Justice and Human Rights Greece Project #38268

Help LHR Continue its Vital Programming in Greece

by Lighthouse Relief

Project Report | Jun 2, 2020
Facing Unprecedented Challenges With Your Support

By Youssef Zeineddine | Communications and Reporting Officer

In January 2020, our teams in Lesvos and Ritsona anticipated many challenges in the year to come - such as the expansion of Ritsona Refugee camp, where we operate in mainland Greece.

However, we could not have predicted the many challenges that the year was holding for refugees and asylum seekers, as well as for our operations. From escalating tensions on Lesvos, to the global Coronavirus pandemic, LHR worked through these unprecedented obstacles, continuing to assist refugees in Greece in any way possible, while keeping in mind the safety of our staff, volunteers, and people we work with.

In the last weeks of February, we witnessed local communities protesting the building of new detention centres on the north of the island, followed by escalating tensions, threats and violence against asylum seekers, journalists, and humanitarian workers. The situation on Lesvos arose due to an institutional failure to respond, both to the demands of Greek community members who felt, and continue to feel, abandoned by national and EU-level leadership, and the needs of asylum seekers currently confined to the island, merely seeking dignified living conditions and pursuing their rights.

As the situation escalated on the island, Lighthouse Relief evacuated our volunteers and paused our primary operations. After the evacuation, a core team remained on Lesvos, focusing on coordinating with other organizations working with refugees and asylum seekers to ensure new arrivals could access items from LHR’s stock such as blankets, dry food, and clothing.

Although the tensions on Lesvos have eased during March, the Coronavirus restrictions implemented by the Greek government meant a further suspension of our operations on the island. During this time, and with respect to these measures, our team members on Lesvos were not in direct contact with new arrivals to the island, instead, providing items through one of our partners on the north shore, including boxes of clothes, food, and other necessities.

When restrictive measures to stem Coronavirus were implemented in Greece on March 9th, LHR also implemented changes to our programming in Ritsona Camp, decreasing the number of people allowed in our spaces, implementing social distancing measures, displaying Coronavirus safety posters in the spaces, while distributing sanitiser to the residents in our spaces.

Shortly thereafter, we decided to suspend our physical operations in Ritsona, starting on March 16th for the safety of the residents and volunteers. The team has found other ways to support the community in Ritsona remotely, including creating the Youth Online Space (YOS), an online support group to keep engaging with the youth in Ritsona Camp, through music, arts, and English lessons, among other activities. Moreover, LHR donated items as well as parts of its unused camp budget in the camp to Cafe Rits, another organisation present in Ritsona Camp, in order to supplement their food and hygiene distribution.

Throughout this time, we also published our 2019 Annual Report, which highlights the achievements and challenges that our teams faced in Ritsona and Lesvos, with our team in Ritsona reaching 55% of residents through the year, and our team in Lesvos assisting 54% of arrivals. We are more committed than ever to continuing this important work.

Currently, as we are planning our return to operating in Ritsona and Lesvos, many changes to our programming will be implemented, such as including protective gear (masks, gloves), Water and Sanitation protocols, including using frequent use of hand sanitiser, as well as distributing crafts to children of the camp. Our continued work has been possible through your steadfast support to LHR and our mission of providing dignified support to refugees and asylum seekers.

Food distribution in Ritsona camp by Cafe Rits

YES intern Anna giving online singing lesson

Food distribution to partners on Lesvos

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Feb 3, 2020
Welcoming the New Year on Lesvos and Ritsona Camp

By Marie-Helene Rousseau | Head of Communications

LHR volunteers during spotting training

On the island of Lesvos and in Ritsona Camp on the mainland of Greece, the need for a dignified humanitarian response is greater than ever. Through the winter of 2019, and in the first month of 2020, our teams across Greece have been hard at work responding to increased needs for emergency aid and psychosocial support.

Over the course of 2019, our teams on Lesvos assisted 14,531 people arriving - more than double the number of people whom we supported last year. Half of those arriving were under the age of 18, with 948 making the dangerous journey on their own. Throughout this busy year, our team led 365 operations and our spotting volunteers identified 125 boats arriving to the north shore, enabling a fast and efficient response from our landing team. When our teams are not responding to landings or on spotting shifts, they engage in regular trainings to ensure that they are prepared. In addition to spotting and landing training, volunteers also engage in specialised workshops such as throwline training, or we join our friends at Refugee Rescue for trainings on spotting or transporting potentially injured people from a landed boat to a safe place.

Although the cold, rain and rough seas during the winter make the crossing more perilous, people continue to flee. In the first month of 2020 our teams have provided a warm welcome to 834 people. We have also had to contend with the difficult possibility of the closure of Stage 2 transit facility, a key point at which new arrivals receive shelter and vital assistance upon arrival, before being transferred to Moria Camp. In the face of these challenges, our teams are determined to continue providing emergency support to people fleeing conflict and persecution and are always ready adapt our operations given the ever-changing circumstances.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, Ritsona Camp has received over 1,500 new residents, many transferred from Moria Camp on Lesvos, and Vathy Camp on Samos. Among them, there are 700-800 children who will not be able to access formal education until the autumn of 2020. As they wait for the next step of their asylum procedures, it is more important than ever to offer them the opportunity to participate in psychosocial activities. Today, our numbers in Ritsona are higher than ever - our Child Friendly Space is welcoming over 100 children to programming everyday, while the Youth Engagement Space is welcoming over 135 people every day. Our CFS team is adapting their programming to ensure that we can respond to these increased needs, offering activities such as crafts, including watercolouring, drawing and structured play.

