The Corona Blog

I'm not sleeping. Or rather I'm not sleeping enough. Every night this week I've woken up around 4 or 5 o'clock and been unable to get back to sleep. However, unlike this is no '4 AM of the soul' kind of insomnia, driven by existential questions about what will happen to me in the future. No, this is far more concrete and far scarier. The Corona virus outbreak has been in Greece for weeks now and the news just keeps on getting grimmer and grimmer with restrictions on movement becoming ever tighter. There's even talk of a possible curfew over the weekend, though what this depends on seems unclear.

Officially the number of COVID-19 cases in Greece seems to be rising slowly, with just 30 or 40 new ones per day. The number of deaths is currently six, in both cases the figures are far lower than in many other places, yet it is very hard to get accurate, independent information. The current Greek government, like so many before it, always attempts to bury or ignore bad news. The fact that so much of the local mainstream media is willing to support the ruling conservatives New Democracy party, just adds to their ability to present whatever message they see fit.

During the recent tensions on the Greek-Turkish border, example of extreme abuse of migrants and refugees by Greek security forces only came to light due to the work of foreign news crews. Even then, the government and their many supporters in domestic media were happy to decry all such incidents as 'fake news' without feeling the need to provide any kind of evidence to support their claims. I'm worried that  this same pattern will be repeated, either in the name of national security or for less honourable reasons of party self-interest.

Whatever the true picture is, the good news is that ordinary Greeks are taking the official instructions about self-isolation, social distancing and other preventive measures in deadly earnest. The streets are not empty yet, but the number of those out and about is far, far lower than before. The thing is we are having a gloriously mild spring and the weather seems perfect for going out and relaxing at a cafe or in park. Not that this is possible as all the cafes, bars, restaurants have been closed down for anything other than take away.

This morning, once again unable to sleep beyond 5 AM, I decided to stock up once again just in case the talks of a weekend curfew proves to true. The local supermarket security guard was carefully controlling the flow of people entering and there were gloves for customers who wanted them. The shelves are still full and there are few shortages, with the one exception of yeast. It turns out Greece is once again turning into a nation of home bakers, a folk reaction, perhaps, to previous crises and disaster the nation has been through in living memory.

I remember when I first came to Greece, my then girlfriend, Athena had invited me to her place and I still remember vividly standing in her kitchen as she explained in an somewhat embarrassed way why all the cupboard space was full of bags of sugar, sacks of flour and large 5 litre metal containers with olive oil called 'teneke'. This was something her mother always insisted on having in the home, a relic of the difficult times she had lived as a young child during the German occupation of Greece in WWII. Then, a collapse in food production and distribution to the cities caused widespread famine which killed tens of thousands. Even so many years later, after most Greeks had achieved the kind of material comfort and prosperity undreamt  of by previous generations, the memories of those difficult times still haunted Athena's mother and many other members of her generation.

And not just her. The sudden spike in prices for things like surgical masks and hand gel was termed 'black marketing' by many and the urge by some, especially those who have the wealth and power to exploit a crisis reappeared. TV stations, owned by some of the richest
men in Greece were full of their own ads for 25 euro packs of masks. A week ago those same six masks would have cost just a few euros from any pharmacy. The fact that these very same TV stations are the ones who are so happy to support the government and act as PR agents just add to my anxiety.

The funny thing is that I stopped blogging regularly here just as another crisis was starting in 2015. Then I ended up heading a refugee solidarity group that worked in the camps on Greece's northern border for six months and I saw just how bad things can get when things fall apart. 

Call for help and solidarity in support of refugees in northern Greece

Dear friends,

 we would like to inform you about the refugee situation in Greece and specifically in the city of Thessaloniki and the surrounding Macedonia region in the hope you can help us con tend with the growing crisis.

As more and more conflict arises in Syria and the surrounding areas, more people are fleeing, leaving their homes behind to seek refuge in Europe.

There has been a considerably large incoming wave of refugees during the past four months, as a result of the recent strikes. The vast majority of the refugees arriving are families with underaged children and elders, as well as individuals.

