On World Refugee Day, we had the privilege of hearing Almut Schlepper speak about her experience of working in Lesvos in the refugee camp of Pikpa at Trinity College Dublin. Her talk titled ‘Another drop in the ocean’ was an eye-opener in more ways than one. She presented staggering facts about refugee displacement such as how 65 million refugees and displaced people have doubled in the last 20 years.

Almut shared her experiences about the camp including how shelters were built, how food was made and many personal anecdotes. It was very insightful as it gave the audience direct access to what it was like to be at the forefront of the crisis. She spoke about the involvement of residents and the kind of jobs they did such as baking bread, making furniture, helping with construction, helping in the garden, cleaning, teaching each other, looking after each other’s children and much more. She also spoke about how fighting broke out in Moria and consequently, 350 Kurdish men, women and children arrived in the middle of the night looking for shelter.

t was very encouraging and inspiring for everyone present there as it fostered a spirit of solidarity and motivated everyone to help out in any way that they can. For those wishing to know more about getting involved please look at www.lesvossolidarity.org

Lastly, Almut shared this lovely poem by Amir Darwish called ‘Where I come from.’ You can also listen to it on YouTube under the same title.