Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Europe

Thank you for your continued support to International Medical Corps response to the evolving refugee crisis in Europe.

Below is a summary of the current situation and update on our work along with a story from the field.

• More than 644,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe since the start of 2015; more than 3,100 people have died or gone missing during the journey. 
• The number of new arrivals are reaching record levels, in what local authorities believe is a surge before the upcoming winter months and as European countries tighten restrictions – 27,000 people arrived in Greece in just 3 days last week alone.
• Hungary has further tightened border controls, driving refugees toward Slovenia, which has also quickly put limitations into place. Increased restrictions are creating bottlenecks at the border and increasingly tense environments.
• International Medical Corps has been operating mobile medical units in Serbia since September 21, providing 860 medical consultations and 335 psychosocial first aid consultations. In the last week alone, nearly 90% of those seeking medical care were men; more than 80 percent of people receiving psychological first aid were under 18.  Our first mobile medical unit began in Greece last week, with a second unit to be added in the coming days.

As refugees and migrants travel through Europe and seek care, they have also shared some of their stories with us.  Rima, a 29 year-old from Aleppo, Syria, shared this story about her two sons and the country she left behind, while waiting with hundreds of other refugees to enter Croatia from Serbia:

“One day, about three years ago, a militant group took over my older son’s school and turned it into a base. My little boy, he’s never been to school. They’re all shut down now, or destroyed.  Nothing is stable at home. Nothing is safe. There is no Syria anymore.  It is not a place I recognize and it is not a place where children should live. 

My husband, he stayed behind in Aleppo to work.  He works when it’s safe to go out and he sends us money.  He stayed behind so we could leave, so that we could travel.  I’m here with my sister and my cousin and their families.  We’ve been moving for 27 days now.  And we must keep moving, quickly, because the longer our journey, the more that we will get sick. I pray that my husband can join us soon."

Thanks to the generous support of GlobalGiving and other donors we are able to respond the most critical needs of people like Rima and her family as they continue to evolve.