Tickets for shoes...and time for tea

Thursday was a cold, windy, but SUNNY day.  The camp was bustling today…people were definitely out and about since it wasn’t raining.  That completely changes the atmosphere. 

Today my job was ticket duty—for shoes.  I paired up with Marlin, another volunteer (20 year old) here who happens to be ex-Amish from Lancaster county and now lives in Perry county!?  We were walking through one section all morning, collecting ID #’s, family members and shoe sizes to give them tickets to go get shoes on Saturday.  I loved every minute of it…the challenges with the language barrier, the friendliness and hospitality. 

We were invited into two “homes” for tea during our morning route.  What an honor and gift to give these people to allow them to come into their home.  The first home visit was with Ali from Afghanistan.  He has been here 6 months with his family.  In Afghanistan, he was a driver for the government.  Our second visit was with a young adult male, and his girlfriend (who he met here).  Hakimullah has been here for a year and is from Afghanistan.  He was a student in Afghanistan (he’s 22) and studied engineering.  His family is scattered, some still in Afghanistan and a sister in Sweden.  He wants to get to London.  His girlfriend, Batoul, is from Iran.  His home here in camp is literally a small guard shack!  It’s amazing how many they have packed into every possible structure, and build every possible structure to provide some sort of housing.

 

        Visiting with Ali

        Visiting with Hakimullah and Batoul

Marlin and I went to a nearby food truck for lunch and were going to continue with shoe tickets in the afternoon. 

         Lunch with Marlin

However, he got pulled into another job, and I was paired up with Maria, another volunteer here from Austria.  We worked together for a few hours, and were invited into the home of Maham.  Her son joined us, while her baby was sleeping beside us.

         Visiting with Maham

The entire time we were walking to each unit, many come out of their units, “chasing” us down with their papers to try to get their shoes.  We need to explain to them that we will be coming to them in a certain order (each housing unit is numbered and we are following a map). 

Although it was difficult to communicate much with those we visited, we managed pretty well.  Google translate works wonders, and you do a lot of charades.  We can bring a bit of laughter and joy to them.  We talk about families, siblings, hobbies, things like that.  We pull up pictures on our phones to share.  Honestly, these are good, honorable people.  Many talked about how bad it was where they were and how this isn’t what they expected.  They all still seem to have hope…it’s amazing.  Many have journeyed far…from Afghanistan to some time in Turkey and then coming on a boat (raft) to Greece.  These people are resilient.  I wish there was more I could do. 

We are not allowed to take photos in the camp.  However, when we are inside their home, with their permission, we can take photos.  They all want the photos on their phones too.  I am happy to have these…so I can pray for them. 

So, while today was a good day, I have many mixed emotions.  So many beautiful people…