Nea Kavala – Rückblick

People on the Move – Menschen in Bewegung

Wie geht es weiter?

Viereinhalb Monate sind jetzt vergangen seit meinem Aufenthalt in Nea Kavala. Im Herzen bin ich immer noch bei den Menschen, im Lager, im Sommer in der Hitze. Die Kinder hatten Sommerferien. Vor allem an den späten Nachmittagen, wenn etwas kühler wurde, spielte sich das Leben der Menschen im Freien ab. Sie machten das Beste aus ihrer Situation.

Inzwischen ist das große Zelt, in dem im vergangenen Sommer noch zahlreiche Familien gelebt haben, der Witterung zum Opfer gefallen.

Zelt nach Sturm
Foto: Dråpen i Havet

Jetzt ist dort Winter. Es liegt Schnee, die Menschen müssen damit rechnen, dass die Wasserleitungen einfrieren und füllen zur Sicherheit Wasser in Plastikflaschen ab. In den Containern ist es oft ungemütlich und kalt. An Wochenenden fällt manchmal die Heizung aus und die Bewohner müssen warten, bis am darauffolgenden Montag Diesel für die Stromgeneratoren nachgetankt werden kann.

Die meisten der geflüchteten Menschen haben kein Geld zur Verfügung. Ihre Besitztümer mussten sie in ihren Heimatländern zurücklassen und arbeiten dürfen sie ohne Aufenthaltsgenehmigung nicht.

Noch immer verarbeite ich das, was ich im Camp erlebt habe, in Träumen und in Bildern, die ich male.

Stacheldraht
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Wie es den Menschen wohl geht, frage ich mich. Wir feiern hier bei uns in Deutschland Weihnachten und Silvester mit Verwandten und Freunden. Wir kaufen Geschenke, steigen ins Auto, übernachten dort. Dies alles ist für uns so selbstverständlich.

Geflüchtete Menschen, die 2015 noch eine Sensation in den Medien darstellten, geraten mehr und mehr in Vergessenheit. Wer interessiert sich noch für sie? Wer hört ihnen zu? Niemand ist wirklich bereit oder in der Lage, ihnen zu helfen.

Ich muss an den jungen Vater denken, der mir geschrieben hat, wie schmerzlich er seine Frau und seine beiden Töchter vermisst. Er hat seine Familie seit zwei Jahren nicht mehr gesehen, Weihnachten und Silvester musste er ohne sie verbringen.

Mein Dank gilt den vielen Menschen, die in den vergangenen Monaten die von mir geteilten Spendenaktionen unterstützt oder geteilt haben. Wer helfen möchte, ob finanziell, mit Sachspenden oder vor Ort direkt, wende sich gern zwecks näherer Informationen an Dråpen i Havet oder an mich.

Wie muss es sein, weniger als das Nötigste mitnehmen zu können und nicht zu wissen, wohin eine Reise geht?

Immer bin ich schon gern als Rucksack- oder Fahrradtouristin mit Minimalgepäck unterwegs gewesen. Immer waren das die Erfahrungen gewesen, die mir im Leben am meisten gegeben haben. Doch immer bin ich nach wenigen Wochen in meine vertraute sichere Welt des für uns so normalen Luxuslebens zurückgekehrt.

Ich spiele mit dem Gedanken, den Begriff, das Nötigste mitnehmen einmal neu zu definieren. Wie wäre es, das einmal richtig auszuprobieren, als Selbsterfahrung?

Mit der Wegwerf-Luxus-Welt-Mentalität in unserem Land habe ich ja schon immer gehadert.

Back home, Friday, 24th of August 2018

The first night in my one home. I’m happy to see my family again, to sleep in my own bed. In Greece I didn’t sleep very well. There were so many questions in my brain. These questions are still alive in my thoughts.

Foto: Isabel Sevé

What is going to happen to all these nice people? Going back to their homes is no option at this moment. Will they be able to move to another country, to find a safe place to live and to work, to be integrated somewhere? Will their children ever have any chance to get a good education? Will these traumatised people ever have the possibility to live a normal live? Children that have seen war, played war, escaped war. Young man, who had been soldiers, trained to kill other people with machine guns, other young men, fled before they would have been forced to kill by order of the military.

Since I was grown up, I decide what I want to do, where I want to live and with whom I live together. There are many people in this world who won’t ever have these possibilities.

I believe that I did a very good work the last two weeks, but was it more than a drop in the ocean? I know, every ocean is made of many drops.

Blog
Foto: Patrick Heinz

Could there be more important things that should be done? Like organising medical and therapeutically help?
Will I go back to Nea Kavala to continue my work over there? Will I offer my help building up other camps in Greece?
Can I do some similar or better work then I did in the detention centre in Greece also here in Germany?
Will I organise information events for volunteers and other interested people?

