Coming alongside the refugee
Communicating though a closed chain link gate with a woman from Afghanistan who speaks Farsi, trying to convince her that she must sleep one night in this crowded section of camp among a few hundred strangers, seeing the frustration on her face from confusion, exhaustion, and discomfort, it’s hard to acknowledge that there is still compassion in this act. This is the safest place for her until her paperwork is completed and she can be “housed” in camp. She had arrived with 100 others that morning after crossing the water on an overcrowded raft from Turkey. Our team was able to provide limited supplies: two sets of clothes, one pair of shoes, basic hygiene products, and a foam mat to sleep on. Then the refugee’s indefinite waiting continues. Even though this woman and her family did get placed in a tent among the olive trees at the top of the hill in camp the next day where she could experience a small sense of freedom, it’s that feeling from the night before and seeing that ...