Europe – Me, Myself and Di

Tales From the Macedonian Border: ‘They will shoot me if I come back’

Tales from the Macedonian border is a series of posts I have written for people to understand the current situation at European borders and to put context to some of the refugees I have worked with and their struggles.

This first story is from a man my age.

He is 27 years old, from Afghanistan. He has tried to cross the border 6 times and 6 times he has been unsuccessful and found himself back in Thessaloniki. I have known this man over two months and after multiple failed attempts, he has decided to stay in Greece.

“They told me they will shoot me if I come back”

Back home, in Afghanistan, this man was a soldier in the Afghan army. He made is way to Greece, as many do, using smugglers. They made the long journey from Turkey to Greece by foot, which although difficult (he describes long days walking and times with no food or water), he says it is generally successful. Crossing by boat is much riskier; he is right. Between January and July 2018, 1 in 18 people died attempting the journey by sea. Due to the high cost incurred travelling from Afghanistan to Greece, he has decided to make each of his journeys to the Macedonian border independent of smugglers.

He describes clearly the route taken, very similar to the ones used in Kingsley’s The New Odyssey, in 2015. From Thessaloniki there is a bus that allows people to travel for 45 minutes costing only 1 Euro. When they leave the bus, it is then a 7 hour walk to Polykastro. For those that walk slower, the journey can take 10 hours.

Polykastro is a city in Northern Greece. In 2015 it was frequented by refugees crossings to Europe and due to its proximity to the border of Macedonia, remains a common destination for refugees today.

On arriving in Polykastro there is a trainline which people follow and for him, from Polykastro, it only takes three hours to reach the border. Two hours to the Hara Hotel, an infamous stop off for people trying to cross to Macedonia and then 1 hour onwards, to the border itself. Most border crossings are completed under the cover of nightfall to reduce chances of detection.

We discuss methods of crossing the border. Usually people try to climb under lorries to pass undetected and up to 2 or 3 people can fit underneath, however it is very dangerous. Others break into lorries and try to hide under the tarpaulin. The wealthier use smugglers to make the crossings and once into Serbia another smuggler meets them to take them to a camp until they can arrange passage on into Croatia. For those with more money that cross successfully on their own, they can take a taxi from near the border direct to the Serbian border which he reports is only a 3 hour drive, as oppose to a nine day walk from Greece. Once in Serbia he believes it is only an 8 day walk to reach Italy.

He himself makes the journey with around 7 or 8 friends and they cross the border by cutting the wire fences. On his previous border crossings he has successfully reached Macedonia every time, however either he or his friends have been caught in nearby Macedonian villages and forced to return to Greece. Consistently the border police are reported as being more tolerant than at other borders, they will ‘only beat you if you run’. German police are often reported patrolling the Macedonian borders and he confirms he has encountered this himself. He reports that often at other borders, the police are not so understanding. He has experienced first-hand violence from the Turkish-Greek border police and touches on rumours I have heard before, about the Bulgarian police being particularly brutish and barbaric.

Once back in Greece they have no choice but to make the return journey back to Thessaloniki on foot and try again another time.

He admits that even though he has failed to cross several times there is only once when he himself was caught, the other times it was because his friends were captured by police. When they see the police, they run but he is ‘too fast for them’ and laughingly states that they will not be able to catch him, for he is from the Afghan army.

I question him on his new plans to remain in Greece. He reports that because his life is in danger in Afghanistan and he has the correct papers from the army, he will now try to seek asylum. His initial plans were to try and reach France or mainland Europe but admits it is harder than he expected. Why France? He had heard they accept Afghans.

Now with the difficulties crossing and the high costs incurred using smugglers from Afghanistan to Greece he has run out of money and cannot afford to go further. He wishes to make his interview and then ‘hopefully they will accept’ him.

He elaborates on why he cannot return home to Afghanistan. Before he left, his village was mostly run by the Taliban. As a member of the Afghan army, they threatened him to join them or else they would kill him. He explained to me a promise he made to the Afghan army, with his ‘hand on the holy book’, that he would never do anything ‘against his country’. He knew he could never work for the Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic group. As he resisted they threatened his family, stating they would kill his father and eventually he had no choice but to leave. He reports speaking with the commander of his army and they released him from service to leave the country.

I enquired if his family were safe now he was here in Greece, he says so. After he arrived in Turkey, he phoned saying that he had left both the army and Afghanistan, ‘please don’t hurt my family’. They said if he ever returns to Afghan soil, they will shoot him.

This is a man who loves his country and is a proud Afghan. Like many of the people I have met in Thessaloniki, he has his own story and his own reasons for attempting the journey to mainland Europe but for now, he will try to seek asylum in Greece, until it is safe to return home.

