experts, in partnership with three other organizations in Greece. These sessions helped the group tell their stories, process their feelings and present them on stage.
Apart from the theater program, IsraAID continues to offer psychological first aid and follow ups - a service that consists of an Arabic speaking psychologist during our clinic hours operates from a designated safe location where residents feel safe and comfortable to share and release. In the clinic patients referred by the clinic or drop-ins will be given the opportunity to share their life experiences and learn from the therapist and from other participant's experiences about how to manage and cope with different symptoms. In addition, the sessions provide an opportunity for emotional ventilation and stress relief.
In addition, the PSS staff address the mental issues of residents, and support other organizations that seek our expertise.
NORTHERN GREECE
While the needs of refugees in Greece are varied and highly dynamic, IsraAID in Northern Greece responds primarily to psychosocial needs, providing PSS to refugees in the area in and surrounding Thessaloniki. Many refugees in Greece suffer from trauma and have difficulty recovering due to the instability of their situation and status in Greece. Not only are refugees stressed in Greece from not knowing what their situations will be, but they also face stress from the future prospect of finding jobs without skills and furthermore have difficulty adjusting to the new environment in Greece without knowing if they will how long they will ultimately remain in Greece. All of these factors contribute to their difficulty recovering from the trauma they have suffered in their home countries and on their journeys to Greece. Some have preexisting mental health conditions, while others have emergent mental health issues as a result of what they have been through.
IsraAID provides PSS to refugees in Northern Greece in the form of both group work and individual sessions. For example, IsraAID PSS staff meet several times a week with different groups by demographic (e.g. women, men, teenage boys, young children) at each of the camps, and have also been expanding our PSS services in through career and skills training in our Early Childhood Education program at one of the shelters.
IsraAID congratulates our graduates of the Early Childhood Program! The participating women gained knowledge and practical skills in working with young children aged 0-3, and received certificates recognized by Al-Qasemi College of Education in Israel. The group has just opened a kindergarten in the camp, giving the women a daily role in the shelter and the youngest refugee children somewhere to learn and play. The participants now have improved future job prospects to help rebuild their lives after their long journeys from Iraq and Syria.
Thank you for your continued support to our programs in Greece!
By Niv Rabino & Guy Shrayer | Heads of Mission
By Elin Giertz Andersen | Partnership Officer
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
