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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 26, 2015 | 36 Editor's Note: This column was submitted by Janet Barber of Janet Barber Aquatics Team, Oakville. With philanthropy efforts already made over the years, Barber and her business, are again contemplating how to help and their first stop is creating awareness. Witnessing Syrian refugee plight up close I n late August, I went on a trip with my daughters, Jen and Sarah, to Greece and Turkey. Our plan was to meet my childhood friend Lena, whose family owns a property on the island of Samos, and then travel with her to Turkey. Prior to leaving Oakville, we were exposed to many different media reports regarding upheaval in Greece, as well as mass exodus of refugees mostly from Syria, but other countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. Our first-hand account of suffering, desperate and displaced people made a lasting impression on us all. We were left with a genuine need to figure out how we could help. When we arrived on the island of Samos, we were awestruck by the scenery and the vast and beautiful Aegean Sea. Upon waking our first morning, we were shocked by what appeared to be small dinghies heading toward our shoreline. Refugees from Syria land in Turkey via dinghy. After coming ashore, those seeking life in a new country begin the long trek to the Port of Vathy, where they are processed and begin a journey through Europe, via Athens, Greece. | submitted photos Day after day dinghies arrived Once our eyes adjusted, we realized these boats were not only overloaded with people, but they were in no way seaworthy. Day after day, we witnessed the same. Most often, the boats came at dawn before sunrise and landed on the beaches in front of us. The locals informed us although the dinghies appeared overloaded, most of these sea crossings from Turkey to Greece saw people drown after falling off during the trip. Many of the travellers were non-swimmers, very few had proper lifejackets. Some only carried a tire inner tube as their flotation device, and many children merely wore a blow up plastic toy tied on to them. During our four nights on the island, we barely slept more than a few hours at a time. We were obsessed with monitoring the waters in front of our windows. Sadly, we had been advised it was illegal to assist the refugees in any way. Refugees left for a 50-kilometre trek The refugees left the beach and a trail of garbage, wet clothes, some lifejackets and the torn remnants of the dinghies. They left carrying their children and a few precious belongings to make a hot and hilly 50-kilometre trek to the Port of Vathy to be processed and receive official documents to continue their journey through Europe via Athens. Samos was not equipped for the massive clean-up of its shoreline and streets. As we toured, we saw refugees walking, the odd person curled up on the gravel side of the road and were told we could do nothing. On our last day in Samos, we went to the Port of Vathy. We witnessed more refugees walking along the road with GPS's on their cellphones -- to find their way and stay in touch with others. We had breakfast at the Port Hotel and watched a Red Cross building nearby. Many refugees came out of it with cardboard boxes that had a Red Cross sticker affixed. We will never forget the happiness we saw on the faces of the refugees as they opened their Red Cross boxes. Unfortunately, our driver arrived late in picking us up, which then gave us less time to board the ferry. Many others were waiting for cabs to go to the ferry and while we had pre-arranged our driver, we had to fight to get into our cab while others wanted in as well. We had purchased our tickets to Mykonos about six months prior to our trip on Hellenic Seaways ferry line. Our boat was to stop at Mykonos and then continue on to Athens. Our leg of the trip took seven hours and it was another seven hours to its final destination of Athens. Thousands waiting on the dock When we arrived at the ferry docks, we were shocked to see thousands of refugees in wide lines of 15-20 people, all waiting to get on the same ferry as us. The logistics of moving massive numbers of individuals off the island had not occurred to me. As with the best-laid plans, there is always a surprise. As we loaded our luggage on to the ferry, we were advised we had to go quickly to the ticket office outside the ferry gates and across the street. While my daughters stayed with the luggage, Lena and I raced to get our tickets. When we got back, we were escorted onto the ferry ahead of thousands of refugees waiting for their opportunity. Tension and desperation in the air The tension and feeling of desperation in the air was extreme. Ahead of our departure from Oakville, we had purchased panoramic-view seats. This was a luxurious upgrade. At that point, it did not feel like I was more deserving than anyone else on the boat, and once again it reminded me how extremely grateful we were for what we did have. Sick people on deck After the boat departed out to sea, we began to explore the ferry two at a time. The first thing I noticed was the outside decks were locked from the outside; we could get out, but would not be able to get back in. When I looked out the window onto the decks, I realized there was nowhere to walk as it was covered in very sick people lying down and some throwing up... many of the children had bug bites or rashes on their faces. I kept thinking those poor people would have to be out there for 14 hours in the full sun to get to Athens only to start walking again for many kilometres to Germany. We did find there were many refugee families in lower levels of the ferry that did have seats like we did, but the people outside did not have that privilege and again, it's something we will never forget. Around the third hour of our trip, we began to witness small groups of five or six young men ages nine to 20 walking around and around the ferry. We would see the same kids at least once an hour. They would be going to the snackbar, but not walking away with much. Lena (a retired teacher) was playing a game on her cellphone and a boy took a great fascination with it. With some body language and a smile, the cellphone was handed over to him, he played the game and got a very high score... we all clapped. The smile on his face was beautiful and the fact Lena had reached out successfully , when I was so afraid, made me proud of her. We had made a new friend for the balance of the trip. Each time he passed by , we gave him all of our protein bars to pass along to his friends and family. We arrived in Mykonos, and on our way off the boat, we saw a number of little girls sitting quietly in their seats or caring for the babies onboard. They heard us speaking English and started counting to 100 in English and saying their ABCs. We met our new friend and his buddy one more time and Sarah gave him a Canadian pin. He asked Lena to pin it to his collar. We said we were from Canada. From Mykonos, we flew to Turkey. We were now faced with seeing the places where human traffickers had put people on the dinghies for large fees -- comparable to the dinghies we had witnessed coming ashore on Samos. The thought of these desperate people feeling their only chance for a new life was risking their lives in unsafe dinghies and sacrificing their life savings was heartbreaking. We saw Syrian women begging on the streets with their children. Like all people, the refugees' hopes and dreams are for safety, stability, employment and the freedom to educate their children, something we already enjoy in Canada.