The Translation
Ritsona Refugee Camp, Greece. 20/21 May 2016. Read more on Grryo.
Hamza
Hamza, 14yr old. From Damascus, Syria. He likes Batman & Spiderman films, football, badminton & pizza. Sciences at school...but it has been 2 years since he was in school.
Men sit around talking & sharing a joke.
Shero 10yrs & Mohammad 13yrs both from Aleppo, perch on an old airforce base light. Both left Syria in April '16 and have been in camp 2 months. They 'love' chicken pizza & football.
People with skills, or not, have made their own furniture. Here a family have created an outside seating area.
Watching the daily football match. Many containers are around Ritsona, some NGO storage, some disused.
Children will always find time to play.
Food is delivered and handed out three times daily by Echo100plus.
Many people prefer to cook their own food and have made fires or homemade woodturning stoves for cooking on.
Mohammad, 40yrs & his 30yr old wife Aisa had the first baby to be born in camp. They named her Ritsona. She is 1 1/2 months old Ritsona, paralysed & has already undergone 2 operations leaving her with full length scars on her abdomen & the length of her spine. They are Syrian Kurds.
The first baby to be born in Ritsona. Her parents named her after the camp. Ritsona is 1 1/2 months old and already undergone 2 operations for paralysis.
A child plays with gravel, his only toys.
Fatima 57yrs cooks meals for her family on this fire daily. From Aleppo, Syria, 7 children, 5 sons & 2 daughters. Two sons are still in Syria, 1 in Norway. 5 of them live in one tent.
Weekly a doctor visits the camp. This is the paediatric & maternity clinic.
There are 9 showers on the camp for 900 people. Only 3 have hot water. Many days there is no water on camp.
Supplies delivered have bubbles for the kids.
A refugee is suggesting an organisational method to an NGO from Echo
A refugee whose trade is carpenter makes furniture for other out of anything he can find. Many skilled people at Ritsona, including approximately 50% ar university educated.
Abandoned buildings have been painted bright colours by NGO's. The blue building behind the tents is the medical centre where doctor's visit weekly.
Clothes drying on a line is a common sight.
A group of Syrians organised 8 teams, Tishreen; Rojava; Ismael; Jigar; Portugal; Ritsona; Tomorrow will be better & Aleppo. There was growing excitement about who would make the semi final.
Hadi is Hamza's 7yr old younger brother. He loves running, football, chicken & trees. Like many at Ritsona, Hadi has ptsd-depression & hyper arousal; on edge, irritability, angry outbursts and lack of concentration.
People light fires, not only for warmth but for light, cooking and to ward off the mosquitos, snakes, scorpions & wild boars. Fires are always burning at Ritsona & given that is in a pine forrest, there is real risk.
Kids run wild all day. Many left to find for themselves.
The evening meal : Refugees sit wherever they can & eat the provisions given to them twice daily. Cllothes dry on trees & they have tried to cover the open windows with plastic sheeting against the cold.
Woman with her newborn Hind-Hani, She has 3 children.
Lighthouse charity have completed a woman's area. A place where the women can go, remove their hijab and relax.
The daily football match is watched by spectators.
Waiting for paediatric clinic. Shirin, 10yrs from Aleppo loves dancing & football and her best friend Narges, prefers clothes..and football.
In one of the many abandoned buildings, women use whatever they can find or are given to create a home. A baby sleeps in the far corner, lovingly placed on a pillow & wrapped tightly.
Elena getting a hairstyle from Hadi & his friend.
Hamza telling his story of The Translation to a new volunteer.
Ritsona is in a sunken clearing surrounded by pine trees on an old disused airforce base.
Evening strong sweet coffee with some of the women by their tents. All wear coloured hijabs to show they are not part of Isis and the peace sign is shown everywhere. For people with so little, their warmth and generosity was humbling.
Alan (on the right) is a 28yr old teacher of 10-16yr olds and coached football. He has multiple dystrophy. A larger than life character, he is part of the group that started up the football league.
This family arrived today and are preparing the ground to lay the ground sheets on.
Hamza showing me how he wrote the letter in his tent.
A volunteer is setting up a class for the younger children.
