From late 2016, I spent a year and a half volunteering in Greece, offering support and solidarity to refugees fleeing war, torture, violence, persecution and hardship.
In May 2018, while making my way to Turkey, I had some time to visit the Greek island of Lesvos. Lesvos is one of the islands most affected by the refugee crisis and has received the highest number of refugees, over 1 million to date. The island is permanently under immense stress to cope with the thousands that still arrive each month, as the official reception centres are only built for a maximum of 3,000 people.
While on the island, I managed to visit the Pikpa Refugee Solidarity camp, and I was so amazed by the good work they are doing there that I decided to add the option to donate to the initiative on this blog. Pikpa isn’t like the government run, or military run camps (such as Moria, which I also visited and isn’t right at all). Pikpa is a self-organised, autonomous space run by volunteers and is built on the principles of solidarity. Since 2012 they have helped more than 30,000 refugees in a humane and dignified way. To learn more and share your support for this amazing project, please consider donating to Pikpa. Your much needed donation will allow them to continue to do their great work helping transform the lives of those fleeing war, torture, violence, and hardship, and help those most in need claim back their lives and regain the respect and dignity they deserve.
Thanks