Myself with one of the starfish teams after a shift in Mytillini Port

Dear backers,

It has been a hectic week on Lesvos. Following the agreement of the EU-Turkey deal and resulting EU statement all refugees that had arrived on the island before 20 March have been evacuated and dispersed across new camps all over mainland Greece. According to the authorities these people will be allowed to apply for asylum in Greece and/or for family reunification elsewhere in Europe. They apparently will be able to move 'freely' through the country. Initial reports from a handful of new camps suggest they are wholly inadequate with little to no sanitation, water or shelter, but at least they are free to move in and out.

As of the 20 March all new arrivals to Greece will be arrested, detained and subject to fast tracked asylum hearings and deportation. Volunteers and NGOs have been kicked out of Moria registration camp which is now a detention centre run by the army. The UNHCR has stated that these new procedures are a breach of international law and will cease their work in Moria, along with MSF and Save the Children. The few remaining unofficial camps are being shut down and there is less and less space in which volunteers can work.

Over the weekend I worked with a team of Starfish volunteers and others in the port of Mytilini to help with the boarding of thousands of refugees onto ferries bound for the mainland. We distributed food, clothing, tents and sleeping bags in the car park of the port. Many of these people were suddenly evacuated overnight and so were unprepared for the journey ahead. We helped carry bags onto the boats for many exhausted families, all the while being as deferential as possible to the port police who could force us to leave at any time. At one point the police rounded up around twenty Pakistani men who did not have the right papers to board. One was kicked by a police man whilst he was sat down on the concrete. They were then loaded onto a bus and taken back to the detention centre.

As all arrivals to the Greek islands are now prisoners, there is less and less scope for volunteers to do meaningful work here. Reports come in daily of horrendous conditions in Athens and in the north of the country. For these reasons I have decided to leave Lesvos, at least for the time being. Myself and another independent volunteer have made plans to visit as many camps on the mainland as possible to do a needs assessment and make contacts with local communities in the area. The hope is then to divert supplies, volunteers and funding to where it is needed most. We will also look into possibilities for improving access to legal advice for the many stranded in legal limbo in Greece. Currently many people are completely in the dark as to their options, particularly following the recent changes in procedure.

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who as supported me in doing this work. I look forward to reporting back on what we find...