To support my work with refugees like this man please click here!

Tales from the Macedonian Border

Recently I read ‘The New Odyssey’ by Philip Kingsley, New York Times journalist and at the time of writing, migration correspondent for the Guardian. For anyone who has not read this, it is an in-depth account of the migration routes across Europe in 2015 and follows the story of one particular man, Hashem al-Souki as he and his family leave Damascus, in the hope of a new life in Sweden.

Although I could never do justice to the depth at which Kingsley immerses himself in the Middle East and Europe, I was struck by how different the situation is now, just three years on. As a result, I have decided to capture some of the refugees stories I have met and paint a picture of how the current situation is for migrants traversing Europe.

DSC_8313 (2) — Train tracks to the Macedonian Border

The situation across Europe is ever changing. Borders are harder to cross; refugees are having to wait, in some cases years, for asylum but the one constant, is people are still coming. Although we are not seeing the scale of 2015, over 80 000 have crossed the border into Europe so far in 2018 (UNHCR) and working on the streets in Greece, I cannot see this changing in the imminent future.

Refugees gather for food distribution in Thessaloniki, Greece – August 2018

I have therefore decided to explore, in a series of 5 articles, individual stories from some of the people I meet. I am currently based in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, working alongside a medical organisation as a physiotherapist and the most common route onward from here is Macedonia.

At the time of Kingsley’s writing in 2015, Macedonia was still relatively easy to cross. The situation he describes was a ‘legal illegal’ border crossing, which refugees (predominantly Syrians) queued at and passed through. During the crossing he undertook, the refugees tried to cross a few miles further down and were caught and redirected by police to cross at the illegal checkpoint.

Reading this, I was surprised at how easy it had been. Working for two months in Northern Greece I was regularly seeing people return to Thessaloniki who had failed to cross the Macedonian border and had been turned away by police, often sustaining beatings. The other stark difference is, in 2015 many refugees travelled independently, following friends instructions on whatsapp or facebook, who had previously had successful crossings. Now, as the borders have become increasingly difficult, the majority of people I meet, are resorting to smugglers to reach Skopje.

DSC_8318 (3).JPG — At the Macedonia Border

Predominantly the stories I tell will be from Afghan and Pakistani men. The men I meet on the street are more frequently from these countries as they do not have priority for the camps and often want to reach other countries before seeking asylum. Within the refugee world it appears to me, that single male migrants face a huge amount of discrimination, both inside and outside of camps. I want to share their journeys and challenges, as they endeavour to reach Western Europe.

Some of the local refugee population in Thessaloniki

Although these series of articles will explore individual stories, primarily my work is medical. One of the boys featured in this series recently returned after another failed border crossing with severe knee pain and swelling having been caught by police. When captured, they are taken back over the border and made to walk back in the direction they came; the majority return to Thessaloniki. Those that return to Thessaloniki, return to see us the next day, so we can attend to their medical needs. After walking a 250 km round trip in just two days, as well as sleeping rough and the anxieties that come with using smugglers, our services (and friendships) are in high demand. I am writing to inform people not only of the current situation in Northern Greece but also to share individual stories from some of the incredible people that make my working day so special. However, neither this, nor my work would be possible without donations, so if any of the stories make you feel empathy for the boys and their struggles and make you realise how essential the medical work we do here is, please donate below.

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Abbas’ Story

I met Abbas and his mother Lela on my first day in the camp. This is his story.

Abbas suffered a spinal cord injury after rebels opened fire on his car in 2016.

Abbas lived and worked near Ramadi, Iraq, with his mother, Lela. Since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003 Ramadi has been a centre of insurgency for many groups. In May 2015 Ramadi was lost to ISIS and, according to the UN, it has seen the worst destruction of anywhere in Iraq. A city reduced to rubble.

When Abbas’ car was hit, it spun and crashed, killing all the other passengers and damaged his spinal cord at T11, paralysing him from the waist down. After initial surgery in Iraq, Abbas had a metal rod implanted to fixate his spine. After 6 months this began to rub and became very infected, leaving him with a hole in his back and as a result, the rod was then removed. Abbas and his mother decided they needed to leave Iraq for their safety and for the medical care they could no longer receive, given the security situation at home.

In 2017 they began their journey to Europe, flying from Iraq to Turkey and making the rest of their journey by foot. It took 10 hours to walk to the coast, stopping and starting often, with friends and strangers helping push his wheelchair. In the forests of Turkey, Abbas had his wheelchair taken by the smugglers and sat for a day on the forest floor, before making the dangerous journey by boat across to the Greek Islands.

