We would like to wish all our supporters warm greetings from our team here on Lesvos and in Zurich as the new year beginns. We hope you are all well despite another year full of challenges. Our sewing project had a slow start to the year with the Greek lockdown until June meaning we only had a half a year of classes but, despite this, we have been delighted with the support we have received and our workshop has been busy over the last few months ensuring all your wonderful orders are met.
Update on Mavrovouni Camp
The end of the year has seen significant further changes inside the refugee camp where Lesvos refugees live. The best of all are that, after so many years of hygienic issues and he stay in tents, finally new containers with toilets and hot water showers connected to the municipal water supply were put in place across numerous sites in the camp. Also, all those residents who were living in tents have been moved into improved Refugee Housing Units (RHUs) over the past few weeks. This move did not prevent many individuals living in tents during extremely cold weather of the beginning and middle of December.
At the start of December, Pope Francis paid a visit to the residents of the camp and delivered a strong message to European countries;
We are living in the era of barbed wire and walls…please let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!”.
Pope Francis
Over all the camp population has continued to decrease to a total of 1831 as of as 17th December. Asylum applications continue to be issued at a faster pace and individuals then move either to the Greek mainland or further into Central Europe with the hope of applying for Asylum again in that country.
Aegean Sea Crossings: The week before Christmas 31 deaths and 3 shipwrecks
Sadly, we also need to report the tragic recent events in the Aegean sea which illustrate just how many people are still attempting to reach Greece and how the Coast Guard are handling the situation. According to figures from the Aegean Boat Report, the week before Christmas was the most deadly week of the year with 31 deaths and 3 shipwrecks, including one near the island of Paros where 16 deaths have so far been confirmed from the 88 on board. Overall during this week, there were 51 attempted crossings with 1201 people, of which 39 were stopped from reaching their intended destination.
News in the Sewery
We have been working hard on some exciting developments to expand our range of bags on offer to our supporters. Tila, one of our sewing teachers, has done some great work to design a few new bags to test and we are now experimenting with these samples to see if they can be added to our product range in 2022. They will allow us create a wider range and more affordable selection of products whilst reaching a new audience and supporting students at our classes to learn the sewing of new products.
