Lesvos - Dec 24

Do they know it's Christmas time at all? Remember that song? It comes to mind. Not that the refugees celebrate Christmas. It is getting rather surreal around here now as some of the volunteers welcoming refugees to shore are wearing toy antlers or Santa hats. There is such relief and happiness for most of the refugees as they enter the camp. Some, especially women and children, seem more vulnerable. Most women refugees in the Women's Tent seem to get with the program quickly and get their "new" leggings, pants, socks, shoes, shirts, pullovers, jackets, scarves, hats for themselves and their children. This morning I came into the tent and found a boy of about 8 crying and trembling violently. I went to him and stripped him of his soaking wet clothes. I don't think he appreciated this stranger man-handling him. I wrapped him in every cozy blanket I could find. He wailed. I realized that the woman next to him was his mother. She looked stunned - maybe a sort of shock. She was also wet. I saw to it that she got a change of clothes, but left the boy for the time being just to warm up. He wasn't fond of me and needed some time to himself, I thought. I would just check in with him and the trembling did stop eventually. It's a tricky thing in the women's tent because there are a lot of tiny babies and once they've had their clothes and diapers changed, their mothers need a change of clothes. I held a few babies while women changed their clothes. Some cried, but you kind of have to just let them. The women trust us and even seem to enjoy the comradery and seem reluctant to leave the tent. The children's play area is near the changing tent. It has a small tent full of stuffed animals and books. There is a small plastic slide and a furry rocking horse. This is the next stop for women and children after the changing tent. I don't know if it is a cultural thing, but the men seem to gather around the campfires, but not the women or children. Within the hour, they've made themselves at home, serving themselves tea from the large dispenser and packing their pockets with oranges and granola bars for the journey ahead. Soaking wet backpacks that were left behind, have been hanging on the olive trees to dry and anyone is welcome to take one. Information booklets written in Arabic give them some information about the process ahead. Although we have been instructed not to take pictures of the refugees out of respect for their privacy, there was a guy who asked for a selfie with me. I happily obliged. There are a lot of Scandinavian volunteers with Lighthouse and maybe I've said this before and I know one shouldn't generalize, but these people are just wonderful. They are low key, but with a sense of humor and no prima donnas among them. One can meet volunteers from so many countries here and some really wonderful people among them. Volunteers are from Norway, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Ireland, Canada, the U.S., Switzerland, Italy and more. We all work together guided by the shift's camp manager to first make sure the refugees immediate needs are met and then later, we say and wave goodbye to them as they enter the UNHCR vans that take them to stage two. By now everything is calm and the children are all smiles playing with the small toys they've been given. At the moment, there is nothing better than having your smile and wave returned to you by refugees of all ages leaving in the van. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.