The boat journey lasted for seven hours and during this time Abbas was sat in one position, on a wooden board and unable to re-position himself due to his spinal-cord injury. They arrived on the Greek Island of Samos on 16th September 2017 and were arrested on arrival. There they were taken into custody and Abbas was left on the floor of a police cell for two days. From here they were transferred to a refugee camp. On arrival in the camp, after 4 days of sitting and being unable to change position, Abbas developed a grade 4 pressure sore on his right buttocks. This is an extremely deep and painful sore which he is still struggling with today, a year later.

Abbas remained in Samos a month. He was provided with a new wheelchair and, although he received some medical help, he says the conditions were poor and impossible to manage for someone needing disabled access. He reported it was so hilly that he could not get around and as a result was unable to access a bathroom for 15 days. As Abbas was identified as a more vulnerable patient, he was transferred to the mainland, to the camp at Diavata, on 20th October 2017. This is where he remains today.

On arrival in Diavata he was hopeful he would receive some physiotherapy and further medical care. However, he did not receive any therapy from the Greek health care system; the only rehabilitation input he received was from another volunteer Physiotherapist, Hannah, for a few weeks in July and after my arrival in September. Despite the severity of his injury, the Greek surgeons do not want to operate on his pressure sore. Instead, his mother Lela dresses it every two days and although she worries that she is not a nurse or medically trained, it says so much about their relationship, that it is as clean and in as good a condition as it is.

One of our volunteer doctors reviewed his pressure sore recently for me. The wound itself has a 5cm sinus and they believe he needs debridement under anaesthetic and will likely need a long period for recovery. Abbas is hopeful that soon he will have papers that allow him to seek asylum elsewhere in Europe, as he does not feel Greece is meeting his needs. As soon as he is able to travel onwards, I will ensure a letter of recommendation travels with him, in the hope that the next country can attend to his care more appropriately.

When I began my work with him, Abbas had not left the camp since he arrived a year ago and seldom ventured outside of his container. We have been having rehab three times a week to increase his muscle strength and wheelchair independence for when he is able to leave. He is now able to get to and from the doctor’s office to collect his wound dressings independently and we are beginning to tackle curbs and steps. The terrain is still difficult as it is very rocky but he is exceptionally motivated and amazingly strong, which makes my job easy.

Abbas’s main limitation to rehab and becoming more independent is his pressure sore. Due to the severity and location he is not able to sit out for long periods and tends to sit out only for an hour or two per day. This means that even though he is now strong enough to get about the camp, he is unable to attend any of the language classes put on as he cannot physically sit in his wheelchair for the required amount of time. On his wheelchair he has a thin, foam cushion that he and his mother cut to size themselves and this offers nothing in the way of pressure relief for his sacrum.

He spends the rest of the day repositioning himself in bed but his mattress is equally poor. It is the same thin foam, positioned on top of some cardboard, perhaps explaining why his wound is refusing to heal.

Although ultimately Abbas will require surgery, having a suitable pressure-relieving cushion to sit out on would completely change his day to day function. He will be able to sit out more, get out more and maybe even attend language classes, in the hope that one day he will be able to make a home here in Europe.

Abbas and Lela have particularly touched me whilst I have been in Greece. They have the most beautiful relationship, which is difficult to put into words, although this image captures a tiny glimpse of it.

I want to be able to help them as much as possible whilst I am here and once they move on. An appropriate wheelchair cushion will cost between £100-300. Although getting a mattress, too, would be preferable, it would be better to purchase that once they are settled in their new country, which hopefully won’t be too long now.

If this story affects anyone in the way that it does me, then please donate to my just giving page and we can purchase a cushion for his wheelchair. For anyone wishing to help further, if you donate to my just giving page and comment ‘Abbas’, along with any other comments, I will ensure that 100% of the donations are passed onto him and Lela. This is in the hope that when they finally get a new home, two years after fleeing Iraq, they will be able to purchase anything they need for Abbas’s ongoing care.

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Abbas and I

WhatsApp Image 2018-10-27 at 12.07.57(1)

The Crisis Isn’t Over!

When I said I was going to Europe to volunteer with refugees, many people asked the same questions. “Is that still happening?”, “What is going on now?”

In truth, I didn’t know the extent of the current situation. Yes, it is still happening but how many refugees and what the circumstances are, is difficult to describe until you see it for yourself.

The media has gone quiet.

A young boy washed upon the shores of Greece in 2015 was enough to finally awaken the press to the refugee crisis but since then little has been reported. The hype is over. But after 6 weeks working in Greece it is safe to say that despite the lack of publicity, the crisis is far from over.

