This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jan/22/chaotic-lesbos-far-from-a-refuge-for-many-women-and-children
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Chaotic Lesbos far from a refuge for many women and children | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| “My husband was killed in the war. I can’t lose my kids too.” Rozin’s tone is flat, matter of fact. She’s in shock. Clutching her three-year-old daughter, Falaq, she recounts how she arrived in Greece three days ago wet, cold and terrified. “We saw death with our eyes. There were four boats with ours. One went into the water and a lot of kids drowned. Everything fell in the water – my money, my phone.” | “My husband was killed in the war. I can’t lose my kids too.” Rozin’s tone is flat, matter of fact. She’s in shock. Clutching her three-year-old daughter, Falaq, she recounts how she arrived in Greece three days ago wet, cold and terrified. “We saw death with our eyes. There were four boats with ours. One went into the water and a lot of kids drowned. Everything fell in the water – my money, my phone.” |
| At this she becomes hysterical. “How can I find them? How can I find my kids?” | At this she becomes hysterical. “How can I find them? How can I find my kids?” |
| Her two sons, eight-year-old Ala and 10-year-old Alwan, are missing after traffickers put them on a separate boat. Rozin and Falaq, together with her sister in law and 11-year-old niece, are now in Moria camp, one of two official refugee reception centres on Lesbos. She asks everyone she meets if they have seen her children. They could well be among the 3,000 residents in the camp, but the system here is so chaotic that no one seems able to tell her if they have been registered. There are telephone charging stations for those with phones but no noticeboards to place information about missing people. | Her two sons, eight-year-old Ala and 10-year-old Alwan, are missing after traffickers put them on a separate boat. Rozin and Falaq, together with her sister in law and 11-year-old niece, are now in Moria camp, one of two official refugee reception centres on Lesbos. She asks everyone she meets if they have seen her children. They could well be among the 3,000 residents in the camp, but the system here is so chaotic that no one seems able to tell her if they have been registered. There are telephone charging stations for those with phones but no noticeboards to place information about missing people. |
| At the women’s centre, a one-room temporary building furnished with a few cushions and toys, staff from the NGO ActionAid listen to story after story of women in similarly extreme circumstances. | At the women’s centre, a one-room temporary building furnished with a few cushions and toys, staff from the NGO ActionAid listen to story after story of women in similarly extreme circumstances. |
| Sara, who is 25 and from Iran, is travelling alone. Some Afghan men said they will take her with them to Germany if she gives them money and she’s not sure what to do. Next there is Fatima, from Iraq, who is clutching a crying five-month-old baby. “My milk has dried up. It was so hard to take my clothes off and feed her outside in the cold. Now I can’t feed her at all.” | Sara, who is 25 and from Iran, is travelling alone. Some Afghan men said they will take her with them to Germany if she gives them money and she’s not sure what to do. Next there is Fatima, from Iraq, who is clutching a crying five-month-old baby. “My milk has dried up. It was so hard to take my clothes off and feed her outside in the cold. Now I can’t feed her at all.” |
| For the staff, most of whom have been hastily hired for their Arabic or Dari language skills and have little experience dealing with crises, it is relentless. There is a constant queue of women for clean nappies or hygiene kits, which contain sanitary towels, wet wipes and toothbrushes. “I had my period when we walking across the border from Afghanistan to Iran,” says one woman. “We were walking for days and I had nothing. I had to use dirty rags and leaves.” | For the staff, most of whom have been hastily hired for their Arabic or Dari language skills and have little experience dealing with crises, it is relentless. There is a constant queue of women for clean nappies or hygiene kits, which contain sanitary towels, wet wipes and toothbrushes. “I had my period when we walking across the border from Afghanistan to Iran,” says one woman. “We were walking for days and I had nothing. I had to use dirty rags and leaves.” |
| “In the very first days of chaos I put up a small tent to act as a women’s centre. Straight away 15 women were trying to get inside to breastfeed. I will never forget that,” says Georgios Frantiz, head of Lesbos programmes for ActionAid. | “In the very first days of chaos I put up a small tent to act as a women’s centre. Straight away 15 women were trying to get inside to breastfeed. I will never forget that,” says Georgios Frantiz, head of Lesbos programmes for ActionAid. |
| Moria refugee camp is a shambles. There is limited electricity at night, nor is there heating in the shared family sleeping units provided by the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Shower blocks are overflowing. There is no proper allocation process for accommodation, meaning many women and children sleep in flimsy tents surrounded by groups of men. | Moria refugee camp is a shambles. There is limited electricity at night, nor is there heating in the shared family sleeping units provided by the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Shower blocks are overflowing. There is no proper allocation process for accommodation, meaning many women and children sleep in flimsy tents surrounded by groups of men. |