In Thessaloniki, there are a few tens to a few hundreds of arrivals per day. Only very few of the hospitality centers set up by the government in the past two years are still working and they are certainly not enough to host all the arriving refugees. The three centers around Thessaloniki are about 50 to 70 km away from the city and can only offer housing to the newly arrived.

But since these facilities are already overcrowded, a lot of people have to stay in the streets. In many places in Thessaloniki, families are forced to sleep on the sidewalks, without any support from the state.

We, the people of the Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki and Oikopolis, consider it our duty to support these people during their rough journey towards safety and we collaborate closely with all the organizations and volunteer groups that are engaged in our city.

In order to help these people we constantly try to:

• Cook and distribute hot meals and fruits - vegetables for people that don’t have any access to cooked food.
• Provide them with raw materials for cooking in their houses or in the camps.
• Supply them with personal hygiene products for adults and children as well
• Offer baby milk as well as the possibility to prepare it in our place
• Support them with their medical expenses
• Collect and distribute clothes , shoes, sleeping bags, tents and anything else that will help them if they are homeless.
• Have free English and Greek language lessons

We are gathering all available supplies and we would be grateful if anyone would like to contribute any of the following:

Baby formula and baby food

Baby diapers and wet wipes

Strollers and baby carriers

Personal hygiene and care goods, soaps etc.

Rice and pasta

Legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils etc.)

Flour, Oil (sunflower oil, olive oil)

Fruit and vegetables

Men’s clothes and shoes

Children’s clothes and shoes

Socks and underwear

Backpacks

Sleeping bags

Any financial contribution will also be highly appreciated!

You can contact us at:

Tel: 0030 2310222503 - email: oikopolis.social.center@gmail.com

Visit us at:

ΟΙΚΟΠΟΛΙΣ/ΕCOPOLIS, Ptolemeon 29a, 5th floor, Thessaloniki

Visit our pages:

https://www.facebook.com/oikopolis.social.center/

https://www.facebook.com/SupportRefugeesInGreece/

Make a donation at the following account:

ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΤΡΑΠΕΖΑ / NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE

IBAN GR2301102170000021729602652

Swift code: ETHNGRAAXXX

ΟΙΚΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΚΙΝΗΣΗ Ν. ΘΕΣ/ΝΙΚΗΣ

ECOLOGICAL MOVEMENT OF THESSALONIKI

Back in the saddle again

It's been a  long time since I last wrote a post here but I decided I would revive this platform as I have started to work with refugees once again here in Thessaloniki, northern Greece. Despite what much of the media say, the crisis has not gone away and indeed over the last few months has grown more intense in the parts of Greece such such as the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos, whilst here in the north the number of people fleeing war, persecution and poverty has doubled and doubled again.

If you're curious about what I have been doing over the last year, check out my Flickr page here.

Moving north

A reminder of what I was doing last year in the refugee transit camp in Idomeni on the Greek border.

The winter crisis in Greece - refugees left in limbo as those in charge pass the buck

After days of anticipation, the Ariadni cold wave finally hit Greece a few days ago bring polar temperatures and heavy snowfall across across the country. Not only was this spate of bad weather predicted days in advance, it was the butt of many jokes and sarcastic comments on Facebook and Twitter as the full force of the front hit nearly two days later than had been originally forecast. So why the Greek authorities and the large international NGOs who help run many of the camps were taken so completely by surprise by the event is something of a surprise in itself. While many ordinary Greeks were left without water and electricity by the extreme cold, those worst hit were many of the 60,000 refugees still living in tents and abandoned industrial buildings in makeshift camps.

On the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos some refugees were left to spend days in unheated tents enduring temperatures as low as -5C , Nor was it only the islands that saw such squalid neglect of people in dire need.  Despite repeated assurances by Greece' Migration minister, Yannis Mouzalas that, with a few minor exceptions that those on the mainland were already in properly "winterised" accommodations (see his interview in the Turkish daily Hurriyet) photographs and video soon appeared on both Facebook and Twitter from volunteers and aid workers on the ground showing freezing families in snow covered tents and freezing warehouses struggling to survive polar temperatures.

