Woman and children are transported with busses into “Oxy-Camp” to Molivos. The men and older children must walk the 5km after the strenuous and often dangerous crossing. The first registration process happens at “Oxy-Camp”. The refugees are taken by bus to Mitilini on the south of the island. They are then ferried across to the Greek mainland.
If there are not enough busses available, the refugees are required to stay in the camp and sleep without any shelter. On the 26th of September 2015 large tents as well as numerous smaller care tents were erected. The evenings in Lebos get cooler during autumn.
Many volunteers work untiringly – they have my greatest respect.
This flood, unfortunately, adds to the problems of the refugees. The mood of the local people is changing. There are just too many refugees.
Lesbos is an island with approx 86,000 inhabitants, who are mainly dependent on tourism. They fear that in future the tourists will avoid Lesbos and that pollution will cause problems. Turkish tourists very often cancel their holidays as they do not want to spend their holiday amongst the crowds of refugees. These fears are valid and have to be taken into account when assisting the refugees.
Thus we at Wolfgang Schueler Stiftung have used the donations in such a way as to assist both the refugees and the people.
Where possible we have purchased necessary goods from the island, thus supporting the Greek economy. Groceries like water; bread; peanut and chocolate spread; cheese; fresh fruit; nappies for babies; sanitaryware for ladies; emergency blankets; rain coats; electrolyte solutions against dehydration; medication.
We have made our own assessment and have been able to assist where it was needed.
A sincere THANK YOU to all the donors, as well as Brigitte Nuetzl in an honorary capacity, who assisted with the initial basic care of the refugees.
