After a long wait and several failed attempts, it’s happening: CADUS is going to Lesvos. In cooperation with the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), we have responded to an official request and are sending a medical team to Kara Tepe 2 (also called Moria 2) to provide humanitarian aid. A small crew from CADUS is already on-site, preparing the mission.

A medical team consisting of CADUS and ASB employees will follow on Saturday, replacing the Norwegian medical staff who are currently in charge of medical care in the camp. The two-month mission will give the Greek government more time to establish its own health care system on Lesvos.

A few weeks ago, we had responded to an appeal by the World Health Organization (WHO) in cooperation with the ASB and offered the Greek government to bring humanitarian aid to Lesvos. There was no response to our initial offer, although the need for help was especially obvious after the fire in the old Camp Moria. We’ve described how exactly this happened and how we feel about it in another blog post.

Moral concerns

The decision for this application was not easy for us. On one hand, we want to fulfill our ethical obligation and use our possibilities to support people in need. On the other hand, we do not want to serve as a humanitarian fig leaf and participate in a new camp, where conditions seem to follow the inhumane traditions of the former camp Moria.

Using our position

We have decided to deploy, will provide medical care for the people in the camp, and critically observe the overall situation. We consider it absolutely necessary to prevent an imminent second moria. The start of our mission goes hand in hand with our demand for humane living conditions in the camp Kara Tepe 2.

We will be on-site as an official Emergency Medical Team (EMT). EMTs are medical emergency teams classified by the WHO, which can provide emergency medical assistance in case of health crises worldwide. In this position, we want to work together with local organizations that have been doing important work in the camp for a long time.

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