Once the story was picked up by the international media the Greek government's response was to first ban photography and filming in the worst effected camps (refugee camps are under the control of either the Greek army or police force and access to them is strictly regulated) and then slowly place a minority  (500 out of nearly 6,000) of the most vulnerable in more suitable housing, at least until the worst of the winter weather abated.

While the severity of the cold spell is unusual for Greece, it is not unprecedented, Greek winters especially in the north are shorter than those in northern Europe but are often quite severe due to the mountainous topography of the region, so much so that the nation has over 25 ski resorts that people flock to every year. Even on the islands winter temperatures are often no more clement than those in some parts of northern Europe such as southern UK and Ireland, even in a mild winter. Forcing people to live in tents and abandoned buildings for months in such conditions is nothing short of criminal.

As is so often the case, finding the villain of the piece is a complicated, frustrating process with all the major players, Greek central government, local authorities, EU and UNHCR Greece busily blaming each other for this easily avoided fiasco. In the meantime many refugee still find themselves in cold, squalid camps waiting for a plan to improve the situation that no one in a position of authority seems willing to provide.

English for refugees - Recipe dictation and cooking together

This lesson plan is based on a idea from Teaching Adults Second Language Learners by McKay and Tom

Aim - To help refugees use cooking vocabulary, write recipes

Materials - Cooking equipment and ingredients, access to a kitchen, photocopies (see below)

Level - Elementary/intermediate.

1 - Ask students what verbs/words we use to talk about cooking. write some on the board and mime them to ensure understanding. Otherwise ask students to use smart phones for translation.

2 - Elicit words and write them on the board, use mime to ensure understanding.


3 - Hand out this photocopy from Englishwsheets.com

4 - Students copy down any words they didn't know, check comprehension.

5 - In pairs, student mime words from the photocopy and the other s have to guess them.

6 - Now explain that you are going to give them a recipe (or write it on the board) and that they have to copy them into their notebooks but some words and/or numbers will be missing. (Just choose numbers for beginner students).

7 - Read the recipe aloud and have students fill in the missing gaps.

8 - When you have finished reading have students take turns in completing the dictation on the board or in groups of 3-4

9 - Now get students to use this as a template for their own recipes, encourage them to use their smart phones to find ingredients and names of cooking equipment

10 Tell students that next lesson we will be cooking together in Oikopolis's kitchen, ask students to say who would like to cook something simple for the class, e;g salads, dips etc that take less than an hour to make. Take students on a tour of the kitchen to check that it has all the equipment they need.,

Refugees Welcome, Golden Dawn Scum Are Not - this design is free to download and use.

The day after  a meeting held by seniors members of Greece' neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party on the island of Chios, the Souda refugee camp was attacked by right wing extremists who throw firebombs boulders down upon the tents were refugees are housed. The meeting was also attended by MPs with Belgium's far right Vlaams Belang party.

English For Refugees

After so many months of silence I have decided to start writing here again. After the refugee camp in Idomeni in northern Greece was shut down and the people moved to more permanent settlements throughout the country.Our group, The Refugee Solidarity Movement, Thessaloniki, wound down and I decided that I needed a break from this. In addition it seemed clear that other groups were taking over so our group's efforts were less needed.

However,  I have managed to get back into the game and as with so many things that happen in Greece, it's as much to to with chance and serendipity as it is with any plan I may or may not have had in mind. Whilst visiting the Oikopolis Social Centre on an entirely unrelated matter, I found out that they were about to start new language lessons with refugees but one of their volunteer teachers was soon to Leave Greece to start a new life in France. So that is how I found myself in front of a class of refugees from Syria once again teaching English along with another Patricia, another volunteer teacher.

The situation was and still remains somewhat chaotic with people of different ages (11 till 50) and different levels of competency in English (complete beginners to those with the fundamentals sorted) in the same group. In addition we are in the social area of the centre which is like teaching on the hard shoulder of a motorway.

