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HUNDREDS of books in Arabic and Farsi have been delivered to help tackle the boredom endured by refugees living in a camp in Cyprus after a successful appeal for donations in GulfWeekly.
A group representing the Bahrain Anglican Church Council and senior clergy recently travelled to the Mediterranean island for a meeting and filled up their suitcases with huge and heavy supplies of reading material, courtesy of Gulf Air.
They were visibly moved by the reception they received and the heartfelt thanks the refugees expressed to the people of Bahrain for their kindness and support.
The book plea came from the Rev Christine Goldsmith, curate at St Barnabas Anglican Church in Limassol, who makes regular visits to a camp which is located 20 minutes away in the countryside in an area called Kofinou.
Bahrain-based business consultant David Axtell, the council’s chairman, said: “Our first visit was to the school, a converted container that has only a few small tables and chairs, suitable for the youngest children. There were limited resources.
“As we opened the first few boxes the faces of those present lit up, the broadest grins spreading across their faces. The teacher, Saha, a Syrian-Palestinian, and one of the most recent arrivals to the camp living two cabins down, immediately gravitated towards the educational material, expressing her delight at how much more she now hopes to achieve.
“The residents of Bahrain had generously ensured that a wide variety of books were donated including mathematics, Arabic grammar and geography.
“Conversely, the children metaphorically dived into the boxes, flicking through the books to find something familiar. The names ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Cinderella’ were clearly audible above the general clamour as children clutched at the books.
“Some chose to take their favourite to the corner and read, while others held on to as many books as they could, an indication of the ‘survivor’ mentality that must permeate here. Word quickly spread throughout the camp and soon dozens of children were reaching over each other to claim books with elbows helping force their owners to the front.”
David travelled to Cyprus accompanying three members of the clergy – The Very Reverend Christopher Butt, Dean of St Christopher’s Cathedral, The Reverend Stephen Thanapaul, Mission to Seafarer’s Chaplain and assistant chaplain at the Cathedral, The Reverend Jon Lavelle, Curate, and their spouses – along with other church council officials, Angela Murray, the council’s deputy chairman, and lay reader Elizabeth George.
Bahrain has the only cathedral in the Gulf, and one of only two in the diocese – the other being in Nicosia. They had been attending the annual Diocesan Synod – a gathering of representatives from all Anglican churches in Cyprus and the Gulf.
When GulfWeekly reported on the books plea, supporters dropped off donations at the St Christopher’s Cathedral offices in Manama, St Christopher’s School and Words BookstoreCafé.
“The shipping containers in which the refugees live are encased by fences like a prison, although the inhabitants do have the freedom to catch a bus into Larnaca, although we visited at the end of a long week when the drivers had been on strike!” said David.
“We walked through the camp being met with suspicion by many of the men, with only the children at first willingly greeting us.”
That said, this melee was nothing compared to the scrum that developed when a collection of footballs and rugby balls, kindly donated by the Arsenal Soccer School Bahrain and Bahrain Rugby Football Club, were being pumped up and handed out.
David said: “I enjoyed a game of football with approximately 30 children while the only consistent rule appeared to be that the older kids ruled!
“It was a wonderful experience to witness the delight on the faces of the children and be with them as they played football and rummaged through such a wide variety of books. There was something for everyone.”
The visitors were urged to join a family for lunch. It was prepared by Touba and Mahmoud, refugees from Afghanistan, who spent half of their monthly allowance of 59 euros on feeding the group.
“As we enjoyed this delightful yet humbling experience,” said David, “we saw many of the children filing past us back to their own homes clutching their new books.
“The camp is full of horrific stories that have led to these families becoming refugees. There is a common theme of violence and being taken advantage of. Everyone we spoke to had paid over their life savings for either promises of safe transport or acquiring a space on a leaky vessel to escape war.
“Before having to flee their homes, both Mahmoud and Touba were professionals earning good salaries. Touba can speak six languages fluently. It is incredible, yet horrific, that they have been subjected to this camp lifestyle for four years – and yet accept their circumstances with such grace and generosity.”
The Rev Christine expressed her delight over the success of the appeal. “I would also like to add my sincere gratitude and overwhelming thanks to all who donated books,” she said. “The looks on the children’s faces when they opened them and started reading was an absolute joy to witness.
“Saha has said the children are enjoying reading and the books are helping her keep going with the Arabic lessons she is running four-times-a-week to ensure the children remember their language and culture.”
Due to the overwhelming response, instead of just creating a lending library within the camp, the appeal organisers hope to build similar facilities in Larnaca and Limassol at drop-in centres for refugees who are living outside the camp.
Furthermore, she believes that this will help create a working group spanning the island that can improve the communication and co-ordination between organisations that work, volunteer or help refugees to enable their needs to be better served.
The theme of hard-working, generous and talented individuals was echoed later when David met Nicola Smith, president of Freedom Dolls International, a Cypriot charity that supports victims of human trafficking, an organisation once featured in GulfWeekly.
Nicola runs a charity shop that raises funds for victims. One of the refugees from the camp volunteers his time and Nicola describes him as being ‘one of the best and most reliable helpers’ she has ever had.
