Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Europe

Roumatsh was already pregnant with her fourth child when she and her husband boarded a small dinghy bound for Greece. Several months earlier, they had made the difficult decision to leave their home in war-torn home Syria for the chance to give their children a “normal life” in Europe. They knew that crossing the Mediterranean Sea would be dangerous, especially for an expectant mother. Roumatsh said, “I was afraid something would happen to my pregnancy.” By the time they arrived in Greece, most European countries had closed their borders, leaving the family stranded in limbo in Skaramagas Camp.

Roumatsh’s story is heartbreaking, but not unique. Since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, more than 4.8 million Syrians have fled their homes to seek refuge in neighboring countries. In 2016 alone, some 349,000 refugees and migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other nations have reached Europe by sea, more than 171,000 of whom landed in Greece. The capacity to accommodate refugees arriving on the Greek islands was quickly exceeded, and many refugees are now housed in informal camps and settlements on the mainland, or moving outside of camps into urban spaces. “I thought it would be better when we arrived in Europe,” Roumatsh said, “Now we are stuck.” There is often limited access to primary health care, and many pregnant women, like Roumatsh, find it difficult to access prenatal or obstetric care to ensure safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Since fall 2015, our teams have operated in Greece, first on the islands, then the mainland, remaining flexible to meet the growing needs of refugees desperately travelling to Europe. With the support of GlobalGiving and other donors, International Medical Corps has provided emergency services, like health care and water, sanitation and hygiene support, to meet the growing needs of men, women, and children seeking care.

With women and children under four years making up some 56% of refugee and arrivals in Greece, International Medical Corps began scaling reproductive health, including obstetric/gynecological services. Over a span of three months, we have provided 246 women with 460 prenatal, postnatal and gynecological consultations in camps across Greece.

Roumatsh received prenatal care services from our clinic in Skaramagas Camp the first day it opened. When asked what she wished the world would understand about her situation, she replied: ‘I want people to know we are tired. Please be kind to us.”

We would like to thank the GlobalGiving community for your support of our work in Greece, helping mothers like Roumatsh have safe and healthy pregnancies.

The children panic every time they hear an airplane or thunderclap. “They think they are going to be bombed,” their mother, Hana, explained. “Two bombs fell over our house. My small daughter was hurt by shrapnel.” Like nearly five million others, Hana and her family lost everything when they fled Syria’s brutal civil war. They crossed the Aegean Sea in a dinghy in the middle of the night, hoping to be reunited with Hana’s husband, who is receiving medical treatment in Germany. When the borders closed in March, Hana and her young children were stuck in Greece, without options and with little information or hope. Today, they live in an abandoned tobacco factory along with some 160 other people, mostly Syrian, their shelters divided by grey wool blankets strung up by a rope.

In some of the camps, families are allotted small tents, in others, row after row of ventilated container units line a barren gravel lot. While the structures vary from camp to camp, the people stranded in these camps have a few things in common, including a shared history of trauma. According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are some 59,000 refugees and migrants currently living in Greece, mostly in camps like Hana’s. Women and children make up around 59% of those living in limbo.

Dina Prior, International Medical Corps’ Country Director in Greece notes, “It’s critical that we care for their emotional and psychological needs, in addition to basic services, like clean water.” Psychosocial support is one of the key components of our response. Our teams are working to build the capacity of local psychosocial support staff, providing psychological first aid training. This training equips first responders to interact with the men, women, and children who have experienced stressful events. To support children’s mental health and well-being, we host programs that teach children valuable skills, including coping mechanisms and safe hygiene practices that empower children to play influential roles in their communities.

We are just getting started, and stories like Hana’s remind us how critical the need for psychological support is. Hasan, a refugee from Aleppo, Syria, described what he and so many refugees are experiencing: “I just want to sleep, but my mind won’t let me.” He added, “I am tired psychologically now. Every day there is a problem here. And then I remember Syria—and I am haunted by the ghosts.”

We want to thank the GlobalGiving community and other donors for supporting our work and helping refugees and migrants in Greece rebuild their lives.