This is gradually being sorted out, Patricia has decided to form a group of complete beginners while I work with those who have intermediate skills. We are never sure how many students will turn up as new students turn up, others change class and others still drift away looking for something else.

With such uncertainty I have decided  to not use a course book both due to the cost and the fact that students are coming and going all the time. Instead I have been inspired by Teaching Adult Second Language Learners by Heather McCay and Tom Abigail. Designed for teaching practical, every day English to those arriving in an English speaking country, I have adapted some of the activities for my students so they can communicate with NGOs, the authorities, etc in English.

My approach is based on utilising students experience and expertise and giving them language skills that can be used instantly, rather than to be filed for later. I eschew technology as much as possible, not because I am against its use in lessons but from experience that so much time is used explaining it, and setting it up that time for other things is wasted. I hope this will change in the future as my students grow more confident with their English. Most have smart phones and we have internet access but this cannot always be relied on.

Also I have come to realise that the occasional photocopy, copious use of the white board and role play/mime are not only more easy to implement but take far less time setting up.

Topics covered so far

Introducing ourselves
Talking about family and background
Numbers, especially dates
Jobs
Interviews (asking and answering questions)
Parts of the body

When I have time I will be uploading detailed lesson plans.

In Idomeni

"You had to be there. It's a cliche worn smooth by time but it is true that often images and other people's accounts of a situation are often a poor substitute for being on the spot. The same holds true for the Idomeni refugee camp that lies on southern side of the Greek - Macedonian border. At night you have the sense that you are on the set of a movie, a mixture of the bridge scene from Apocalypse Now and any number of zombie movies/series in which survivors huddle together for protection. The acrid smell of burning plastic, constant flow of hooded people, and the powerful spotlights just add to the surreal, post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the place.

Despite the fact that the border has been closed for over a month the mainly Syrian and Iraqi refugees refuse to leave, and hang on to the hope that Macedonia (along with Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and ultimately Germany will reverse their latest decision to close down the Western Balkan Route that allowed refugees to reach northern Europe. They feel they are the victim of some kind of cruel joke that they are stranded in a field in northern Greece whilst so many others, including many of their own family members were allowed to pass just weeks earlier.

Another factor keeping refugees in Idomeni is uncertainty over destinations being offered by the Greek authorities, many of which have been hastily erected and offer little material advantage over Idomeni, Why move to another unknown camp when all it offers is a tent in a muddy food and awful food? Refugees already have that.

In addition many of these camp are literally in the middle of nowhere, isolated from towns and cities for fear of provoking local residents. As a result there are often a collection of tents in a muddy field with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Plus there is the ever present fear that at any point they may be turned into "closed centres", i.e prison camps where people are held prior to being deported as happened on the Greek islands such as Chios to all those who arrived after 20th March which marked the implementation of the EU's deal with Turkey.

In the video posted here refugees were occupying the railway line which connects Greece and Macedonia in protest over the closed border, however,  in the last few days these protests have escalated and yesterday Macedonia border police and troops used tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent refugees crossing the border, According to Doctors Without Borders who are operating at Idomeni over 300 people were treated for the effects of these weapons, including many children who were hit by plastic/rubber bullets or overcome by tear gas which also reached the main camp, far from the border clashes.

Colors - Open Kitchen / Colors - Ανοιχτή Κουζίνα serve up to 8,000 meals a day at Idomeni, Greece

The Greek aid organisation, Colors - Open Kitchen cooks and serves up to 8,000 meals a day at the Idomeni transit camp on the Greek - FYR Macedonian border.

The camp, originally designed to house 2,000 refugees for a day is now home to 15,000 who have been stranded there for over three weeks.

The group struggles to find money, supplies, vehicles and volunteers on a daily basis yet despite all these difficulties and the miserable conditions at Idomeni they come through every day.

To find out more about who Colors - Open Kitchen are and how you can help check out their Facebook page.

