This site is nearly finished but there are a couple of chapters still to come. All comments and criticisms welcome please email via contact page
Introduction
This website contains a series of short stories
They are accounts of the authors experiences volunteering with refugees in camps on the Greek islands between 2017 and 2020
With some later thoughts on the "refugee crisis"
AN IMAGE THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
This photo of a two year old Syrian boy found lying face down on a beach near the Turkish resort of Bodrum in 2015 created a global outpouring of sympathy for the plight of refugees.
Alan Kurdi, whose family name was actually Shenu, was one of at least 12 Syrians including his brother Galib and their mother Rehana, who drowned attempting to reach Kos in Greece.
The family were originally from Kobani, a town on the Syrian Turkish border and they were called Kurdi as they were ethnic Kurds.
After leaving their home to escape Daesh attacks they were attempting to get first to Europe then Canada where the family hoped to settle with relatives in Vancouver.
Their Aunt - Tima Kurdi - who was waiting for them in Canada wrote the book
The Boy on the Beach.
Alan before his fatal journey
Credit: Wikipedia
Credit: CBC
Alan with his brother Galib, who also drowned
Since 2015 when Alan, Galib and Rehana died over 25,000 people have either drowned or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
Unfortunately we seem to have become inured to these tragedies and most of the deaths have gone unreported.
The Syrian Civil War which robbed Alan's family of their home and ultimately their lives has caused an estimated 600,000 deaths through the violence and destitution caused by the war.
Nobody actually knows how many have died.
We've seen the headlines and sanitized news reports but we haven't seen the individuals who died until we saw little Alan's body on a beach near a holiday resort in our world.
Stalin is supposed to have said
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
The deaths of these children and their mother was definitely a tragedy and held our attention for a day or two before the news cycle moved on.
The 25,000 have hardly been mentioned.
The 600,000 Syrian deaths have been reported but only as a brief item on our daily news.
These stories are about my experiences trying to help some of those who were fortunate enough to escape.
Not just from Syria but Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and many other conflict zones.
My stories are mainly about the lucky ones who made it to Greece.
There are camps on five Aegean Islands Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos
Disclaimer
These stories and accounts are based on my personal experiences and the events are described to the best of my recollection. Some names and elements of the accounts have been changed to protect the privacy or safety of individuals. While every effort has been made to portray these events accurately, these accounts reflect my personal perspective and memories, which may differ from those of others involved.