| Fayma, from Afghanistan, is en route with her two small children to meet her husband in Germany. “On the first night here me and the kids were sleeping outside. We were so scared, but now we have got into the family compound. At night there’s no light. I have no idea how long we will stay here. My money got stolen so I don’t know what to do. I need to find a way to contact my husband.” | Fayma, from Afghanistan, is en route with her two small children to meet her husband in Germany. “On the first night here me and the kids were sleeping outside. We were so scared, but now we have got into the family compound. At night there’s no light. I have no idea how long we will stay here. My money got stolen so I don’t know what to do. I need to find a way to contact my husband.” |
| Frantiz says he is seeing increasing numbers of single women or women with children with similar stories. “There are many cases where the male of the family travels first, secures asylum and the woman and children follow. I can’t tell you how many because no one is collecting the data. We also have a lot of women with medical problems, without money, women without a specific destination and not informed about what they can access or how they can access it. And we have cases where women have been subject to violence and harassment – both within the camp and en route.” | Frantiz says he is seeing increasing numbers of single women or women with children with similar stories. “There are many cases where the male of the family travels first, secures asylum and the woman and children follow. I can’t tell you how many because no one is collecting the data. We also have a lot of women with medical problems, without money, women without a specific destination and not informed about what they can access or how they can access it. And we have cases where women have been subject to violence and harassment – both within the camp and en route.” |
| Amnesty International says women and girls face violence, assault, exploitation and sexual harassment at every stage of their journey to Europe. The organisation interviewed 40 refugee women and girls in northern Europe last month who travelled from Turkey to Greece and across the Balkans. All the women described feeling threatened and unsafe during the journey. | Amnesty International says women and girls face violence, assault, exploitation and sexual harassment at every stage of their journey to Europe. The organisation interviewed 40 refugee women and girls in northern Europe last month who travelled from Turkey to Greece and across the Balkans. All the women described feeling threatened and unsafe during the journey. |
| “I’ve heard shocking stories of the steps women are taking to try and protect themselves, such as not eating or not drinking to try and avoid going to the toilet. I met one woman who had got a very bad bladder infection and was peeing blood because of that. Others were sleeping on beaches rather than risk being in tents or rooms surrounded by men. This isn’t new. We know this is a problem. There are no excuses any more,” says Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s crisis response director. | “I’ve heard shocking stories of the steps women are taking to try and protect themselves, such as not eating or not drinking to try and avoid going to the toilet. I met one woman who had got a very bad bladder infection and was peeing blood because of that. Others were sleeping on beaches rather than risk being in tents or rooms surrounded by men. This isn’t new. We know this is a problem. There are no excuses any more,” says Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s crisis response director. |
| The British government has provided nearly £16m to help deal with the crisis in the Balkans. About £4.5m is for Greece. The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) says it is focusing on protection of civilians, including women and girls; the issue will be a key topic for DfID at the supporting Syria and the region conference, which the UK is co-hosting in London next month. | The British government has provided nearly £16m to help deal with the crisis in the Balkans. About £4.5m is for Greece. The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) says it is focusing on protection of civilians, including women and girls; the issue will be a key topic for DfID at the supporting Syria and the region conference, which the UK is co-hosting in London next month. |
| But for Mike Noyes, head of humanitarian response at ActionAid UK, female refugees are being failed at every stage. “The speed in which people are processed and moved on gives women little chance to attend to their basic needs. The shared accommodation in the hosting centres fails to offer the privacy they need to even change clothes or breastfeed. | But for Mike Noyes, head of humanitarian response at ActionAid UK, female refugees are being failed at every stage. “The speed in which people are processed and moved on gives women little chance to attend to their basic needs. The shared accommodation in the hosting centres fails to offer the privacy they need to even change clothes or breastfeed. |
| “Little funding has been made available to provide adequate protection and support. In fact, the data being made available doesn’t even tell us how many women are making the journey because people are classed solely by nationality. Women are being made invisible.” | “Little funding has been made available to provide adequate protection and support. In fact, the data being made available doesn’t even tell us how many women are making the journey because people are classed solely by nationality. Women are being made invisible.” |