The conditions I have seen whilst working in Greece, are in some cases, shocking. I have seen a child with a severe disability, living in an empty container in a refugee camp, alongside 4 other families. 28 people, adults and children living together in under 250 square foot.

These disused cabins have no furniture and no belongings other than simple blankets to keep out the winter cold. On meeting the child and his family, I also discovered that two of his siblings had infected scabies which needed urgent treatment and which, as they are unregistered, the camp and camp doctors would not provide.

As a medical organisation that is currently funded entirely on donations, we are having to provide high cost medications, to offer basic care to children in need. Children, who are living within EU funded refugee camps in Greece.

Although the conditions inside the camp are bad, and likely to get worse with the expected influx of people from Moria on Lesvos, the conditions outside are worse.

As mentioned in a previous blog post, the abandoned building currently houses over 100 refugees. I am not saying I promote the use of the abandoned building; I know the locals are resolute in their fight to get rid of the refugees, all I’m saying is this is fact.

There are over 100 homeless refugees that seek refuge here and for however long or short a period they remain in Thessaloniki, they use this as their base. On some occasions, the refugees who initially look for the comfort of the camp, realise after arrival that they are not going to get shelter/ accommodation, access to showers or even food, they often leave again and opt to sleep in the building, as at least it is near the city centre and they are more likely to find food. A few centres in the city offer food during the day and another organisation distributes food in the evenings to the homeless refugees.

On arrival to clinic last Thursday, our car park was deserted.

Admittedly, there has been a large turn around in the last few days and many familiar faces have moved on to try and cross the border. Despite this however, there are generally a few people already awaiting medical care when we arrive. To investigate, we walked around the area behind the abandoned building and saw some local tradesman fencing it off, so it was inaccessible. When a colleague and I asked one of the workers where he expected the people inside to go after it was sealed, he said he did not know. He replied that we should ‘take them to Germany’ with us.

When we walked around the building the police were present. They had lined up all the refugees and began evicting all of them from the building, without any evidence of papers. Any who didn’t already have police papers were arrested on the spot and the remaining few were advised that if they were there later on, when the police returned, they would be arrested with or without documents.

When we left the clinic that evening, two further refugees had been arrested walking in the area, as they did not have police papers. As we drove away, the streets either side of the abandoned building were lined with boys and men, unable to go inside and waiting with their possessions for who knows what.

They are not allowed back in, as they will be arrested. They will not be allowed to sleep on the ‘streets’ or in ‘parks’, as suggested by the police at the time, as they will likely be arrested. Just a fortnight ago, refugees gathered in Aristotelous square, Thessaloniki’s main square. They camped outside the police station in order to be arrested, just to try and obtain the papers they need to seek asylum. With winter approaching, they are anxious to submit their requests for asylum in order to get a place within a camp for winter. However, the majority of people that camped out in Aristotelous square were families and therefore more likely to attract publicity and subsequently actions.

The refugees from the building are often single men. If they get arrested they run the risk of being detained from a few days to months and are much less likely to get a space within a refugee camp unless they are a minor. These men have no options.

In the six weeks that I have been in Greece, I have seen that the crisis is not over. It is as bad as ever.

I have seen within refugee camps disabled children without any therapy input or basic equipment, such as seating or a wheelchair. I have seen a severe pressure sore with a 5cm deep sinus in need of surgery, managed and dressed by the refugee’s mother without any regular support from the medical team in the camp. There is a man sleeping outside in a tent with brachial monoplegia from a bullet wound through the shoulder, unable to use his arm and yet having to manage without help in such conditions. Next to him is a man unable to walk who suffered a leg injury and burns from a bomb blast; unable to walk yet living in a two person tent. We have discovered severely ill children, one with a temperature of over 40 degrees, again sleeping in tents pitched on hard floors.

I have spoken to those that are medically well but not registered in the camp, who are without access to showers and food. I have tried to help heavily pregnant women that can not be housed. I have seen numerous children with infected scabies that as they are not registered cannot receive treatment. I have seen streets full of men, with nowhere to go and who sleep at risk of being arrested and having all their possessions taken (in some instances not returned).

I have seen all of this and the Greek government want to reduce the number of migrants in Moria camp, Lesvos from 8 500 to half that in a few weeks. Currently Moria is a humanitarian disaster; MSF have reported that even children are attempting to commit suicide. Our own response team in Lesvos is struggling with the psychological pressures and MSF, recently stated that since May, at least one person a week is being raped within the camp. The truth is these statistics may be even higher. Half of the victims are boys and girls under 18 and two children as young as 5 years old.

At what stage do we say these conditions are unacceptable for refugees in Europe?

