Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Europe

Today, International Medical Corps is participating in GlobalGiving’s Pro-Rated Bonus Day. Give to our project any time between 9:00 AM EST and 11:59 PM EST, and GlobalGiving will add extra funds to make your donation go even further. Your donation and the extra funds will go towards reaching refugees seeking safety and a better life, and mitigating this refugee crisis. Read our latest update below to learn more about the current situation.

“What is happening in Lesvos right now is the next chapter of the world’s history books,” says Vaios Polichronidis, a professional architect who joined a 24-hour paramedic team in Greece run by Programs of Development, Social Support, and Medical Cooperation (PRAKSIS), International Medical Corps’ local partner. “People trained in sea rescue, first aid, and medicine are needed here more than ever.”

More than 625,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea since October 2015, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. While during the summer, approximately 70% of arriving refugees and migrants were men, today nearly half are women and children, and at least 85% of individuals came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq since October. International Medical Corps is on the ground and working with local partners to reach those seeking refuge with medical care and relief supplies.

On the island of Lesvos in Greece, refugees and migrants are residing in “hotspots,” mainly tents or semi-permanent structures with beds, showers, latrines, and limited cooking facilities. Refugees are only expected to stay 4-to-72 hours, and as these prefabricated facilities are now exceeding their intended capacity, their conditions have deteriorated. To meet the increasing number of people arriving on the coast of Lesvos, International Medical Corps and PRAKSIS have launched a paramedic team, which has been able to offer basic emergency care and stabilization to 330 men, women, and children immediately upon landing.

Usually starting his day at 5:00 AM, Vaios climbs into a nine-passenger van with his colleagues and heads towards the coast where he spends the next eight hours or more receiving rafts crammed with refugees as they land on the shores of Lesvos. Trained in search-and-rescue, Vaios said he simply could not sit by and watch as thousands of people risked their lives to flee war and chaos at home in the hope of finding refuge and a better life in Europe for them and their families.

On days when the sea is calm and the skies are clear, Vaios will drive up and down the southern coast of Lesvos to meet raft after raft, each carrying about 50 people. His first priority is to see if someone needs medical attention. If there are no emergencies, he moves quickly to assure everyone is warm and dry, distributing clean clothes and blankets in a race to ward off hypothermia. “As a father myself, I look after babies and kids first, especially those who are soaked from their sea voyage,” Vaios says. He also carries chocolate with him—a small gesture to lift the spirits of children who often arrive wet, cold, and bewildered after a three or four-hour trip.

For Vaios, this is exactly why the paramedic team is so needed on Lesvos. “On the shore, medics and ambulances are not always available, especially if the boat lands somewhere far away from organized camps, which is very often,” he explains. “Our duty is to ensure that all of them get a chance to live—or at least try our best.”

With support from you, GlobalGiving, and other donors, International Medical Corps is able to reach refugees with immediate relief. We are extremely thankful to you and GlobalGiving for your generosity at this critical time.