Wednesday, March 1: Save the Children

Today we met with Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the lives of children. The meeting was very informative, with multiple presentations from different people within the organization. Save the Children fills an extremely important role for unaccompanied minors, or children who have made the journey from their countries to Greece without parents or any real legal guardian, and we were grateful to meet with them and gain their perspective on the refugee crisis.

Like IRC, Save the Children works throughout Greece, serving in a variety of roles; as their name implies, however, their primary focus is the care and support of children. Within the camps, both on the mainland and the islands, Save the Children has three main areas of focus: child protection and case management, education, and health and nutrition. The child protection aspect deals specifically with unaccompanied minors, the majority of which are young men between 15-17 years old, and helping them with their applications for refugee status and the subsequent process. The education, while not any kind of formal training that would document a refugee’s capabilities later on, does focus on literacy and numeracy, as well as English and Greek language skills. Finally, health and nutrition specifically focuses on pregnant and nursing mothers of infants. These all fill critical needs of refugees, particularly now that the immediate situation has stabilized and the refugees are entering a period of long-term care.

Much of the conversation centered around the challenges associated with the EU-Turkey deal and its implementation. Since the agreement, those who were in Greece have been stuck in limbo, unable to join their families by travelling through the Balkans, because Greece's northern borders are sealed. In the meantime, the current structures in place for relocation and asylum are moving very slowly, which places strain on both NGOs and the Greek government. Save the Children also discussed the challenge of providing services to all of the camps. The Greek government has sought to keep people from different countries apart as much as possible to reduce tensions. However, this increased the total number of camps, which makes provision of services by NGOs like Save the Children more difficult.

Overall, this meeting provided us with a valuable perspective on the challenges facing children in Greece. We were able to gather more nuanced information on the subject and candidly discuss the policy options available. We were impressed by the professionalism and passion of the staff who shared with us, and are grateful that they were able to make time for the meeting. As the emergency phase of the crisis subsides, it is important to keep in mind the important work that organizations like Save the Children are doing on a daily basis.