Around 186 000 refugees crossed into Europe last year and UNHCR estimate around 116 000 have entered this year so far. Although down from previous years figures with over 1 million refugees arriving in 2015 alone it is unlikely that this situation is going to go away quickly. It is a basic human right to have access to food, shelter, washing and health facilities. I am shocked and upset that I have to leave people in this position and that despite all our best efforts, we can do little to help beside offer basic medical care and friendship.

I think most people would be shocked to hear of the conditions these people live in within Europe. Many have said that if they had known how bad it was, they would not have left their home countries. A Syrian family with a disabled child said he was seen monthly in a hospital in Turkey and yet they feel abandoned here in Greece. His parents fled during the war, at which stage his mother was heavily pregnant and the stress of the bombings and shootings greatly impacted her pregnancy. As a result, she eventually had a very difficult birth in Turkey and her baby suffered asphyxia. He is now three years old, fed through a tube in his nose and has no sitting balance or head control. He sleeps on a mattress, on the floor in a container.

Predominantly my role in Greece has been working as a physiotherapist, I can provide much needed care and rehabilitation to those who need it. However, I have also been coordinating the project along with a German nurse. I have been arranging appointments for people the red cross have not made; putting vulnerable homeless families in contact with the right organisations to provide shelter and discussing with a legal volunteer team the legalities to the police evictions and retention of the refugees possessions which I believe is in violation of the refugees rights. We have been working with the new camp manager to try and find containers for the most vulnerable and ill children and adults, as well as working out a way we can improve the effectiveness of the medical care we give.

Ultimately the people in Europe need to open their eyes and hearts to this situation. Greece, chronically underfunded and struggling with their own economy needs more support from the EU and UN to improve the basic circumstances of the thousands of migrants that arrive weekly, risking their lives. We need to share the burden of the crisis amongst Europe to relieve pressure on countries like Greece, Italy and Spain before it is too late and we need raise awareness of the reasons why these people are making these perilous journeys to Europe to eradicate the racism associated. However, until then, if anyone reading this believes this is a worthy cause then please donate to my just giving page. This work means a great deal to me. I was extremely upset the other day when we had to leave one of the refugees I am close to on the streets for the night. We treat him like a friend and then we have to leave him to this awful situation and it was truly heartbreaking. If I could do, more I would, I have five more weeks to try and make as much as a contribution as possible. All of our work is funded by volunteers and by donations. If anyone wants to contribute to my work and all that I am doing please visit my just giving page. None of this work would be possible without support and it scares me to think how the refugees would manage without any support from our organisation.

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The Abandoned Building

The abandoned building… that’s what we all call it.

This is a building in the centre of Thessaloniki. It, along with others, is a partially built and disused building that offers some shelter to hundreds of homeless refugees.

The majority of refugees living here do not have papers and they are unable to travel in Europe or seek asylum without them. Although some want papers, EU law states that any refugees seeking asylum, must do so in the first country they reach. Obviously for many refugees who want to travel further or have families in other European countries, they want to get as far as possible towards their destination before claiming asylum.

However, for some of the refugees hoping to stay in Greece it can still be difficult to get papers. In extreme but not infrequent incidences refugees have turned up at the police station and asked to be arrested. Once arrested, the police have to issue a police paper that the refugees have to activate within a two week window, by undertaking a skype interview.

The building has been frequently used since 2015 and the peak of the refugee crisis. The police are aware the building is in use and will occasionally review the situation. Last October, 2017, the police emptied the building and arrested many of the men before sealing it off. However over the course of a year it has been frequented by many passing through on their way to mainland Europe and has once again become home to over 100 refugees who have nowhere else to sleep.

Last week the police came again to the building. They arrived early on the Friday morning and arrested everybody in the building. Anything on the ground floor was removed, including any possessions and sleeping equipment.

Most of the refugees have now been released. Any that decided not move on and weren’t detained have returned to the building. On leaving the police station, they state that their possessions were not returned to them, which I believe to be a violation of refugees rights. They now have no belongings and although most of them did not have much to sleep with in the first place, they now have nothing.

Winter is coming, the nights are getting colder and darker and as volunteers we are now trying everything we can to get them essential sleeping bags and blankets.

We visited the building the day after the raid. After our clinic finished on Saturday, we went with the boys and took a list of names of anybody who had their things taken.

On Monday we managed to gather some blankets from another organisation in order to distribute them to those who now have nothing to sleep with.

We returned at night, after the evening clinic to distribute the blankets with the least attention. If word had gotten out that we were distributing sleeping goods, many others would have come from the city but we only had enough to give to the few whose names we had taken.

After packaging up the blankets outside our apartment, we arrived to the car park around 11.30pm; scaring away some of the local prostitutes who frequent the car park when we are not there. With the help of our translator we rounded up anyone in the building who needed blankets and brought them to the car park.

