Things were quieter at the old post office on Saturday when we did our weekly shift at the Symi Solidarity refugee aid station, but then, several hundred people had left on the Friday night boat, and there were still around 70 being processed by the hard working police next door.
When we were there, there was a photographer from The Mail On Sunday taking some shots, and his journalist colleague had also been around talking to Andy and Wendy, the charity organisers, and his/their piece was published on Sunday. It’s balanced and gives an insight from a third party into what work is being done here to help those fleeing the war. If you’ve not seen it then you can find it by clicking here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3223683/Amid-tears-tragedy-British-Good-Samaritan-IAN-BIRRELL.html You will also see a link at the bottom that you can click in order to donate money if you want to.
As things were quieter is wasn’t a case of ‘crowd control’ like it was last Saturday, we had time to do some clearing up and sorting out of donations, and tidying the place generally. The plumber was there fitting in the porta-shower and WC, there were two German doctors on hand for an hour, and a British one coming in on Sunday, and we were of course still giving out water and biscuits, the very basics, but something.
I chatted briefly to three guys in their early 20s, two who were on their way to Germany and one, if he could manage it, Sweden, where he had family. One was sunburned after being out at sea in the sun in a boat with no shade for several hours, and luckily we had some aftersun he could have. We’ve been cutting up old water bottles to make small dishes to give out individual rations of things like sun cream, so that was handy and saved the cost of a plastic cup. (It all adds up!) The photographer took various shots, including one of a baby being treated by the doctor. So here’s Neil’s photo of a photographer taking a photo – this one wasn’t used in the MoS article (unless it was in the print version) so I thought you might like to see it anyway.
A bit later we saw the smaller coastguard boat come in with five men on it, saved from the sea. They will, eventually, go around to the police station to be processed in batches (it sounds rather military and not-nice, but at times it’s the only way of managing), and will then wait until their next suitable boat. Some go to Rhodes to pick up a connection to Athens, others wait for the Blue Star, if it is not fully booked, it depends on how much money they have. After Athens it’s a case of trying to get across Greece and Macedonia and onwards, as I am sure you know.
And, talking of Police, I’ve suggested that we somehow get a message to them, perhaps with a crate of beer, or coffee, to say thank you and to show that us ordinary folk appreciate the hard work they are putting in. Yes, I know it’s their job, but it’s not their job to stay up through the night filling out forms so people can leave on the next boat (as has been happening), while also staying on top of their usual duties. I’d go in myself with a case of something, but don’t want them to think I have some kind of bribe in mind! It needs to be coordinated somehow, and the same show of thanks should be made to the port police, coastguard etc. Just a thought.
But, apart from all that… I did also get out for a long walk on Friday afternoon, the first for a while thanks to the weather being so hot. I did still end up looking like a drowned rat, thanks to the climb up the hillside, but it was bearable. There will be photos of rocks and things during the week so you can see where I went, and see how barren the island looks at this time of year. Mind you, I saw various kinds of birds, plenty of goats, some purple thistles, a huge monster of an Aloe plant (probably not one of them but it looked like Aloe leaves, I said Allo! To it but it wasn’t impressed) and various lizards so there’s still lots to see out there on them there hills. There’s more to come on this story in the week…
By the way: we do ask the parents for permission to use photos of them and their children before putting them up online.
