There are many important stories emerging from the refugee crisis in Europe that help portray the complex landscape of the situation. And for every story there seem to be as many logistical challenges to be overcome.
When I visited the Greek island of Lesbos back in August, this was glaringly obvious. The number of people arriving had reached 4,000 per day, and with few ferries available to take people on to Athens, around 20,000 refugees were stranded on an island ill-equipped to meet their needs. In short, efforts were vastly overstretched.
There were only two formal refugee camps, but no management in place. Emily David, emergency protection officer for the International Rescue Committee, said that in 15 years of crisis response work she had never seen a situation quite like it.
About the author
Helen Morgan
Helen Morgan is a journalist and editor, primarily focusing on climate change, migration, humanitarian crises, and human rights. She was previously an Associate Editor at Devex, where she managed the op-eds section and led a project covering climate resilience in small island developing states. Helen was also features editor at World Politics Review, and editor and writer at the environmental think tank WRI, as well as editing for The New Humanitarian. She lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.