It took over an hour to distribute 60 blankets.

We finished our work at 01.30am and returned home. Although predominantly our work in Thessaloniki is medical, we also work closely with various voluntary organisations. We have regular street team meetings to ensure we are all aware of what is happening at ground level in Thessasloniki and with other charitable organisations in Northern Greece. These links ensure when incidences like this happen we can help as much as possible and try to support the refugees during these difficult times.

For anyone who wants to support this work, please visit my just giving page.

Arriving in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki is Greece’s second biggest city and for the next few months I will be based in Diavata, a small town about 10km from the city. I am working as part of a medical organisation that offers medical care to refugees. Our two main bases of operation are within a camp a short walk from Diavata and in a car park, about a 5 minute walk from the train station in Thessaloniki.

In truth I did not know much about the city until my arrival, other than its location in relation to the recent migration route across Europe. However, I’m really glad my work has brought me here. Thessaloniki itself is a beautiful port city, founded in 315 BC and steeped in history. It is the capital of Greek Macedonia, named after the half-sister of Alexander the great and has been ruled by the Kingdom of Macedonia, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire and even fell under Nazi rule during the Second World War. As a result of its history there are an impressive 15 monuments in the city that make UNESCO World Heritage Status.

I’ve briefly spent some time in the city centre but as our main places of work are just to the west of the city we don’t often venture into town. Hopefully I’ll be able to explore more of the city during my stay but Diavata has everything we need, including an amazing market outside our flat on Wednesday mornings, where you can get the most incredible fresh fruit and vegetables!

Since my arrival my work has been split between working in the camp at Diavata and the car park clinic. I am the only physiotherapist working with the organisation and the first fortnight has been used to establish a client base and routine; my usual week will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the camp and Tuesday, Thursday and occasional Saturday in the car park.

I tried last week to try and attend all three clinics in a day but not only do they overlap, so it makes you late for the afternoon clinic but it also makes it over a 12 hour day, which is just not functional when it’s as busy as it is! Instead, I’ll be using the time between clinics to take over the role of coordinator for the Thessaloniki project.

THE CAMP

The camp operates a morning clinic during the weekdays for registered refugees and we work alongside a Greek organisation PHILOS, funded by the European Commission. At the minute it is estimated there are around 2000 in the camp 700 registered and 1300 unregistered refugees. Predominantly my work will be in the camp as the majority of the residents are considered more ‘vulnerable’, for example, women, children, families and people with disabilities. Although PHILOS provide medical care, the residents of the camp do not have any other access to a physiotherapist. The benefit to my working in the camp is that a large majority of my patients have been female, which means I am able to treat them in privacy, without too many cultural barriers.

At the end of my first week we managed to negotiate a static caravan for me to use belonging to UNHCR (the UN charity for refugees). This has enabled me to have my own working space and means I can arrange to see people who need ongoing input regularly, on the days I am in the camp, as well as seeing any day attendances the doctors want me to review.

The facilities although fairly basic are more than adequate. I have taken a camp bed from our warehouse to use as a plinth to assess and treat patients and have managed to gather a collection of different items to use including towels and creams.

Predominantly the conditions I see in the camp are muscular in nature, often complaints of lower back, neck or shoulder pain although I have also splinted broken fingers before they get referred to hospital. As mentioned earlier, the camp hosts some of the more vulnerable patients and I have been regularly seeing a gentleman with a spinal cord injury for neurological rehabilitation (A).

I met A on my first day and may have been slightly biased towards him, as not only are he and his mother the sweetest people you could hope to meet (despite a lack of English, we communicate mainly via google translate – it’s a life saver!) but also, when I met him for the first time he was sat up in bed wearing a Leeds Beckett University T-Shirt! It was one he was given on arrival in camp but I couldn’t stop smiling. Only I would come to Greece and have my first patient wearing a top from Leeds!

THE CAR PARK

Unlike the camp, the majority of the refugees that attend the car park clinic in the afternoons and evenings are unregistered and generally male, often between late teens and early twenties. More often than not, they live around the city centre in abandoned buildings and squats which is why we base our work here. Between the car park and the train station there is at least one abandoned building currently housing 50 refugees.

BFNU1195 — Between clinics: football in the car park

Logistically it is a little harder for me to work in the car park as we work out of an old ambulance, however in the recent days we have established more of a routine to get physio incorporated. We aim to have at least one volunteer doctor at a time who operates within the ambulance (accessed via the sliding door) and a wound station set up outside the ambulance for other medical professionals e.g. nurses/ paramedics/ students to attend to wound dressings.

