Refugees – Latter-Day Saints

by Catherine and Tim Frodsham 3 February 2025

In the five months of our mission in Greece, we have visited with non-profit organizations talking about refugees, homeless, ROMA and other populations that are vulnerable and at risk. Through all of this, we never visited a refugee camp. The camps are closed to all visitors, and most NGOs (Non-Government Organizations, non-profit organizations to those in the USA) who work with the refugees establish community centers within walking distance of a camp. They supply food, legal help, education, recreation and other services to asylum seekers within the camps.

On Lesvos, a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea, the Mavrovouni refugee camp is located on the sea shore within view of Turkey. We visited with staff and volunteers of CMA (Crisis Management Association) who have rare access to the camp and staff a small dentist’s office and the only pharmacy in a camp housing 4000 refugees. The pharmacy is the size of a small RV, and receives orders to stock the pharmacy once a week on Thursdays. I watched as a young teen mother carrying her baby, stop to pick up her prescription just before the pharmacy closed. I will never forget the worried look on her face as she was told that her prescription would not be available until Friday, two days away.

The dentist’s office, in a nearby now familiar trailer, had two chairs. Doctors and other medical personnel volunteer to work in the camps and many bring their families to vacation while they serve. There was no one in the office at the time, the Christmas season and winter months that follow bring few volunteers. We talked to staff and volunteers from a number of NGOs, and to a person, they are caring and dedicated to serving the one. We got to know Teresa and Efi from CMA as they walked us through the camp and met with us throughout our visit. Their cheerful enthusiasm was surpassed only by their focus and enthusiasm for lifting the one.

As we toured the camp, we watched a woman approach Efi with a question. She was looking for a volunteer organization where she could wash her clothes but she could not read the English and Greek on the paper she was holding. Efi took her gently by the arm and led her along the path until she could point out the container where the NGO was housed. I was impressed that the woman trusted EFI enough to approach her with a question, and that EFI showed such love and tenderness as she led that woman to her destination. They could not speak the same language, but the language of love, acceptance and care speaks louder than words.

It is not all roses and happiness in the camps and among the migrants in Greece. The disposition, motives, honesty and aspirations of the migrants entering Greece are as varied as the migrants themselves. The Greek ministries of migration work unceasingly to find and detain the criminals, child traffickers and aspiring terrorists who are also infiltrating Greek shores. There are legal, moral, violence and other problems in the camps, but most who have entered Greek shores seek safety and some sort of life. We talked to one of the organizations who rescues migrants on the Mediterranean, and they informed us that attempts to cross the sea do not slow when conditions are dangerous, when boats are turned back, when rescue vessels are forbidden to search for floundering rafts on the high seas. They come because they feel they have no choice. The danger they face on the ocean crossing is small compared to the danger they faced in their home country. Refugees pay 700 Euros or more, even in the cheap months. We do not know what some pay during the best weather. The migrants are definitely being exploited. How very sad.

We walked by “Laundry facilities” in the camp. Laundry machines, donated by another NGO, consist of spinning drums cranked by hand. We watched two young men laughing and as they vigorously crank the drums, then wring out pairs of pants by hand. Housing is in ‘containers’ which have a curtain down the middle. A family is housed in each half of the container.

We also visited another organization Catherine found online called “Safe Passage”. They retrieve dinghies, abandoned on the shore and used life vests and rope. They take these materials back to their shop and they clean them and make them into earrings, pencil cases, back packs, coasters, bowls, etc. We went to their shop and purchased a large amount of items to bring home to our grandchildren. We want to tell them the stories of the people who have left their countries because of war and oppression and for their safety. They have brought their children to another land where they don’t speak the language or know the culture. They struggle when they get to Greece too. Greece takes their passports and they have to apply for Asylum. Some of them wait for months or years and some are turned down. Then they receive no help. Some do get Asylum and can move to another country in Europe or stay in Greece. It is a very hard life and a life that is hard for us to imagine. We want our grandchildren to know of how blessed they are when they use that pencil case or wear those earrings made out of a broken dingy left on a shore in Lesvos, Greece.

One thing we have learned from our mission is that we are very blessed in America. We have freedoms that a lot of the world do not have. We need to be mindful of others and do all we can to serve those who are in need.

Catherine compared this with conditions back in the United States; children and adults that have never known a day of hunger or wondered where and when the next meal would come from. Children, teenagers and many adults are no happier at home in the Unites States in all of our opulence than the children squealing with laughter among the trailers and container houses in a refugee camp. Children in the simplest of circumstance. Adversity and trial bring strength. Hardship is an integral part of His plan.

Nan, an alternate restaurant where patrons pay what they can

Before leaving the island, we bore testimony to Teresa and Efi about the humanitarian work of the church, that funds for humanitarian work come from all aspects of life. From the richest of businessmen to the tiny child in primary, donating her pennies. We do this because of Jesus Christ. We do this to follow Him.

