In 2015, some 350,000 people, fleeing Turkey, landed on the small Greek island of Lesvos.
Here, in the total absence of formal reception structures and mechanisms, a great experiment in volunteerism and grassroots activism took place: month after month, hundreds of people from all over the world arrived on Lesvos to self-organise the reception and support fleeing migrants from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
On 2 January 2016, an initial delegation of nine Un Ponte Per activists left for Lesvos, where they helped with the reception.
We returned a few months later with the permanent presence of one of our workers, who stayed in Lesvos for three months, organising four relays of volunteers who took turns to work on the coasts and in the aid sorting warehouses.
Until the agreement between the EU and Turkey was signed on 20 March 2016, changing the scenario: informal camps built by volunteers were cleared, forced deportations of migrants to Turkey began, and landings on Lesvos stopped.
This is why we questioned how to continue our work. We spent a month in Athens following migrants who had been staying in Piraeus for a long time.
Many people were there waiting for a further stage and we chose to 'accompany themə' with the 'Solidarity Van'.
