My friend Timothy Smith returned from Greece last night. He and his partner, Michael Honegger (they own the apartment where I have been staying) have been there for the past month providing hands on, first person aid to the refugees who are coming into Greece by the rubber boat loads mostly from Syria. They have done everything from pull people to shore as their boats reach Greece, to handing out water, juice, and hats to those who have just arrived, renting a car and driving refugees to their registration point, finally to chartering (at 300 euros a pop) busses from where folks land to the city 70 kilometers away, where the refugees must register. The first to arrive, early this past spring, had to walk those 70 kilometers. Tim described ordering boxes of hats (caps), 5000 at a time because most of the refugees have uncovered heads and the sun in Greece is blazing hot. Those hats are especially important for the children. A woman in the village where they are staying has a little restaurant where she has created a food kitchen of sorts, and where they sometimes make up to thousands of sandwiches a day to hand out. Tim described trying to communicate with Mom’s who needed to know if the meat in the sandwich was pork…he speaks Greek, French, English and probably something else, but not the language of the Syrians. After saying “chicken” a number of times and watching it not register, he “flapped his wings” and said “baaaak, baaaak, baaaak” much to the amusement and recognition of the refugees. Later, when he walked past a group of kids, he would hear “baaaak, baaaak, baaaak”…a rare moment of humor in a gravely desperate situation.

During our conversation last night I asked Tim, “Who are these people who are fleeing Syria by the thousands”? His response. They are school teachers, grocers, business people, homemakers, salespeople…the middle class of Syria. They are fleeing for their lives and have left EVERYTHING behind. There are some from Afghanistan and a very few from Pakistan. The vast majority are people like you and me, who fear for their lives and for the lives of their children.

Tim has a lifetime of experience working in developing countries for the World Bank. He is adept and flexible and knows how to get things done quickly, as does Michael after his lifelong career with the Peace Corps. If the restaurant owner needed 500 euros for sandwich ingredients, Tim had it at the ready and they found a truck to bring in supplies. If they needed cases of water or juice, Michael and Tim and others like them, purchased them and handed out drinks. Timothy set up a donation source and was overwhelmed by the amount of money that has poured in from friends, friends of friends, and people unknown to either Michael or Tim. Every single penny has gone directly to help the refugees and last night Tim told me when he pays for this last order of hats and flip flops, he will have exhausted all the funds he has collected. Slowly, very, very slowly and with cumbersome bureaucratic functionality the UN is beginning to respond to the refugee crisis. Had it not been for the Michaels and Timothys and hundreds of others like them who are volunteering time and expertise to provide first hand aid, many, many more lives would have been lost. As it happened, there have been numbers of victims, especially children, during the transit across the water from Turkey to Greece.

Timothy Jay Smith and Michael Honegger

Refugee photo by Michael Honegger

Tent City….there are no toilets!

Pink hats for everyone! Hey…it keeps the sun off their little heads.

Mother and child, newly arrived from Syria

For those of you who wonder why the refugees come across the water, the borders between Turkey and Greece and other European countries have been closed. What the refugees are doing by crossing the water to save their lives, is considered an illegal act.

This month in Greece was Michael and Timothy’s vacation and Tim’s time to continue writing on a play he has underway. These two world citizens turned their vacation time into an epic humanitarian effort. I am so grateful to know both of them and am so humbled by their generous spirits. That is why I call them true citizens of the world!!

All the refugee photos were taken by Michael Honegger.

AN ADDITION:

I copied Michael and Timothy on what I wrote about them for the blog. Just had this brief reply from Tim which I am passing on to you. I had some numbers wrong and they are buying ponchos, not flip flops!! Wherever did I get flip flops????/

FROM TIMOTHY THIS EVENING:
Just ordered 4,000 rain ponchos from UK. If we can work out customs with non-EU Norway, will order 10,000 used rain ponchos from Norwegian army. T.

Thanks, Susie, for the very nice write-up. Glad to be a citizen of the world!

I am not entirely backing off helping if I have funds. And I do have some remaining, though I am quickly depleting them. As I mentioned, I have ordered 8,000 more hats, am placing an order on Monday for 4,000 rain ponchos, and have been asked for another 10,000 ponchos for Mytilini! If people do ask you how to contribute, ask them to check out the instructions on my web page. I will keep helping as long as there is a need and I have donations. It is so great to have money to say: Sure, I can cover that! No committees, no votes, just good judgment (I hope!).

http://www.timothyjaysmith.com