We are so fortunate to serve in Greece, this beautiful 2nd world country with such a rich gospel history. We love reading Acts and knowing the places Paul is talking about as he went around preaching the gospel. We have been to many of those places. Greece is in our hearts and we will miss this land and this people when we return home.

Refugee Camps in Greece

Tim Frodsham, 11 December 2024

Back in the days of wood burning cell phones, I took a first aid class from the Red Cross. One of the subjects we covered was approaching emergency situations such as a car wreck or earthquake. The first step arriving on scene is assessment. Whose needs are the most critical? The answer is not the ones who are screaming. Their hearts are pumping and obviously, their lungs work just fine. Their situation may be serious, but they are alive, and at least for a time, they can wait. The ones whose needs are the most serious are the quiet ones, the ones who are silent and still. Their heart may have stopped or they may not be breathing. These are the ones for whom seconds may count, the ones whose needs are most dire.

Distributing Clothes at a community center serving refugee camps near Serres

In Greece, we have a perfect storm of refugee and homeless needs. Most refugees arrive in Greece on flimsy boats or rafts, coming from Turkey or Africa. The branch president of Thessaloniki described the journey of a recent arrival to several of the migrants who attend the branch and was surprised at the minimal response he received. It turns out that most of them had arrived on Greek shores via boat as well. One of the members attempted the boat crossing 20 times before he was successful. Incredible stories of persistence and faith reside right in his little branch.

Refugee Camp outside Serres, Greece

The Greek government ministries are attempting to handle a surge of migrants on budgets that were fixed years ago. We hear much about the situation of Migrants in Athens where we live. We are a metro ride from many of these organizations and visit them often. Thousands are in need of even the basics, food and clothing, and the shouts are continuous about their predicament.

The needs of Migrants in the refugee camps are even more desperate, particularly those on the Greek Islands. They lack the most basic necessities such as blankets and sheets, and winter is here. Scabies and other skin diseases are rampant through the camps. From the islands, we here stories of refugees, including women and children, sheltering in cardboard boxes during the rain. Funding is just not there, and the tiny populations of these islands cannot cope with the surge. The number of unaccompanied children arriving in Greece is also on the rise. Most come on their own, but some lost parents on the ocean crossing to Greece. These are the silent ones. Their plight is every bit as bad as a hurricane or earthquake survivor, but they don’t show up on the evening news. Due to their isolation, they are invisible.

NGO Light Without Boarders outside a refugee camp in Serres

When migrants reach Greek shores, most are picked up, or report themselves to the Hellenic Police, the national police department. The HP are tasked with processing each migrant, checking papers, trying to identify the terrorists and criminals among the many who are simply seeking asylum. This process can take less than a week, or up to six months. At this time, the migrants are put in the queue for an asylum interview. While being processed, they are held in detention centers and cannot leave. Due to the surge in migrants and lack of funding, many in these centers do not have even bedding and basic hygiene supplies.

Habibi Community Center outside a refugee camp near Ioannina

Once released from the detention centers, the Migrants are transferred to a refugee camp, run by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (MoMA). Fixed budgets and surges in refugees have left many of the asylum seekers in these camps destitute as well. As in the detention centers, they lack blankets and bedding. In these camps, migrants wait for their asylum interview, which can take months, and then for the results of the interview, which can can take months or even years. During this wait, they receive a monthly stipend from the government, in the order of 70 euros a month. Families receive more, but it is still very small. After several months, an asylum seeker is eligible to find a job, but with unemployment in Greece at 35%, that is difficult. Many find jobs in the tourism industry, but the pay and benefits are small.

If a migrant is granted asylum, they are eligible to apply for travel papers and in many cases, a passport. If they are not granted asylum, they may appeal. Once a decision is made, all loose government benefits, including health care.

JRS Refugee School in Athens

There are many migrants in Greece who were denied asylum or are in Greece illegally. They cannot legally work and have no government benefits. Many women in this situation resort to prostitution, which pays as little as 3 euros a day (about $3.50). We had a woman at our church who was drawn to the missionaries and wanted to be baptized. She walked this very path and wanted to change her life.

Loading food bags at InterSOS

NGOs (Non Government Organization, to those from the states, a non-profit) are doing all they can to assist migrants and other vulnerable in Greece. Vela, an NGO working in Eastern Europe focuses on the unaccompanied children. They have established Safe Zones where the children receive shelter and food as well as medical and psycho-social support. Due to overcrowding and lack of funds, particularly on the Islands, many unaccompanied children reside in the regular refugee camps where they are susceptible to exploitation and abuse. Through the church, we did a quick project to supply blankets, coats and hygiene supplies to these Zones.

Distributing food and hygiene supplies at Koumoundourou Square. Photos courtesy of Ithaca Laundry

The men and women of the Greek Ministries are tireless in their efforts to cope with the crisis, but the asylum and refugee system in Greece is simply overwhelmed, and the humanitarian needs are great. The problem is multifaceted, and as a church, we cannot solve all of these problems, but we can help. One of God’s children at a time.

We love serving in Greece. The stories are hard to hear and the work seems endless, but we are His hands in ministering to those least fortunate.