26 January 2017 | Katerini, Greece [Slavica Marčeta] Croatian Adventist youth have found a more rewarding way to make good use of their winter holidays. After meeting Tihomir Lipohar of ADRA Germany who is supervising work in Greece, they chose to volunteer at a refugee camp in Katerini, just south of Thessaloniki, 26 December – 8 January 2017.
The Adventist high school in Maruševec, Croatia, has a long history of co-operating with ADRA, and participating in humanitarian work. Working together with the Youth Ministries department of the Adriatic Union, a small group of students and three staff chose to leave behind family, friends, and holiday cheer and exchange it, with some anxiety, for a refugee camp.
At least the weather was good. Sunny weather and a pleasant 20°C warmed their worried hearts as they spent the first day with the Greek army who manage the camp. Apart from the guided tour, most of the day was spent in bureaucracy, with meetings, introductions, conversations, but little opportunity to actually meet the refugees.
They did meet other volunteers – among them Ana Josipović, a worker with ADRA Greece. Together with Lipohar she took charge of the Croatian youth’s stay and activities. The following days passed quickly, meeting the refugees, organising workshops and day care activities, and starting work on refurbishing their community room.
Youth painted the walls, arranged special space for day care, and, with the help of the children, decorated it. Both children and adults from the camp happily joined the efforts. Some of them surprised the teens with their talents. The rest of the space was turned into a small kitchen, a laundry room, and a living room with a TV set.
Most of the refugees are from Syria and have now been living in tents for over a year – in addition to their trying and often dangerous journey to Greece which, for some, lasted for several months. Syrians are usually convivial, but the ones in this camp had, at least to a degree, lost that quality. Living in tents has reduced their status to one of mere survival. However, as the days passed by, the volunteers were happy to see more and more people coming to the community room and regaining some of their spirit.
Once the decorating was complete, the youth started to organise some activities. This meant that the children and the young people without parents could spend their free time in a more creative fashion. Suddenly some old social games played in Croatia a long time ago suddenly became useful again, and fun.
The youth also discovered how language can be an obstacle to playing even the most simple games. “Our young people showed great desire, imagination, and spirit, and did their best to make the afternoons and the evenings as interesting as possible,” one of the leaders commented.
As youth and refugees spent more time together, the community room gradually got more crowded with men and their wives. New friendships were made and the youth heard a lot of sad stories about getaways, destroyed homes, lost family members, and separations from spouses and children. The stories were disturbing, even heart-wrenching. They were in stark contrast to the lives of even the poorest youth on the trip. It gave a new meaning to thankfulness and dependence on God.
In addition to providing for their material needs, the primary aim of ADRA in Greece is to try to improve the quality of life among the refugees. This is specifically important in endeavouring to improve the quality of their free time, their social life, and in reinvigorating their social skills. The volunteers work aimed to help in these areas, and never lacked in enthusiasm.
The youth were especially moved by our last night at the camp. They arrived at the community room to find a strange commotion in progress. They soon discovered that the whole camp was preparing a special dinner for them as a sign of gratitude for all they had done.
The refugees baked around 150 traditional Syrian loaves, made chickpea falafel, and then served it with their traditional and delicious spices, gravies, and fillings. Many of them worked for hours just to prepare this treat. “Our hearts were filled with joy,” the youth responded. “They reminded us of the story of the poor widow in the temple who gave away everything she had. In the same way our friends from the camp gave everything they had just to show their gratitude.”
Travelling home the youth remembered the words of Jesus, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” [Matthew 25,40] They may not have directly said much about God or biblical principles, but they showed that they care. Above all, they showed the camp residents that they are not just refugees; they are first of all God’s children; people that have a special value not just in our eyes, but in God’s eyes too.
While the Christmas break undoubtedly benefited the refugees, it also made a big difference in the lives of the youth. In thanking Tihomir Lipohar, ADRA Greece and ADRA Croatia for providing this special adventure they talked about how it enriched their lives. They said, “It has made us more committed to humanitarian work, and it has reminded us of what it means to be a Christian, and how important it is to engage in a selfless service.” [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Esti Pujic, associate editor
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tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division.