Refugee Voices - interview with a Syrian refugee stranded at Idomeni, Greece

This interview took place on the 2nd March 2016 at the Eidomeni transit camp on the Greek Macedonian border. This man has been stranded in a field, sharing a flimsy tent with the other members of his family for 11 days. Just a few hundred people are allowed to cross the Macedonian border every day whilst approximately 1,000 refugees arrive per day. As a result 11,000 are stuck in  a transit camp designed to hold 1,500 for a day, not the two weeks some have been there.

The Refugee Solidarity Movement of Thessaloniki and Eidomeni goes up to Eidomeni twice a week to serve hot, sweet Syrian style tea. Wherever possible our volunteers help out with other groups.

For more on who we are and what we do check out our Facebook page.

Refugee crisis brings racist rhetoric back into the European mainstream

''The waves of immigrants threaten to turn Europe into an endless hell of Islamic terrorism"

Greek Orthodox bishop Anthimos - Thessaloniki 14th February 2016

The current refugee crisis  has awakened the very worst in Europe's collective psyche, with racist rhetoric that would have been considered unacceptable in "respectable" discourse a few years ago becoming part of mainstream political discussions. Ideas and attitudes that were once the preserve of far right extremists are gradually worming their way into media and political debate as the arrival of refugees prompts responses that often verges on the hysterical.

Bishop Anthimos, who has long been a fixed feature of the Greek Orthodox ultra-nationalist far right addressed a conference on Sunday in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki in order to draw attention to the supposed threat of the "Islamisation" of Europe. In this he is hardly along as similar ideas are quickly gaining ground in other nations (just see Hungary's PM, Viktor Orban and the rise of the Pegida movement in Germany and elsewhere. With austerity policies making the traditional parties of power ever increasingly unpopular, many politicians have been happy to scapegoat refugees directly or ride the wave of fear whipped up by mainstream media outlets looking to boost flagging ratings and declining political influence.

With many European states willing to use heavily armed NATO warships to stem the flow of refugees in the Aegean and fund Macedonia to fence in EU member, Greece the fear of the Other so shamelessly cultivated by much the continent's mainstream media is bearing poisonous fruit, Once more Europe has shown that Fear sells, both at the polling both and the news stand.

Video: Refugee Stories - Eidomeni in northern Greece

This Afghan father agreed to talk to us and his son translated. The interview took place on 10th February 2016 as the two were waiting to cross into FYR Macedonia, the next stage of their journey to Germany.

Latest video from the Eidomeni transit camp on the Greek - FYR Macedonian border

With Greek farmers blocking highways across the country coaches carrying refugees from Athens to the northern border crossing are being forced to take provincial roads. As a result the journey can take more than 12 hours.

To add to an already chaotic situation the Greek police are unwilling or unable to provide information to NGOs and volunteer groups at Eidomeni concerning when and how many coaches are arriving on any given day.

Partly, this is due to the police's long standing hostility to humanitarian groups operating at the camp, partly, it is incompetence. Although the police have been given the responsibility of monitoring refugee coaches on the move they do not seem to be able to implement this policy in practice.

As a result making decision about how much, food, water and other forms of aid will be needed becomes a matter of guesswork.

The Refugee Solidarity Movement of Thessaloniki - Eidomeni was on hand to give out cups of hot sweet tea last Wednesday and Saturday but with few arrivals we had far fewer "customers" than on other occasions. Still, plenty waiting in the camp to cross the border were happy for the offer of a cup of tea.

Other volunteers helped out at the clothing distribution tent where their Arabic/Greek/English speaking skills were much appreciated.

Fortunately, the border was open for much of the day, though how long it will so is unsure as FYR Macedonia and Greece come under ever more pressure from northern EU nations to stem the flow of refugees taking the Western Balkan Route from the Aegean to northern Europe.

Refugee Solidarity Movement of Thessaloniki and Eidomeni

Welcome to Denmark - Now hand over your cash!

Apparently, the Danish government is not at all happy with the international attention it has garnered in the wake of law that would allow the authorities to seize assets from those applying for asylum in order to pay for their stay, and this in one of the richest nations on Earth. The law also extends the the time period after which family members can join loved ones from one to three years. 

