"Actually, I cried on my flight to Amsterdam,"I recently admitted to Steven, blushingly recalling the strange mixture of emotions I had felt when I began my first true venture in to Europe.
"I was excited, but it's hard to leave a life that you love, knowing that neither you nor the people you leave behind will ever be the same, you know?"
Well, I'm in Europe again, and, guess what? I didn't cry on the plane! ...Instead, I cried the night before I left New York. ;p In this case, though, my tears were not from mourning the end of a chapter of my life, or even my life at all, actually. This time I was crying about what was bringing me to Europe. I was crying because I saw another life lost, another person's world destroyed.
I had been watching a video of a rescue off the coast of Lesvos, of a sunken ship, of people crying out frantically in the black night as they clung for dear life to what was left of their mostly submerged rubber dingy. I watched a rescue crew pull wailing men, women - even a pregnant woman, and children, out from the freezing Aegean sea, but only some of them were still breathing. I kept it *almost* totally together (outwardly, that is. I was with Rachel, and crying publicly is embarrassing, amiright), until the moment that they covered three little children with a tarp. A mother appeared, screaming, pulling the tarp back only to fall to her knees, weeping, unwilling to accept that the life she was risking everything to save was now lost forever. It was impossible for me not to cry, watching her total sorrow and grief pour out in violent sobs as she held her dead little girl in her arms for the last time.
This. Is. Not. Right.
It was like someone had punched me right in the heart, and then followed it up with a blow to the stomach.
Their cities are already destroyed, their relatives lost, their lives endangered on a daily basis... Escaping the horrors of war should not have to mean risking their lives again and again, should not mean sacrificing their children in tumultuous seas and on frozen, European streets. There has to be a better way.
I wish that this was the first time I'd seen news of this, but it's not. I've read countless articles and blogs with similar stories over the past few months, all with equally heart wrenching details. In November, the Mayor of Lesvos said they were running out of room to bury all of the dead refugees and would begin putting the bodies that washed ashore in to refrigerated containers as the cemetery no longer had room for them. This is happening again, and again, and again, as people (regular people - business men, teachers, grandmothers, students, artists, families... people) are forced to choose between, inevitably, dying at home, or taking illegal and dangerous passage ways in the hope of finding a safe place to live. My hope and prayer is that THIS WILL CHANGE. That this perilous route will not have to be tread any longer, that we as an international community can say that when one suffers, we all suffer, and that we are ready to work together to find some sort of solution. We are too blessed, have too many resources, have too many mandates from God to act on behalf of the refugee to just sit by and watch the body toll rise, or flip the television to something more entertaining or light hearted than the refugee crisis.
Yes, the situation is complicated and overwhelming, and there are no easy answers. But that doesn't mean that we are helpless. There is always something to do in the mean time. "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness," right?
But what? Under the shadow of such an enormous issue, my flame is SO tiny. I have little money to give, fewer resources, and exactly no historical success at solving even one world crisis (yet, anyway ;p). Really, all I have to offer is myself, and in a foreign country that's really not that impressive of an offering!
But the situation is desperate and the need is great. The calls for volunteers in Lesvos, the Greek Islands, and the Refugee Route in general have been loud and clear (with a little digging, that is ;p), and even people who can do simple things like serve tea or food, sort and distribute donations, wrap freezing children in emergency blankets, or patrol the shores for incoming boats are needed. Besides that, I know SO many of you want to be involved or do something for the refugees, but haven't known how, and maybe my involvement can be a small way to connect you to some of those opportunities which are part of the bigger picture (...More on that in about a paragraph!).
So, after almost exactly a year of working with refugees in Saint Louis, I've found my way to Turkey and soon will make my way to Greece, where my little flame will join with other candles from around the world, doing what we can with what we have, even if it's just offering our hands to serve and smiles to comfort. But while we're just the ones fortunate enough to have found the information and the time off to actually go to Lesvos, we are hardly the only ones who are helping, or able to help.. the needs are beyond anyone on the island, and you, my truly generous and amazing friends, have a huge role that you can play, even if it's in a small manner.
The refugees on Lesvos are arriving with almost nothing but the soaked clothing on their backs. The very few NGO's (Non-Government Organizations) on-site are overwhelmed and overstretched. Thousands are stuck sleeping outside in harsh winter conditions as they wait for days for aid, and it has often been the individual volunteers and grass roots efforts from around the world that have been providing the majority of basic shelters, clothing, and food for the refugees... All through personal donations and fundraising efforts. It's crazy and beautiful, actually. Where assistance is absent, people of all ages, religions, and cultures are uniting to care for people who have lost everything, and you can be part of that.
If you would like to donate through a larger charity, MSF, UNHRC, or Samaritan's Purse are all on-site and accepting donations through their websites. If you would like to donate towards funding my trip and the aid projects that have been created and are being run through volunteers on the island (or to find out more about what that would entail), please click here: https://middletreechurch.cloverdonations.com/sara-owens-refugee-relief/
If you are unable to give financially, but would like to learn about volunteer options in Saint Louis (or your own city, though I may be only able to suggest a few, good search terms on google, haha) for working with refugees or even an issue of your choosing (i.e. homeless veterans), I can probably recommend a few places for you to check out and get involved with, as well!
There's more information to give, but it's 4am here and I should be updating my blog fairly often from Lesvos, anyway, so you're welcome to follow that if you would care to stay updated! Til then, I would love to answer any questions or just stay in touch while I'm away (I have a greek number now, but you can still reach me by using my American number on What's App and Viber, or you're welcome to contact me by Skype [gypsytea] or e-mail [saradanaeowens@gmail.com])!
Much love and endless thanks from Istanbul,
Sara Danae