The most common problem is infected wounds from mosquito bites but scabies is also common and we provide treatment and fresh clothes to everyone who requires it. Any minor ailments can be treated in the ambulance but for more serious conditions that arise, for example, an epileptic with poorly controlled seizures, we can refer into the Greek healthcare system or take more urgent cases to hospital ourselves.

Blisters are common from excessive walking to reach Greece

In recent days as more people are requiring physiotherapy I have set up a station operating out of the back of the ambulance to treat general musculoskeletal injuries for either upper limb or lower limb. If more privacy is needed I try and jump into the ambulance between medical patients and this seems to be working at the minute.

We operate the system using separate numbers for the doctors (1) and the wound station (W1) but with the recent increasing number of patients for physio, I now have my own number system (D1).

Strapping a sprained ankle at the afternoon clinic

Although we run both an afternoon and evening clinic with a short break, the evening clinic is far more popular as another organisation works alongside us in the car park to offer food distribution. The car park regularly gets the same refugees attending until they decide to move on which means that anyone with longer term needs has been coming back on the days I am there for further treatment as well as getting food and their wounds dressed at the same time. Just last night a gentleman returned to the clinic to say that his knee pain was completely better.

At times there can be a more intense atmosphere in the car park compared to the camp as often the refugees are from different countries, with their own individual tensions and any system that involves queuing for food, when they normally have minimal access to food and water, is likely to have its problems. During an evening on my first week someone got glassed in the head with a bottle and needed suturing and the week before I arrived someone was stabbed in the ambulance itself, trying to get away from another man.

However, this is rare and hasn’t happened until now. With the end of summer and the nights soon to get darker we have brought the evening clinic forwards to finish at 9pm instead of 10pm and are trying to not run over. Despite the odd difficulty the work is good and between clinics we often stay around or return early to play football or vollyball with some of the guys. After clinic last Thursday when everyone had gone a few refugees remained and we played some Arabic music and all tried our best dance moves – mine were less than average but scored 10/10 for enthusiasm.

TUDE5414 — Trying to get rid of hiccups – works every time!

Over the next few weeks I’ll try and share a few more specific stories, photos and hopefully introduce you to some of the people I meet along the way 🙂

The Venture

From September 2018 I will be leaving my job as a physiotherapist in the NHS to volunteer as a physio overseas for 8 months. You can keep up-to-date via my just giving page or by following my stories on my blog.

My work will begin between the refugee camp Diavata in Thessaloniki and a railway station; providing physiotherapy and minor injuries care for the homeless refugees.

I already have some patients to see in the camp who would benefit from regular physiotherapy including those with paraplegia and muscular dystrophy. Outside the camp my work will predominantly be treating musculoskeletal ailments from walking, often hundreds/thousands of miles; muscular aches from sleeping rough and wound care for those who have come into difficulties on their journeys, including police beatings.

All of my work will be completely voluntary and to see how far your money could go visit my just giving page. In Greece, if I make enough funds, any additional money will go directly to funding equipment, which at the moment we have a very limited budget for.

You can follow my journey via my blog, instragram or just giving page.

Flax and Kale

This place was so good, it deserves its own post.

Now like most millennials I love brunch and as the current trend is to enjoy a delicious but healthy brunch with friends, who am I to go against the flow?

Priding its self in healthy, flexitarian food (yes, I know, I think they are just inventing diets now) Flax and Kale is one of Barcelona’s best restaurants. Their motto: eat better, be happier, live longer. Who wouldn’t want to try this?

The restaurant itself is beautiful and we were lucky enough to find a table on the terrace with a view over the square. Sat at wrought iron tables with trellaces all around and a bottle of cava I can’t think of any better way to start the day.

The food was stunning: presented beautifully and absolutely delicious, what more could you ask for?

If anyone is looking for a spot of brunch in Barcelona then I cannot recommend this enough.

Top tips:

Due to its high popularity it is normal to queue so I would advise you to go early unless you want to wait 30 minutes for a table
Try the paleo bread.

BCN Again

Back in Barcelona. Well, sort of.

We flew from Leeds this time as it seemed easier but as I was partially responsible for booking the flights we obviously flew to Gerona instead.. oops.

The flight itself was an eventful one and never one for the quiet life I ended up being responsible for a medical emergency mid-flight. As a result, and on my say so, we diverted to Paris for an emergency landing. Needless to say, I’m not sure I have EVER been under as much pressure. So, when finally arriving in Barcelona itself (by bus), we were in dire need of a drink!

We settled at a bar in the sunshine outside the Born Cultural Centre, near to our friends apartment. There we enjoyed a couple of beers whilst recounting the journeys excitement and waited for our friend to finish work, ready to greet her with a pretty bouquet from the beautiful almond flowers.

