Help the Refugees in Lesvos, Greece

Dear friends, family and strangers,

For those that do not know us, our names are Arzo Wardak (Washington, D.C.) and Jasmine Afshar (San Diego). We are both involved with advocacy and policy work. When we first learned of the plight of these poor refugees in Lesvos, Greece, our hearts sank. All we could think of is what if they were our family members? What if those refugees were our friends? Then it occurred to us that they once were. Many of our family members have been through that same terrible journey. Some were lucky to have survived it, some were jailed and tortured for having been caught, others died along the way or were simply killed. Our parents were some of the lucky ones and it is because of them that we were blessed to have been given a privileged life. But now that same privilege affords us the opportunity to give back and help those facing the very same journey. 

So this is our plea for your help. Not help for us, but help for the thousands of Afghan and Syrian refugees that arrive each day in Lesvos Island, Greece. These refugees have faced their boats capsizing, their family members drowning, dangerous medical conditions, all resulting in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. As the weather deteriorates drastically, the situation becomes even more dangerous and the conditions are more life threatening than ever before. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of both medical and humanitarian aid, as well as volunteers. And we intend to help with both.

You see, there are currently only two Afghan volunteers that can help translate for the Afghan refugees but they will soon be leaving. We will be traveling to Lesvos, Greece to continue the work of these amazing Afghan volunteers. We will each cover our own travel, food and accommodation expenses and not one penny of donations will go towards any personal costs. All funds raised here will go directly to helping the refugees in the following ways:

-Purchasing food from local sources (this helps stimulate the local economies of the island, which is already facing a crisis of its own due to the huge influx of refugees.
-Emergency aid and equipment (this will be determined once I am there and will be based on the immediate need at the time)
-Warm clothing and shoes (refugees arrive with soaked shoes and clothes, resulting in poor health)
-Special help for pregnant women, new mothers, and babies
-Feminine products 
-Hygiene Kits
-Blankets and sleeping bags
 
Why is it so important that we go? Because there are too few volunteers as it is and the Afghan refugees do not have anyone to translate for them. The language barriers continue to be a significant problem as 40% of the refugees speak Farsi and are from Iran or Afghanistan. Providing them with medical care, humanitarian aid, advice, directions, basically anything, has been a significant challenge because no one speaks Farsi. Having someone there that speaks their language will not only help an emergency crisis situation, but it will also help ease the trauma of this terrible experience they're going through. It can save the families from significant hassle if they can receive the help and guidance they need in their own language. 

We are going to devote our time to do this work but we need all of your help. We need as much help as we can possibly get. And we will document all of our purchases and expenditures and will update all our donors accordingly, as well as post up videos and pictures so you can all see the meaningful impact your contribution will have made.

Whatever you can contribute is greatly appreciated. Even if you can share this post with your networks, that will also be helpful. Thank you so much for your consideration and help!

Love,
Arzo & Jasmine