Day 6: Something between Pineapple and Avocado - the Farm Home for All

Today we have a special day ahead of us, where we will see a bit more of the island outside the capital. At 9:30 we set off, a van and truck from the NGO Home For All pick us up and take us to their farm near Lampou Mili.

Home for All was founded by a Greek couple and has been active in refugee assistance here in Lesbos since 2015, from the arrival of the first refugees to today.
Home for All provides hot meals to the refugees at Kara Tepe, organizes educational and training opportunities for children and young people, helps refugees communicate with authorities, and often simply provides human closeness and warmth.

During a tour, we explore the very large farm and the vegetable fields where a great variety is grown: salad, olive trees, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, eggplants, huge wildflower fields for bees and other insects, along with more animals: lambs, 130 chickens, dogs, cats, donkeys, peacocks, and geese.

We meet a Greek staff member who talks to us about the situation of refugees in Lesvos. She says that people in Kara Tepe at least have a chance of integration due to the location of the camp. There are many NGOs in the city and surrounding areas where they can seek help. The new camp in the forest will lead to total social isolation. The media has reported a lot about Kara Tepe, but mostly in a manipulated way. She worked there as a cleaner and initially was afraid to work there because seeing the misery was psychologically very difficult for her.

At noon, we are led to the “Kitchen”. A small house with an industrial kitchen and beautifully set tables awaiting us with a wide view of the mountains and fields. Here, a very generous lunch is prepared for us, which we share with the staff. We engage in conversations and warm laughter with everyone.

Thanasis is a cook originally from the mainland, came as a volunteer in 2019, and has stayed to this day. He shares: “Back then, the Moria camp still existed, which was supposed to be an emergency camp with 3000 people. But I was overwhelmed by the reality of the refugees, as I saw 20,000 people in cramped quarters in this camp. The island community created this initiative to help. For example, I taught cooking classes for minors in Moria.
We from Home For All are independent of the government and decided to work only with donations. We want to stay as independent as possible, which is why we started growing as much as we can ourselves in 2020 to reduce costs.

The organization MSF gives us a list of special dietary needs in the camp, such as those required due to diabetes. Unfortunately, the camp's catering cannot meet these needs, so we take on this task. We cook around 400 meal packages every day from Monday to Saturday for the people in the camp. Some packages also go through a cooperation with the Orthodox Church to schools with children in need of support. Some packages even go to the police, as they also have temporary cells without catering. We try to reach as many vulnerable groups on the island as possible.

In addition to food packages, we also organize experience days for school groups, and people from the camp can come to us for meals, especially single mothers and families.
One special aspect is that the project is inclusive and aims to bring all people together, not just refugees. The local villagers in this area support us and find our project valuable.”

We stock up on olive oil for home and get back into the cars. Thanasis takes us to where the Moria camp used to be. Upon arrival, we see a not-so-large empty military area surrounded by walls and fences. We ask how 20,000 people lived here. Thanasis explains that at one point there were so many that they also inhabited the nearby hills outside these walls. It was supposed to accommodate around 3000 but was counted at 23,000 people at the time of the fire.

The new unopened camp in the forest in Vastria is supposed to be a closed camp. Thanasis fears that the situation in the forest could also be very dangerous if another fire breaks out. Furthermore, the nearest village is, for example, 30 minutes away by car. We ask if their work won't be immensely difficult if the new camp is even further away due to food distribution. He confidently responds that no matter how far away it is, they will continue their work as long as there is a need.

With this motivating statement, we get back in the cars and are driven back to the capital. Thus, the last official appointment of the trip is over and the rest of the day is spent visiting the Mosaik Community Center, which operates upcycling and started in 2015 to collect and repurpose the many rescue boats and life vests of the refugees on the island into bags, coasters, and many other creative items. We stock up on souvenirs there and enjoy the rest of the day by buying final souvenirs, having coffee, at the beach, and winding down the day.

In the evening, groups have formed, and some were alone, to gather the many impressions of the past days. Some people enjoyed the fantastic food one last time before taking a midnight stroll along with a night swim in the sea and having one last drink at the beach. During this time, we witnessed a night patrol of the Coast Guard heading out to sea, without lights but at high speed... accompanied by a disturbing feeling after everything we had heard about it.