I have a brother in Lesbos waiting for me.
Thousands of men, women and children who have fled war and misery arrive at the Lesbos refugee camp in Greece with the hope of a new beginning, but here they discover only more suffering. The Pope John XXIII Community has chosen to be in Lesbos to share the drama of this humanity, to give a voice to these unheard people. The presence of the Community's volunteers and of Operazione Colomba (the Community's non-violent peace corps) and the reception in the family house in Athens is indispensable: help us to be present alongside the men, women and children who are suffering in desperate silence. They need us now.
"We came to Greece with a desire for peace because our country has been at war for too many years; we were looking for a safe place where our children could grow up free. Little did we know that we would be in danger here as well." Houssein, Afghan refugee
Houssein lives in the Lesvos refugee camp. Here live thousands of families, men, women, and orphaned children, persecuted by wars and fleeing countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, and Iraq, where human life is constantly in danger.
They arrive on Lesvos with the hope of a new beginning, but on the island they discover that only more inhumane deprivation awaits them, a limbo of wearisome waiting, the ghost of deportation, the terror of violent refoulement.
In the camp, people are forced to live in plastic tents where they cannot breathe in summer and freeze in winter, toilets often do not work and there is no hot water. There is no sewage system, no health care, and no preventive standards to protect against Coronavirus. There is a lack of lighting so women and children are even more at risk of abuse and violence at night.
Many try to leave this 'island where Europe, which promises human rights, continually fails and betrays itself, but it is a great risk. They think that in Athens they will be able to find a job and build a better life for themselves, but poverty in the Greek capital is extremely widespread and most refugees who leave Lesvos live on the streets and have nowhere safe to sleep.
The Pope John XXIII Community was called and chose to share the drama of this humanity, to give a voice to these voiceless, unheard people. A group of volunteers from the Community and Operazione Colomba (the Community's nonviolent peace corps) live in Lesvos to ensure constant presence and daily protection and to denounce the ongoing human rights violations that men, women and children are forced to endure. The family home in Athens takes in those who, desperate, undocumented or who have already been recognized as refugees, do not know where to go or whom to ask for help.
We now need, immediately, your support to ensure the continued presence of our volunteers and shelter in the family home in Athens. This is a lot of money needed for the operation of the project on the field in Lesvos and the sustaining of the expenses of the family home, ready for hospitality, but we are sure that every drop will make this ocean of solidarity.
Thanks to you and your donation we will be there where the cry for help is loud. Do it now.
Share
"We came to Greece with a desire for peace because our country has been at war for too many years; we were looking for a safe place where our children could grow up free. Little did we know that we would be in danger here as well." Houssein, Afghan refugee
Houssein lives in the Lesvos refugee camp. Here live thousands of families, men, women, and orphaned children, persecuted by wars and fleeing countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, and Iraq, where human life is constantly in danger.
They arrive on Lesvos with the hope of a new beginning, but on the island they discover that only more inhumane deprivation awaits them, a limbo of wearisome waiting, the ghost of deportation, the terror of violent refoulement.
In the camp, people are forced to live in plastic tents where they cannot breathe in summer and freeze in winter, toilets often do not work and there is no hot water. There is no sewage system, no health care, and no preventive standards to protect against Coronavirus. There is a lack of lighting so women and children are even more at risk of abuse and violence at night.
Many try to leave this 'island where Europe, which promises human rights, continually fails and betrays itself, but it is a great risk. They think that in Athens they will be able to find a job and build a better life for themselves, but poverty in the Greek capital is extremely widespread and most refugees who leave Lesvos live on the streets and have nowhere safe to sleep.
The Pope John XXIII Community was called and chose to share the drama of this humanity, to give a voice to these voiceless, unheard people. A group of volunteers from the Community and Operazione Colomba (the Community's nonviolent peace corps) live in Lesvos to ensure constant presence and daily protection and to denounce the ongoing human rights violations that men, women and children are forced to endure. The family home in Athens takes in those who, desperate, undocumented or who have already been recognized as refugees, do not know where to go or whom to ask for help.
We now need, immediately, your support to ensure the continued presence of our volunteers and shelter in the family home in Athens. This is a lot of money needed for the operation of the project on the field in Lesvos and the sustaining of the expenses of the family home, ready for hospitality, but we are sure that every drop will make this ocean of solidarity.
Thanks to you and your donation we will be there where the cry for help is loud. Do it now.
Share
Fundraisers supporting the project
A family where humanity is reborn
Fundraising by Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
7,515 €
63%
12,000 €
2 Donations
A meeting place beyond the camp
Fundraising by Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
8,397 €
54%
15,600 €
3 Donations
Let not what is due in justice be given in charity.
Fundraising by Marta Milano
395 €
79%
500 €
16 Donations
To change the world you have to be there
Fundraising by Carlotta Alba Pellegrini
280 €
56%
500 €
20 Donations
