Today’s story comes from the unlikely location of the tranquil Greek island of Lesbos which is a renowned tourist destination with azure waters and pristine white beaches. In stark contrast, the other side of the island sees thousands of refugees arriving daily en route to Europe. Among them are migrants of all ages fleeing Syria’s civil war; new-born babies to nonagenarians.
Waiting to help them on the beaches of Greece are volunteers from Israel’s IsraAID medical team; a mix of doctors and nurses, both Jewish and Arab, Christian and Muslim. There are many other teams volunteering on the island; but very few are medically equipped and trained, so the Israeli doctors and nurses from the IsraAid team help refugees that are dehydrated or are experiencing symptoms consistent with exposure to the elements.
Many of them have lost all their personal belongings along the way as smugglers steal or throw things overboard. They have experienced hostility in so many forms so, the IsraAid team assessed the situation and realized that one of the biggest needs was to be able to communicate with the refugees who come off the boat in their own language. It is for this reason that their team from Israel has Arabic speakers. The results have been tremendous. For these people who have seen unspeakable hardships; being able to understand, be understood, receive medical care and instructions on where to go and what to do next; alleviates some of the trauma.
Even though Israel and Syria are at war politically, none of that is of any significance here on the island. According to the team leader, even when the Syrians realize who their rescuers are they’re just happy to see them.