Nea Kavala‚ day fifteen, Thursday, 23th of August 2018, my last day

My schedule today:

Women’s Space, English class
Final meeting with coordinator Molly
Going back to Germany

My last English lessons at the Women’s Space.

Englischunterricht
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

I feel happy and sad at the same time. I feel as if my stay had just started and I also feel like I had been here for month.

I’ve got so many ideas about things that could be done here.

Molly und ich
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

I have my final meeting with Molly. Further communication with other Dråpen i Havet volunteers will take place in an after-stay Facebook group.

I talked to them, I worked with them, I played with them, I danced and laughed and cried with them, I listend to them telling about their lives, their problems, their fears and their future plans. I taught them a little bit English and German, they showed me a little bit of their way of life, I showed them a little bit of my way of life.
But do I realy know what it means to be a refugee? Of course, I don’t and I would never do.

Arme
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Good bye everyone!

Flughafen Makedonia
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Airport Makadonia, Thessaloniki

Nea Kavala‚ day fourteen, Wednesday, 22th of August 2018

My schedule today:

Women’s space, English class
Check out market
Gardening

A small boy who had told us a few days ago that he would move alone to Belgium to live with his uncle and aunt the following day. Now he is still at the camp. He tells me that he was only waiting for his passport, and then he would have to leave. But it was not really sure if he would leave. He seemed to be sad. The boy speaks a little bit English but no French. I ask him if he’d know his uncle and aunt, but he didn’t understand my question.

Spielplatz
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

In the big community area there is a fire drill practiced by the military and the fire brigade. They make a fire in a grill and everybody who wants can try out the powder fire extinguisher. The children have a lot of fun. I ‘m happy to see this. I know that the people are very afraid of fire. Losing their homes again for them would mean to lose everything they have for another time.

Commuinty Space
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

I meet the mother and daughter whom I visited the day before again at the English class. They try their very best to speak and write in English, and they make fantastic progress.

Today is my second to the last day at Nea Kavala. I have my lunch break. A young man from Syria comes to sit down with me at the community space. You can clearly see, he isn’t going very well. He shows me some strange scarring’s on his arms and legs. As much as I understand those were caused by torture of his imprisonment for one year. He had pains but here at camp there wouldn’t be a doctor to care for him. He tells me in his cracked English that he has been here for five weeks now after he was imprisoned for one year.

Will the people at Nea Kavala ever get any chance in their live? Will they get the possibility to start a new life somewhere else. Or will they be refugees without any home? Will Nea Kavala turn into a long-term camp for people without any other perspectives? That is not the idea of Nea Kavala, but could this get possible? Will the people get used to live here?

Herrenfriseur
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Some refugees already started to run their own business at the camp.

Gartenprojekt
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

My last gardening evening.
I see a small boy playing with a toy-machine gun. I’m startled. First he appeals to something else, later he directs it towards the other playing children. His mother gave it to him. Nobodys shows any reaction. This seems to be normal over here.

Menschen
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

I’ll miss the children and their parents.

Taube
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Living at a camp like Nea Kavala gives people the chance to feel safe for the first time after many years making experiences of war and violence.
But how long?

Nea Kavala‚ day thirteen, Tuesday, 21th of August 2018

My schedule today:

Meeting
Women’s Space, English class
Check out Market

Our coordinator Molly gives us an update of the political situation in Greece
(21th of August 2018)

  • Because of increased crossing the Evros around 6000 had stuck in the Balkans
  • Lesvos has now exceeded 10000 refugees which is a record. People are sleeping on the streets
  • Push backs from the EU are also gaining momentum
  • The agreement is that EU countries can send people back but must loosen restrictions on family reunification applications
  • Greece has no capacity left, there is no place for returned people to go. Families and unaccompanied minors will not be returned to Greece
  •  Nearly 60000 refugees in Greece as of June this year
  •  They won’t be returned to the islands

For aktuell information read: https://greece.greekreporter.com

Today a young colleague of mine and I are invited to the container of a Syrian family of my English class. It is cosy inside. The family consisting out of six members share two about 10 qm rooms in there. In the first room there are two fridges, a small place to cook and four beds.

Bunte Container
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

In the second room there are three big mats. The Muslim family celebrates Eid today, which is a day on which usually the extended families meets up, celebrates, dances and eat together. We sit down on the ground with the mother and the three daughters trying pita bread with a sauce consisting mayonnaise and garlic. Besides we also have crumbled egg and wine leaves filled with rice.

Kochplatte
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Considering that there are not much food choices at the camp the mother and the daughters have made fancy food. We would love to stay longer, but unfortunately, we only have half an hour lunchbreak today.

Spüle
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

Quickly the youngest daughter shows us how talented she is. Besides being able to cook she is very good in drawing and besides being able to speak Arabic she also speaks Turkish, English and a few sentences French. I hope that the very best for this nice family.

Abend
Foto: Andrea Koltermann

It is so amazing to see the positive energy in so many of the people and children! (S.L., volunteer from Norway)