Second day and we saw 78 patients, sent three to the hospital and managed wounds, injuries, and all levels of ptsd, abdominal and respiratory issues, chronic hypertension, pneumonia, etc. It was BUSY BUSY BUSY. It is a challenging way to practice medicine – we all have to be extremely flexible, creative and CALM. To add to the chaos, there is a circus group from the UK here entertaining children so we share the field where we are set up and half the day have the sound of squealing children as background.

There are many sad stories and we never get used to them, they are always shocking and painful. Yesterday a man came with his brother who had been stabbed in his eye a year ago. His eye was lost and he has now lost sight in his other eye. He is blind. He arrived by boat three days ago. We called for a medical referral to an ophthalmologist to see if vision could be saved in the eye that was there and the first available appointment is JULY 2020. He cannot survive in the jungle blind. It is on a rocky hillside with ditches and holes and tents and debris strewn all over. He is a young man. We are not done trying to figure this out and get him moved but ?????

We saw many people with coughs and chest pain that had worked in chemical plants in Turkey. There was no protection and they were told they would earn a certain amount of money but when they were paid at end of month it was much less. We have heard this over and over but now see the physical damage from this work. We have heard how Turkey treats refugees. If they argue about their earnings they get arrested and the next group desperate for money gets hired in their place.

There are many Afghanis here in Samos and in Moria camp. Many are here over a year. Appearently their asylum cases were being denied or stalled because the Taliban is no longer considered a threat???? I don’t get that at all. And these people have had generations of war, war, war and religious zealots in charge. Really difficult to understand this process. There are many people here for years still waiting for their hearings and some who have been rejected and are hiding in terror that they will be found and deported back to a death sentence.

The camp has Syrians, Palestinians, Afghanis, Congolese, Cameroonians, Burkinabes, Nigerians, Iraqis, Iranians, South Sudanese, Ghanaians, and other countries. Having our coffee and Greek yogurt — ready for another day.