Mohammed shares his journey from refugee to resident volunteer and interpreter in talk

» A TALK with Mohammed, who fled to Greece from Syria in 2018, was recently organised by Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees (CWR) founder Rose Chacko, who volunteered in Nea Kavala camp in Greece in 2019, where she met Mohammed. Here she shares some of his story.

MOHAMMED is Syrian, from a Syria that was once a beautiful country, he says. He fled the war as a teenager and reached Greece in 2018.

Since then, he has learned English well enough to tell us about his experience and to interpret for others in the camp.

The camp Nea Kavala was built for a population of 300 but now houses 2,000 refugees from many countries. They are all eager to learn English.

Mohammed became a resident volunteer for We Are Here, a grassroots organisation working in the camp. He helped with English classes and provided interpreting support. We Are Here has since been disbanded, as Greek regulations were introduced which disqualified many small groups from continuing.

The camp Nea Kavala was built for a population of 300 but now houses 2,000 refugees Rose Chacko

A dire situation in an overcrowded camp took a turn for the worse when a lockdown was imposed over a suspected case of Covid-19, during which no running water was available.

Currently, most people no longer have access to classes. Online classes are no alternative; the internet in camp is weak.

To speak to us, Mohammed had to leave the camp to find a café 7km away.

Living in an overcrowded camp with little water, food insecurity and with little access to education, Mohammed still expressed his concerns for the Greek population and the impact of loss of tourism the growing camps result in. He tries to make friendly contact whenever he can.