5 Stages of Moria: The Worst Refugee Camp on Earth by Elika Ansari
Have you wondered what it has been like for the tens of thousands of refugees after the enforcement of the EU-Turkey deal, being stuck in hotspots on the Greek islands for months, sometimes even years, before the asylum application is processed? Have you ever wondered what really goes through these refugees' minds when they first arrive at the border, expecting to have the worst behind them, only to see that the worst is just beginning? Have you wondered who these refugees are, why they chose to risk everything to reach Europe, and how they experience life thereafter? Told from the perspectives of a single mother escaping an abusive husband, a young man who falls in love in a refugee camp, a brave little girl who saves her brother from a fire, an aid worker trying to make sense of the injustices surrounding her and an unaccompanied minor, this book reflects the distinct yet unified voices of Moria camp, the largest refugee camp in Europe, right up until the great fire that ravaged the entire camp in September 2020. Through these stories, Moria is revealed as a monolith of traumatic experiences that pulls refugees and aid workers alike through the five psychological stages normally associated with grief: shock, anger, guilt, depression, and acceptance. Based on true stories, the author draws on her years of experience providing humanitarian support in Greece to open a window into the lives of the thousands of residents in Moria who are forced to tolerate squalid, sub-human conditions on a daily basis for the hope of one day leading dignified lives.