Gevgelija Refugee Camp

“All human wisdom is summed up in two words – wait and hope.”

– Alexandre Dumas

Zo is home from Gevgelija, where he took diapers, wipes, and diaper rash cream to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Camp.  Here are his first thoughts, as he told them to me. Please understand that he hasn’t had time yet to process what he saw/experienced, so his thoughts are a bit raw and scattered. It was an emotionally taxing day, to say the least.

REFUGEES:  The camp was expecting an influx of 2,000 refugees today. Instead, they received over 12,000. By the time Zo arrived, at 11 am, they were completely out of food. 

It was a mixture of men, women, and children, from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. Just today, the camp volunteers processed (a fancy term for writing peoples’ names on a sheet of paper) 50 infants.

VOLUNTEERS:  There are volunteers from several NGOs (non-governmental organizations), as well as the Red Cross, the UN, and police/military forces from Macedonia, and the UN. They were maintaining order as best they could, given the fact that there were, at any given time, 5,000 refugees and 25 officials patrolling the wire fencing.  When refugees (including entire families) would jump the fence and run, the military police, in full swat gear, would chase them down and return them to the camp so they could be processed according to UN requirements.

CAMP:  The camp is an open field, approximately 2-4 acres, that is surrounded by wire, with a large rolling gate at the front.  There is a second gate on one side, where the refugees enter, from Greece. Inside the camp, while Zo was there, were about 2,000 people, with another 2,000-3,000 on the Greek side, awaiting entry.  There were also 1,000-2,000 people standing in groups on a bridge in Gevgelija, awaiting transportation via bus to Serbia. Another large group of people were at the train station, on one side of the camp, awaiting trains that never came.  On the news, last night, it was reported that the Railroad Union had gone on strike today; however, there was no official word from them.  Whatever the reason, there were no trains.

TRENDS:  Zo asked one of the women, who has been volunteering at the camp for two months, if she is noticing any trends. She said, at the beginning, it was mostly men, but recently the number of women and children is increasing. She also said that the numbers are growing, not dwindling. He also asked her about their greatest needs and she said the following:

• Shoes
• Warm Clothes
• Women's Hygiene Items
• Blankets
• Stretchers
• Wheelchairs

WHAT NEXT:  We have no idea. Honestly. We talked tonight, and decided to sleep on it and talk again tomorrow.  Zo is definitely going back.  And we have more diapers and wipes to take, but it seems like such a small drop in the bucket, when the need is so great.

A couple of things that he said:

1. The secular groups are not providing what the refugees need most – hope. 
2. There needs to be more civilians there, because the refugees show a lot of fear and mistrust of the people in uniforms.
3. Many of them speak English.
4. It seems to be a safe place, other than the risk of stampede, which is quite high.

This is all, for now. We will continue to update as we learn more about the situation. Please continue to pray for the refugees and for the people who are trying to help them.