The Danish coalition government which includes the far right Venstre party has defended these measures saying that Danish citizens seeking help from the State are subject to the same regulations, however, as the more astute of you will have noticed, no Danes have been bombed out of their homes in Odense or have been forced to flee murderous death squads in Aarhus with just what they can carry.

Video:Tensions rise in the Eidomeni transit camp - northern Greece (footage taken on 3 February)

The major ferry strike which cut off the Greek islands from the mainland meant that when it ended  on the 31st January there was a sudden surge in the number of refugees heading from Athens to the Eidomeni transit camp on Greece's northern border with FYR Macedonia. The situation was further exacerbated by with the unwillingness of the FYR Macedonian government to open the border crossing at Eidomeni to more than a fraction of refugees. The result was an an explosive situation in the camp as thousands of tired, hungry people waited in limbo unsure of what they had to to face next.

On Wednesday 3 February riot police were deployed in an attempt to keep control of a steadily deteriorating situation as thousands sought to get their papers stamped by the Greek police, without which they would not be allowed to cross into FYR Macedonia.

With camps full to overflowing, many refugee families were forced to sleep out in the open in freezing temperatures for three nights and with little information about if or when they would be allowed to continue their journey.

Behind the decision on whether to open or close the border lie a multitude of political calculations in which smaller Balkan nations juggle the intense political pressure they are under from northern EU nations to stop the flow of refugees with the fear that they will become a dumping ground for people nations such as France, Germany and Denmark do not want to accept.

As the EU continues to prevaricate and avoids taking concrete decisions concerning the refugee crisis in Greece and the rest of the Balkans, it is the youngest and most vulnerable who continue to pay for their ineptitude and vacillation.

Refugee Solidarity Movement Thessaloniki and Eidomeni - What we do.

A surge in arrivals at the Eidomeni transit camp on Greece's northern border with Macedonia obliged the Greek police to open the main camps in order to deal with the increase in refugee numbers. However, the Macedonian border was often closed in late January for long stretches at a time and without warning leading to long delays. Even when it was open only a trickle of refugees were allowed to cross in order to continue their journey north.

Once again the Refugee Solidarity Movement of Thessaloniki and Eidomeni were there to hand out hot, sweet tea and help out wherever there is a need. Thankfully, we have built up good working relations with NGOs who operate there 24/7 and volunteers from our group often lend a hand when things are rushed and help is needed.

Can you Help? Demand the Greek government treats refugees more humanely

 Over 1,000,000 million refugees entered Europe in 2015, more than 800,000 chose the Western Balkan route which took them to an obscure railway crossing near the tiny village of Eidomeni on  Greece's northern border with FYR Macedonia.

After a journey from the port of Pireaus that can last up to 20 hours refugees are rushed by the Greek police to the border. Volunteer groups and NGOs at the camp are often given as little as 10 minutes to hand out food, clothing, medical aid and information before crossing over.

There is the constant fear that the government of FYR Macedonia will permanently close down the border with Greece and so leave people stranded. When the border is open or closed seems to be completely at the whim of the FYR Macedonia government  and there is little or no co-operation between the authorities on both sides of the frontier and so little idea when and for how long the crossing remain shut.

For their part the Greek police who control acccess to Eidomeni also refuse to share information with NGOs and volunteer groups over when and how many refugees will be arriving at the camp on any given day, despite the fact that they control the flow from start to finish on the Greek mainland. Indeed since December the attitude of the police has perceptibly hardened, ranging from sullen indifference to active hostility, sometimes kicking out organisations such Médecins Sans Frontières all together, with little or no notice.

To make an already difficult situation worst, the police forbid access to the hot food, doctors, heated tents and other faciities that have been built recently at Eidomeni. Instead refugees are forced to wait endless hours at a road side petrol station/cafe 20km from the site whilst temperatures at night often drop to -15c. Here refugees are obliged to buy food and water whilst just a ten minute ride away volunteers wait to hand out such items at no cost.

Last week over 3,000 people, including many families with very young children were forced to endure extreme cold overnight while the camp remained half empty.

