Samos Transitions
An Impact Highlight from our 2021 Annual Report
Hans Peter Gürtner
Hans Peter Gürtner
Samos is a Greek Islands, close to the Turkish coast, and therefore one of the biggest hotspots for arrivals of refugees in the EU by sea. The main camp on Samos was Vathy, which was set up to host about 650 people in 2015 and over the next five years came to host over 7,000. Many people lived in makeshift tents in inhumane conditions.¹ Over the past year, Samos residents faced further upheavals when due to the violence and chaos created during 2020 Moria fires, Vathy camp was closed down by the Greek government in preparation for replacement by a new closed camp.²
With only one central NGO present to handle core relief item (CRI) distributions for thousands of Samos residents, the smooth transition of operations was of utmost importance during these upheavals. Twice this year, CRI distributions were handed over from one organisation to another: in February 2021 from Refugee4Refugees to Drop in the Ocean, and in August 2021 from Drop in the Ocean to Samos Volunteers. It was only because all three of them were using Boxtribute that we were able to secure a continuous availability of distributions without any interruptions. We consulted all three organisations throughout the transition processes, transferring about 1,200 boxes (about 100,000 aid items) and data on former distributions each time.
¹ Marion MacGregor, "'Jungle' to 'prison' for migrants on Samos island", InfoMigrants (InfoMigrants), June 17, 2022
² "Greece inaugurates 'closed' refugee camp", dw.com (Deutsche Welle, September 18, 2021)
