Have you ever seen a refugee camp. The one we were working at today was exactly that: tent, washing lines, people huddled round fires burning in oil drums, but also children playing on a slide that someone had given. This is to say nothing of the vast array of clothing, but also bags of wet clothing waiting to be washed.
The first bus arrived with a boat load of refugees. The men queue and my job is to make sure the do so in an orderly way. It isn't raining and so they are good humoured. Many have shoes soaked through and we have so few shoes that most can only be given socks. Some have wet trousers and no jackets. Some are really fussy and won't accept the clothing we have on offer - too bad, it is all we have.
All this is unnecessary. Were the refugees processed in Turkey only four miles across the sea, they could arrive by ferry dry and warm. Better still they could cut Lesbos out of their route and go straight to Athens en route to their final destination.
More tomorrow and rain is forecast.
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