We are calling upon media outlets to highlight this scandalous abuse of refugees by the Greek authorities. The more international pressure is brought upon the SYRIZA government and prime minister, Alexis Tsipras the more likely refugees will receive more humane treatment on the Greek leg of their trek to safety.

Refugee Solidarity Movement Thessaloniki-Eidomeni

Video: Winter at Eidomeni - Refugees wait to cross the Greece - FYR Macedonia border

Over one million refugees entered Europe in 2015, the vast majority chose the Western Balkan route which leads from the Turkish coast via the Greek islands to Eidomeni, a tiny village on the Greek - FYR Macedonian border. Over 800,000 people have passed through this unofficial crossing point which is little more than a collection of tents armed guards and barbed wire before going on North to their final destination in nations such as Germany, Austria and Sweden.

Since May the Refugee Solidarity Movement Thessaloniki has been offering help to those making the trek north first in the city of Thessaloniki and then from September we have been going to Eidomeni where we serve hot tea and help out the other groups providing food, clothing and information to refugees arriving there.

The story so far - Feeding refugees in Thessaloniki, Greece

Today, I'm taking a day off, this will the second day off I've had in the last five weeks. What was once a small, part-time effort to feed refugees here in Thessaloniki has mushroomed into a seven days a week effort (see our Facebook page) that hands out cooked meals and other much needed items to anywhere between 30 and 100 refugees a day passing through the city on their way north. Even now I'm amazed by how quickly and how successfully this has taken off.

Five weeks ago it became clear that the number of refugees in need of help was far beyond the means of me and my friends and so I sent out a call for help via Twitter. the idea was that like-minded people would get together and see if we could organise ourselves and expand the help we could provide. That has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams and instead of just a couple of people handing of cooked beans in a park I'm proud to be part of a group that is able to help and information to hundreds every week.

After the first meet up, a number of volunteers are came forwards and quickly we formed ourselves into a much more effective group. I'm not sure if it was luck or good timing but along with the first wave of people to join us were those who possessed an immense range of vital skills as well as a genuine appetite for hard work. Amir, has proven to be a huge asset as he himself is from Afghanistan and not only helps with translation and cultural advice, but also other insights into what it means to be a refugee. That combined with the fact that he is an able manager meant that he kept us going off the rails, especially, in the beginning when we had the tendency to run around like headless chickens.

The same goes for Maria, a German exchange student who as well as bringing much needed structure to our group, has also been its calm centre when things threatened to grow too chaotic. That combined with her gift for languages, social media skills and ability to forge links with other, similar groups has been invaluable.

Giannis is a 70 year old Greek pensioner who catches two buses just to get to the centre of the city to help us. His passion and knowledge of the local political landscape proved vital in establishing links with and getting help from Thessaloniki city council. Thanks to his and other people's intervention the city has provided toilet facilities to refugees and 50 portions of cooked food a day along with a van and driver to assist us.

Another source of assistance has been our collaboration with the Oikopolis social centre who on hearing of our work opened their kitchen facilities to us. This along with the network of connections that have at their disposal has transformed our efforts. In addition to material help they have been able to put us in contact with other groups doing similar work in the city.

After the initial wave of people joining us with have also been lucky enough to attract other volunteers who make all this possible and often are lugging things in 35C summer heat. Literally, without them none of this would be possible. They are an international bunch and on any given day there may be anywhere between four and eight different nationalities taking part.

The ever tireless Gorka, a Spanish exchange student, Marina , from the Ukraine, also on an Erasmus program, Nikoleta, a first year psychology student who is a also a dab hand at DIY and organising people, Safar, our second Farsi speaker who is always willing to do whatever is needed, also willing to make sure the job gets done., Jason and Marcus, our Irish friends who have really been great in providing help, the wonderful people from Anatolia College who have regularly brought much needed sanitary items and clothing,... This list goes on and I know I have left out people who should be mentioned, but don't worry, over the next few days I'll be filling in the missing names.

To say the last few weeks have been transformative is an understatement, the fact that we not only got this feeding program up and running but in the midst of a crisis here in Greece is a testament to the strength of people's willingness to help.