Today was a busy day for our Catholic Relief Service delegation.  We are seeing more and more refugees and the various humanitarian efforts underway by CRS, Caritas Athens and Caritas Hellas (Caritas Greece).  It might be possible for you the reader to imagine how fluid and changing the refugee crisis in Greece is; or perhaps it might be hard to understand that there is a crisis in Greece and why it affects those of us in the United States.  Therefore, it might be worthwhile to hear what is known and not known about this situation. Continue reading “Things Known and Unknown in a Fluid Refugee Situation” →

 

As posted earlier, we worked at the Caritas Athens Refugee Soup Kitchen today.  These are some pictures of where we were and what we saw.  Peace. Continue reading “The Caritas Athens Refugee Soup Kitchen” →

 

This is a brief update on out Catholic Relief Services visit to Greece and Serbia where hundreds of thousands of refugees are coming to make their way to what they hope is a better life.  It is brief because after a long day we are back in our hotel, it is late and we will be up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to be at the pier when the first boats with refugees arrives in Athens.

There are two brief thoughts that I want to mention tonight and I will I elaborate on them in the next day or so.  The first relates to the photo above.  In graffiti it reflects Continue reading “Refugee Tidal Wave on a Small Shore” →

 

Our Catholic Relief Services delegation was able to depart Dulles International just as Snowmageddon 2016 was hitting the Washington area.  After a 4-5 hour delay to get de-iced we were off, evidently the last flight that left Dulles on Friday.  We missed our connection in Paris and ended up on a connecting flight through Frankfurt.  More on that part of our trip in a bit.  First it may be good to share some first thoughts since arriving here in Athens as a backdrop for the posts to come.   Continue reading “From Athens – First Thoughts” →

  
Our Catholic Relief Services delegation is about to board our flight from Washington, DC to Athens, Greece.  The snow is really coming down but we are confident of an on time departure.

Over the past few weeks we have all been asked why we are going to Greece and Serbia to see the refugee crisis first hand and what we hope to accomplish.  These are good questions.   I will be providing some answers to those questions and others over the next few days. 

As a bit of background, this is what we understand as of now.  The refugee issue in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and the Balkans in general is the largest and most serious refugee crisis since World War II.  Quite literally, millions of people have been displaced from their homes, families and any semblance of normal life by the war in Syria and ISIS.  These refugees are truly fleeing for their lives, seeking safety for themselves.  When vast numbers of people are on the move looking to escape violence it creates a humanitarian crisis.  Most refugees fled with few or no possessions and need food, shelter, clothing and in some cases medicines and medical attention.  

We will be able to see the situation firsthand, meet many refugees and aid workers, and hear their stories.  I look forward to reporting on what we see; the plight of the refugees as well as the response of CRS, other aid groups and the world to this crisis.