Helping refugees on the move
Torontonians volunteer to aid those at Greece transit camp find peace, dignity and a decent meal
Like many others watching the Syrian refugee crisis unfold an ocean away, Toronto resident Tia Tariq desperately wanted to help.
Most people suggested donating money, but for Tariq that wasn’t enough. After some deliberation, Tariq told her family in December that she was leaving to go to the Zaatari refugee camp, on the SyriaJordan border, to help wherever she may be needed. But then the Lebanon bomb- ing shook the region and a day later the Paris terrorst attacks shook the world. Her family, who were initially supportive, suddenly said no.
So she redirected her attention to the small and largely forgotten island of Leros, Greece. She quickly realized, the need for help there — and the basic necessities — was more than she could have imagined.
The island in the Aegean Sea is a transit hub for refugees making their way to Europe from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and a place where many stay for a few days until they get papers to proceed to the next stage of their journey.
When she arrived, Tariq says she didn’t know what to expect. A month later, she still doesn’t know what the next day will bring.
“When I arrived, I was shocked at the lack of resources, the lack of assistance and disorganization,” said Tariq, adding that there is a hodgepodge of organizations such as the UN refugee agency filling in gaps, but little central co-ordination.
“The camp is literally run by volunteers, there is no major organization running the camp.”
Tariq’s job is mostly to help get food to the roughly 1,000 refugees who are at the camp on any given day. Her first few days, refugees were getting one meal a day.
“It was heartbreaking. Little kids would come to you saying, ‘I am hungry, I am hungry,’ and we had nothing to give them,” said Tariq, who is documenting her journey on Facebook and Instagram.
She started a GoFundMe page and has raised $17,000 for food, which she shops for herself. She’s hoping to raise $30,000 to help address the problem in the short-term. With the donations she has raised so far, a meal on a good day is a plate of rice and some chicken. On a bad day, refugees eat a boiled egg and a piece of stale bread.
Inspired by Tariq’s efforts, Toronto lawyer Fatema Dada and Torontonians Zehra Abbas and husband Masood Jaffrey, arrived last week to help fill the void from international volunteers who left after the holidays.
Dada says they have come in the hopes of creating a connection between a Canadian organization and a local one, to create a sustainable funding source for food at the camp.
“We want to ensure the food is here long term, to ensure that refugees get three solid meals a day,” she said.
In the meantime, they have been tasked with roles they never expected. On a recent day, three boats came in, Dada said.
“Myself and Zehra were there bringing the refugees inside, giving them water and biscuits and making sure they were OK and dry,” she said.
“And then it was basically up to us, the volunteers, to put them in the tents,” she said, adding that she thought that would be the role of an aid agency.
And it was also up to them to make sure they had something to eat.
“That day there was no food in the camp,” Tariq said.
“So using the donations, we bought food for the 100 refugees that arrived that night.”
Tariq says while the refugees are in transit, and only stay for a few days it’s emotional when they leave.
“I have learned that we all have this incredible ability to feel joy and sadness and love for people you barely know, and have just met,” she said.
“When they leave on the ferry, it’s bittersweet because you become friends with the refugees and you know they will face an uncertain future.”