Now, Barcelona is one of the worlds most notorious cities for pick-pocketing. Having learnt my lesson previously when I had my entire suitcase stolen, passport included (even though it was right next to me!) this time Katie and I were taking no chances. As a result, ribbon is now an essential item in our hand-luggage.

Spanish tip: ‘mi maleta es robada’ will come in handy if this ever happens to you and you find yourself at the Barcelona Police Station!

Barcelona is the most beautiful city and we were fortunate enough to have the first real sunshine of the year.

My friend Millie, being a local, took us to some of her favourite places which was great, as we didn’t have to plan anything at all and dined like royalty all weekend.

The first night we ate at Costa Pacifico, an amazing Mexican restaurant in Born. It’s a fun, lively place, in fact so much so that during our supper we got talking to some locals who joined us for the rest of the meal. The fish tacos were to die for, although we perhaps over indulged on the Margaritas a little!

I did try to get some pictures of our food, but by the time I got my phone out most of the meal was gone. Something I learnt as school is when eating with my friends, there is no time to waste on things like photography or you miss out on dinner!

So you’ll have to take my word for it. The food was delicious, especially if you, like us, are partial to cerviche.

We spent the weekend catching up and whiled away our days walking the streets of Barcelona…

enjoying the beach,

shopping,

and hopping between tapas bars enjoying wine and incredible local food.

Not to mention the essential aperol spritz or two.

Now for any foodies out there like us who enjoy tapas Carrer de Blai is the perfect place for you! It is an entire street filled with endless eateries offering cheap pixtinos to eat at leisure. Just grab a seat, order some tapas and when you’re done, move on down about twenty metres and repeat the whole process again!

Obviously how much you spend will depend on how much you eat. With these girls the last time we were let loose on pix in Notting Hill we managed to devour £50 worth of tapas each!! It was delicious and by the end of our meal they had started bringing the food directly to our table instead of just laying it straight on the bar, however thankfully we did not consume quiet that much this time!

Finally, a must do is Palo Alto Market on a sunny day. It is a street style market in Poblenou selling anything and everything hipster and runs the first weekend of every month.

From local arts and crafts, to food, drink and live music, it’s only 4 euros to enter and definitely money well spent! Set amongst beautiful, old, tree lined walls it’s the perfect place to sip away the afternoon like a real Catalonian.

To round up I’m going to give you my two favourite restaurants we ate at during our stay. The first was Llamber opposite the Born cultural centre and luckily right by Millie’s apartment.

The food was beautifully presented and wonderfully fresh. Naturally, we had a little of everything, including more cerviche. Although delicious as this was, we ended lunching here following the previous nights escapades at Jamboree in Placa Reial and one of our party might have felt a little too ropey to enjoy this to the full!

The other place I highly recommend, for those of you that are tapas-ed out, is koku kitchen. It is a Japanese restaurant in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, specialising in Ramen and buns.

We ate upstairs in the bun restaurant and feasted on steamed buns, served in bamboo. They came with a variety of delicious fillings including grilled pork and duck. Not to mention, no meal would ever be complete without some sides of edamame, tempura prawns and a selection of dumplings.

As always, I think we managed to cram as much as humanly possible into our long weekend (including a little life saving!) and I can’t wait to be back again soon!

Cursa de Bombers: Firemans Run 2017

Since 1999 the Bombers de Barcelona (Firemen to you and me) have been running an annual 10km around the city and this year we joined them.

Picking our kit up the day before from the Olympic stadium atop the beautiful Montjuic, we were treated to magnificent views of the city we would soon be running around. Having left it too late to register, I was luckily allowed to sign up that evening otherwise the three of us had been planning ways for me to jump the barriers and join mid-race. Thankfully we did not have to resort to this.

The morning of the race, we watched everyone arrive and leisurely joined the start line which was luckily within minutes from where we were straying. The atmosphere was fantastic; a sea of neon orange and dance music awaited as we took our places. I was a little apprehensive as it had been a little while since I had done any exercise at all and I was relying on my basic level of fitness to carry me through.

We made good time in around 55 minutes in mid twenties heat but in retrospect I should have perhaps done a practice run as when I finished I was the same colour as my t-shirt and my muscles remained in agony for the following week. Millie and Katie sweetly went at my pace… but I could tell they found it a lot easier than myself and could have gone much faster. Cheers guys!

We were absolutely amazed that as difficult as we found it in the heat, the local firemen not only completed it in full firemans gear, they beat us and had enough energy left for a fireman’s lift! Impressed is an understatement… I think I need to find myself a Spanish fireman.