Through the winter, we have continued to offer a plethora of workshops in the Youth Engagement Space, a drop-in center for youth as well as a place for structured activities. In December, we co-led photography and videography workshops with talented youth in the space, including a photography workshop led by a resident and skilled photographer from Afrin, Syria. We also continued to elevate the voices of the talented youth who use the space, creating a video rendition of - "Stateless," a poem by Adnan Hassan, which powerfully captures the experience of displacement that touches millions of lives worldwide. Now, with increased numbers in the YES, we are offering a wide range of language workshops and skills workshops, ensuring that we have a diverse range of options to offer the growing population of the camp.

As we look toward the New Year, it is clear that we face many challenges ahead. Thanks to your support, Lighthouse Relief has a strong and prepared team to carry our work forward through these challenges, and to ensure that we are an unwavering source of support for people arriving in search of safety, and for those waiting in limbo on the Mainland.

LHR's CFS Manager leads activities in Ritsona

LHR volunteers organising donations on Lesvos

LHR's emergency response team during a landing

The Youth Engagement Space in Ritsona Camp

Holiday crafts in the Child Friendly Space

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Nov 5, 2019
From Shoreline to Mainland, Your Help is Vital

By Marie-Helene Rousseau | Head of Communications & Partnerships

LHR's Emergency Response Coordinator on Lesvos

Over the past three months, Lighthouse Relief has faced one of the busiest periods in over three years. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to rise to the occasion, providing immediate emergency response to increased numbers of people arriving on the shores of Lesvos, while ensuring that residents of Ritsona Refugee Camp can access psychosocial support while awaiting the next steps of their asylum procedures.

So far in 2019, Lighthouse Relief has supported over 10,000 people arriving to the shores of Lesvos. This represents a marked increase from previous years - in 2017, we supported 4,300 people, while in 2018, we supported 7,000. As the last remaining organisation on Lesvos with a land-based emergency response crew, our teams of dedicated volutneers are on call 24/7 to assist incoming boats on the shoreline, and in Stage 2 Transit Camp, while monitoring the seas for boats approaching the shoreline 21 hours a day.

Over the past months, arrivals to Lesvos were at the highest point since the signing of the EU-Turkey Deal in 2016, reflecting the continued lack of safe passage for those fleeing from conflict, strife and persecution. From the beginning of August to now, we have assisted in 172 operations, and supported over 7,750 people, nearly half of whom were under 18. On August 29, our team faced an exceptionally busy day, when 13 dinghies landed almost simultaneously on a narrow stretch of beach. We worked with our partners on the water, Refugee Rescue, to ensure that people could safely disembark, and provided dry clothes and a warm welcome at Stage 2 transit camp.

Although temperatures have started to dip since then, people are still making the perilous crossing to Lesvos. On the first day of November alone, our Emergency Response team on Lesvos supported 252 new arrivals, over 50% of whom were children. Over the past month, we have partnered with a medical aid NGO on Lesvos to ensure that a medical volunteer accompanies our landing team, enabling us to rapidly respond to medical cases on arrival. This is especially crucial now, as the cold weather brings with it higher risks of hypothermia.

At the end of September, we also wrapped up our ECO Relief program for the year. Since July, Lighthouse Relief's ECO warriors were responsible for cleaning 67 dinghies, and collecting 1,141 lifejackets. We are committed to restoring the beautiful beaches of Lesvos and supporting the local community, which has shown us immense hospitality in the four years that we have been in Skala Sikamineas.

Meanwhile, in Central Greece, Ritsona Refugee Camp continues to expand, and we are seeing new faces in our Child Friendly Space and our Youth Engagement Space everyday.

The Youth Engagement Space is a hub of creativity, a safe place where young residents can express themselves through art, conversation and writing. In September, Lighthouse Relief was proud to present the ninth edition of the Ritsona Kingdom Journal, full of artwork, poetry and prose by the talented young residents of Ritsona, which you can peruse in its entirety on Narratio. Several talented actors in the camp also worked with one of our skilled volunteers to create two short films, including "A Dream," a film that touches on our shared humanity, and the universal language of dreams.

Throughout the past months, with the help of our volunteers, we were also able to provide German and English lessons, and yoga classes. We continued to host art workshops in the Youth Engagement Space, even incorporating pottery work and portrait drawing into the ever-popular sessions.

Our Child Friendly Space has been busier than ever - our CFS team's imaginative weekly themes spark the curiosity and sense of wonder of the camp's youngest residents, while also allowing them to build on their resilience and strength. Throughout the past months, a daily average of 50 - 60 children have attended programming in the CFS, and have engaged in activities around such themes as "Music" and "Family." Skilled volunteers, including numerous Resident Volunteers, have truly been essential to these activities in both spaces, and we are very grateful to them for their support.

Our team in Central Greece also welcomed a new addition - our Sports Facilitor, who has been instrumental in leading sports activities for children and youth, including football in collaboration with a local Greek coach, basketball, badminton, tennis, volleyball, and more.

Over four years after we joined forces on Lesvos, over 96,500 people remain in Greece, in limbo. As the winter months approach, we are committed to providing a warm welcome that extends from the shoreline to the mainland. You have helped us come closer and closer to our goal in this campaign, and your support has truly empowered our teams to grow, strengthen programming, and to build capacity.

From the entire team at Lighthouse Relief, thank you!

LHR's Child Friendly Space in Ritsona Camp

Music week in LHR's Child Friendly Space

Emergency Response on Lesvos

Coordinating safe & fast assistance for arrivals

Inside the YES Art Workshop

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