VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Zora O’Neill, on working with refugees and other volunteers in Lesvos
1) Introduction: Where are you from? What motivated you to volunteer with refugees? Anything else to add?
I live in New York City. My husband and I go to Lesvos every other summer for vacation — his family has been going there for more than 20 years. So we had our normal trip planned when we found out what was happening.
I was also motivated to help because I’ve been to Syria three times, before the war. It remains one of my favorite places in the world, primarily because Syrians were so incredibly kind and gracious. For all the lovely gestures I received when I was there, I felt I should pay back a little! I also speak some Arabic, so I thought I could finally use that for something useful!
I should add that I’m a guidebook writer by trade- I’ve been writing guides for Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Moon since 2002. This has happened to come in very handy for when it came time to assemble information for volunteers — I’m very used to collecting hotel and bus information, and making maps!
I also just came off a few years of working on a travel memoir about studying Arabic — and really, about finally learning how to speak Arabic without worrying about making mistakes. Working with refugees has completely cemented that for me! There’s no point in being self-conscious about my knowledge (or lack thereof) in this situation. Every little bit helps.
2) What have you been doing as a volunteer? What are the tasks and activities have been useful and necessary?
In August, on my first visit, there was very little structure. I simply drove over to one of the refugee camps and jumped in to help a group of Greeks who were cooking. (O Allos Anthropos — “The Other Person” — they are wonderful!) In the end, though, it was mostly young Syrian men who stepped up and did all the cooking and distribution! I wound up just talking to a lot of people who wanted to get their stories off their chests–or at least pass the time, as there was nothing else to do at the camp while they waited for their papers from the police.
It bothered me that there was absolutely zero information for refugees when they arrived, and so many people were asking me for help, just because I looked like I might be working for an NGO. I printed out a lot of material about the asylum process and next steps (from w2eu.info), and also made maps of Lesvos and a phrase list of Greek, English and Arabic.
When I went back in November, I focused a lot on improving information again, for both refugees and volunteers. With a few other volunteers I met through Facebook, I helped put together a big packet to prepare volunteers to help on Lesvos, and we manage the Information Point for Lesvos Volunteers. I also developed maps and more phrase lists and other materials for refugees. But I also just wandered around the camps, talking to people and handing out socks and snacks and maps.
Now at home, I’m still working on the information issue. Information always falls last on the list of priorities, after shelter and dry clothes and food. But it’s one of the easiest things to share, and it goes a long way in making people feel secure and strong enough for the trip ahead. (And for making volunteers feel prepared enough to help!) Fortunately now there is a more concise website (www.refugeeinfo.eu) for refugees — at least the ones who have smartphones — and more people have started producing signs and maps. But it is an ongoing process, trying to get the information where it’s needed most.
3) What have you seen or learned about the refugee situation during this experience? What should the world know? What would surprise people?
What I was most surprised to see in August was simply how typical middle class (and even upper class) a lot of the Syrian refugees are. I knew it from visiting Syria before, and from reading newspaper stories. But the photos always show these wretched, drenched people who look as if they’ve run directly from a war zone.
It’s a very different thing to see the same people a day later, somewhat more composed and groomed and put together. In short, they’re all much more familiar.
And of course the next logical step in thinking is, Oh–this really could just as easily happen to me, if war were to break out in my own country. And then you start thinking how you’d hope to be treated in the same situation. Which makes whatever work you’re doing at the moment very clear.
4) Any specific story you’d like to share about a particular experience/event or specific refugee individual or family you have met or worked with?
I’ve talked to so many wonderful people, each with their own remarkable stories. In November, I gave a ride to a Kurdish family of seven, whom I somehow crammed in my tiny car. I wound up lending them money to buy their ferry tickets, but the thing they were most excited about was when I gave them all toothbrushes–they hadn’t had a chance to brush their teeth in days and days!
Another really remarkable person I met was a super-smart Syrian guy in his early 20s. (There are thousands of people like him–Syrians value education more than any other Arabs I’ve met.) He helped me distribute information in August. He was with his younger brother and his mother, a doctor. He had an amazing attitude about the whole journey. “One day, I’ll tell my kids,” he said. “They won’t believe what their father did.” I try to remember that attitude when I get scared for people–which is really easy to do. It’s insanely stressful now, but in the long run, they’ll probably be fine, and one day, it will all be an amazing story.
This guy and his mom and brother are in Germany now, but their asylum hearing isn’t until April. Every month that passes waiting, this kid’s brain is going to waste because he’s not in university like he wants to be.
5) What can others do to help? What are the action items?
If you have time and money, go volunteer. It will expand your understanding of the situation beyond what you could ever imagine. More practically, it will connect you with groups and people worth donating to. Your friends at home will be grateful for the opportunity to contribute even a little bit.
If you feel a little ambivalent about finances or time, and think your money is better spent directly on refugees, you can of course donate. There are scores of small, independent groups using money much more efficiently than large NGOs do. A hundred dollars can buy five pairs of shoes, or 10 blankets or 50 toothbrushes. The groups listed in the Information Point for Lesvos Volunteers volunteer document are all doing good work.
Of the big NGOs, I personally have seen the IRC do the most concrete good. They also work on refugee resettlement in the US.
This cause can seem like a bottomless pit, an endless effort — there’s nothing the average person can do to solve the problem. But every small gesture and donation helps individuals in need, and ultimately the whole crisis would be so much worse if it weren’t for this network of kind, generous people.
Zora O’Neill
rovinggastronome.com