MASONES BRASILEÑOS E INTERESES BRITÁNICOS

This section provides information regarding the main activities undertaken by the humanitarian actors involved in the health sector of the refugee response at the Greek borders and which were integrated in the current analysis.

UNHCR.

In a multitude of humanitarian and charity organisations, UNHCR had the leading role across all sectors of refugee reception including health. Being directly funded by the European Commission’s Emergency Support Instrument (European Commission, 2017), the UNHCR’s engagement involved the direct provision of services to the arriving individuals and groups as well as the funding and support of services provided by other humanitarian organisations, local and national authorities. Their presence at the borderlands was steady and constant across the whole examined period, and their activities are summarised across nine broader areas. Health is one of those main areas including collaborations with national and local authorities for the facilitation of refugees’ access to care, identifying referral pathways to public institutions for mental health care, providing long-term support to people who needed intensive care, and funding primary and psychosocial support services. However, most of the rest of UNHCR’s other activity areas were also directly or indirectly linked to health as they concerned accommodation and financial assistance, protection (including legal aid), prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and education.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent - IFRC.

The IFRC was also funded by the Commission’s Emergency Support Instrument (European Commission, 2017) in order to provide basic health care, psychosocial support and to contribute to the winterisation of the refugee camps, to the food distribution, and to securing water access and sanitation. Beyond that, international and national Red Cross teams were active at the coastlines of the islands, offering first-aid to shipwreck survivors and refugees whose life was in danger after the border crossing (e.g. due to hypothermia). Their presence was steady across the whole examined period.

Doctors of the World - DOW.

DOW, funded by Emergency Support Instrument as well, remained active inside and outside the refugee camps at the borderlands across the examined period. Emergency funds were used for the provision of primary health care services, psychosocial support and referrals for specialised medical care. Additional health related activities included the distribution of medicines and necessary non-food items, interpretation services as well as the identification of medically and psychosocially vulnerable cases.

Doctors Without Borders - DWB.

DWB were also active at the borderlands across the whole examined period. However, they were not funded via the European emergency scheme and they were present inside the refugee camps until the implementation of the Agreement between the European Union and Turkey in 2016. After the implementation of the Agreement, they decided to stop providing services inside the state managed refugee camps but maintained their presence outside those camps and inside non-state managed reception facilities (e.g. shelters run by volunteers). As explained by the organisation, that decision was taken as a form of protest against the Agreement that mandated the transformation of temporary receptions facilities into detention centres (DOW). Their activities included sea rescues in the Aegean Sea and first-aid, primary care, and mental health services, and psychosocial services, identification of vulnerable people and assisting with their transfer to appropriate facilities, distribution of food and non-food items, and ensuring access to water and sanitation and shelter.

The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid - IsraAID.

Responding to a UN request, IsraAID staff and volunteers were also involved in sea rescues and first-aid at the shores of the Greek islands. Further, they supported refugees in continuing their journey towards the north borders of the country by distributing food, water, relief kits, and baby carriers. Additionally, they contributed to the provision of medical assistance and psychosocial support for shipwreck survivors and vulnerable individuals. Their funding came mainly from donations made by European Jewish foundations and non-Jewish international aid agencies. They remained active in the islands until the summer of 2017.

PRAKSIS.

PRAKSIS is a Greek non-governmental, non-profit organization whose objective is the

design, application and implementation of humanitarian and medical actions for the support of socially marginalised groups. Their activities involved primary care and psychosocial services in the Reception and Identification Centres (RICs), provision of temporary accommodation for vulnerable individuals and families and provision of temporary accommodation and care for minors and unaccompanied refugee children. Moreover, they were involved in offering humanitarian aid at the north borders of the country. Their funding came mainly from the European Refugee Fund via the UNHCR as well as from international organisations such as International Medical Corps. They were present at the RICs from early 2016 until the spring of 2017.

ARSIS - Association for the Social Support of Youth.

ARSIS is another Greek non-governmental organization working against the social marginalization of children and youth and they were engaged in refugee reception at the Greek borders from the autumn of 2015. Funded by the European Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection fund (ECHO), they offered emergency support to mothers and their children as well as to unaccompanied minors at the north borders of the country, but they were mainly active in reception facilities in the mainland.

Women and Health Alliance International - WAHA.

WAHA International arrived in Lesbos in September 2015 to offer medical services to

the refugees and particularly to women and children at the North shore of the island, where no other aid organization was present before that time. In the coming months of 2015, WAHA expanded their operations with semi-fixed clinics in four islands and with a rescue boat that was also used as a mobile clinic. The organization remained present in the islands until the summer of 2017 offering primary care services and emergency assistance.

6.6 Inequalities at the Intersection of Border Crossing, Humanitarian Aid and Asylum