by ERICA LYONS
Special to the Sounder
Dr. Kate Jewell of Orcas Island will be traveling the first week of December to Lesvos, Greece, with Third Wave Volunteers, a U.S.-based non-profit. Although she has been planning for this trip for months, recent events have only strengthened her resolve.
“I think their reality has spoken to me on a subconscious level,” Jewell said. “The refugees are simply people trying to survive. I have the time, ability, and desire to help. With Third Wave Volunteers I have a way to help. So I will.”
Thousands of people are arriving daily on the Greek island of Lesvos by attempting a dangerous crossing of the Aegean Sea. Many of these people cross in this manner from Turkey to Greece after walking hundreds of miles on foot. Some of them are suffering from shrapnel and bullet wounds. They carry their children and their elderly in their arms and give every penny they have to crowd onto these boats, often no more than half-inflated rubber rafts that are falling apart. If they make it to the refugee camps on Lesvos, they begin a long wait while their papers are processed before being allowed through to other sites in Europe.
According to Jewell, those who survive the crossing arrive on Lesvos soaking wet, freezing, hungry and terrified. The volunteers of Third Wave can be found, here, ready to help. It is a mad dash to bring them out of the water before they freeze, or worse. Sometimes the boats capsize as they get closer to land, and babies and elderly are sent flying. Volunteers scramble to grab them before they drown. Shivering people are stripped of their soaked clothing and wrapped in foil blankets before being sent up the hill for dry donated clothing and shoes, water and emergency food. Silence falls over the rocky shoreline and all that is left behind are tattered life vests and deflated rafts bobbing in the waves. Until the next round of boats are spotted.
There aren’t reliable banking options near the camps, so Jewell will be bringing all monetary donations with her physically after being converted to Euros. Cash not applied towards basic costs will go directly towards relief. Foil blankets, water, hand and foot warmers, emergency food rations, and solar powered lights are the most important.
The encampments are pitch black at night and there is no power, so solar powered lighting options are crucial. Inflatable solar lanterns cost $10-$15 each, and a significant portion of donation funds will go directly to buying lanterns.
A fund has been set up at Key Bank to help with costs, and contributions would be welcomed with great gratitude, says Jewell.
Donations will be accepted under the account name: Kate Jewell Third Wave Refugee Fund. To contact Jewell, call 376-7663.
