Sadaf Bayani: “Volunteers made me believe in humanity again”

January 11, 2016

Sadaf Bayani lives and works in Cyprus, Larnaca. On December 26 she visited Lesvos and lived there as a volunteer near the plight of refugees. Today she shares with Skala Times, feelings and experiences from her trip. Sadaf says “Refugees were mostly people like me with a normal home and job and dreams and suddenly some super powers decided that they need more oil and gas and they destroyed all their life and past and maybe even their future. Being in Lesvos showed me that we are all the same but some people’s life can be a nightmare from a war…”
Through a web page Sadaf along with other volunteers trying to help refugees arriving daily in Greece.
More in the interview below.

By Yiota Dimitriou
Photos: Sadaf Bayani

Sadaf what was the reason you decided to do this trip in Lesvos island?
I have always been very sensitive about war subject and I was always following war news even when I was much younger. I have friends and family in Cyprus and Iran who lost their home and family members in war and that’s why I was following the news. Maybe social media also pushed the button and helped me to make the decision for this trip….
I have been crying with every picture that I was seeing and I really wanted to visit Lesvos and witness the situation and help as much as I can .. I contacted a few people and organizations and then I became more sure that I wanted to go to Lesvos since they need help and my language skills was even making me more valuable over there.

When you arrived there what was the first scenes you saw and what were the first feelings you had?
I arrived in Lesvos on the 26th of December lunch time. While driving from the airport to the hotel I saw life jackets everywhere in the coast and when I went to Moira my whole world changed. I only went to visit since I was going to start work the next day. But I could not leave! I stayed there for 7 hours. I saw people who were in need of interaction with others… They needed information, food, dry clothes tents…. It was too many of them on that day sleeping on the floor without roof or tents. They all looked tired and sick . On the other hand I saw volunteers who were there to give all they could, they were smiling, running and they were trying to communicate with body language. I don’t remember when i was the last time I saw so many kind people all together in one place and the sacrifices that they were making made me cry! I guess in that moment I hated once again whoever invented guns and wars.. I was wondering, are those world leaders aware of the amount of fear and sadness they bring to humanity? I saw fear on every person eyes and I knew that I was there to make the situation easier as much as I could even if it’s a tiny bit and I saw what other volunteers were doing there really helped.
I saw a tree that has been decorated by children for Christmas and there I noticed that we are all the same no matter where we come from we are all connected to each other!

How many volunteers were there?
It’s hard to say how many but I can say too many from all over the world… USA, everywhere in Europe mostly Netherlands and Spain and even Canada and China….And I can say there were more international volunteer than Greeks… But it’s obviously because Greeks were dealing with this problem for a long time and they also have the economy problem that makes it harder for them to volunteer.
But of course Greeks were doing a lot since the problem started so they are all volunteers because they were all helping in their own way.

Did you have the chance to talk with the refugees? Any story you would like to share with us?
Well I think all I was doing there was talking to refugees in Moira since I knew the language too. In Moira you live with them and you eat with them and you go through rain and cold together… It wasn’t a specific story that was more important than another one .. There were too many stories that I’m not even allowed to share but I think every refugee’s life was a story and some made me cry and some made me smile. I saw families that left their home and all their belongings and their past in two minutes in order to be safe. I saw a man that lost his wife in Turkey and he got a call that his wife is in another camp waiting for him and that moment he was crying from happiness! I saw men who have been attacked by Taliban police and were so scared and injured. I saw little kids who were sharing their toys with other kids and offering me their food! I saw a woman traveling with breast cancer and dealing with dangerous health issues only to gain an easier life for her children.
I think every second in Moira was a story! Refugees are not different from us! Especially Cypriots have to understand them since many of them have been refugees as well after the 1974 and the Turkish invasion. I guess they were mostly people like me with a normal home and job and dreams and suddenly some super powers decided that they need more oil and gas and they destroyed all their life and past and maybe even their future. Being in Lesvos showed me that we are all the same but some people’s life can be a nightmare from a war…

Over 150,000 people have nominated the Greek Islands for the Nobel Peace Prize and there’s a petition online. What do you believe for this?
I think Greek islands have been struggling a lot trough refugee crises and many people’s lives have been changed with this crisis but I don’t think that it only refers to Greek islands, I think that refers to the whole country and the whole nation for their patient and kind heart that they show us… Athens, Thessaloniki and the Greek islands they all have been effected and many police men and doctors and social workers from other sides of the country has been moved to the islands to help the locals .. Athens situation after Macedonia closing its border is a mess with refugees that are not allowed to pass the borders and they are all remain in Athens. And all this is happening while Greece is facing a big economy problem so I think they deserve a big recognition from the rest of the world. Personally I admire the Greek cooperation with the situation and I don’t know if Nobel peace prize is enough since they need more financial and physical help from EU leaders. I guess the prize goes to people but government needs bigger support and help from EU to maintain this broken system.

Sadaf now you are trying to raise money for the refugees and also make people respect them more. How you intend to manage this?
I hope I can raise money for refugee camps that are all around the Greek islands. Living with these people changed my whole life. After being back from Greece I didn’t know why I have been thinking that my problems are big when those people have no comfort and not a safe tomorrow and this is not because they are lazy or poor it’s only because they are living in a war zone! I’m hoping that people will see the problem and feel more respect and compassion for all refugees. This is not a charity and I’m not begging people to give me useless clothes that they want to throw out! Those people are not homeless or poor people they were people with a proper job and a proper life! This is the big challenge that world is facing and all we can do is being human and be next to each other. We never know maybe tomorrow they will be next to us. With some other Cypriots we have made a crowedfunding page: https://www.youcaring.com/marina-mougiasi-494222#.VpDNpveYhw9.facebook This money will help volunteers that are going from Cyprus and it’s good for them to have cash so they can see what’s needed at the specific moment so they can purchase. The problem is not about warm clothes and blankets I think they need basic hygiene items, tents , fire wood, heating system and much more in islands and Athens both …
The price of ticket from Mytilini to Athens and then to Macedonia border is 98 euro per person and there are many people that has been robbed in Turkey and they did not even have the money to leave and there is no organization to arrange that so individual volunteers can help with that too .. I was also hoping if I can find some shoes factory or big shops that are willing to donate shoes and socks and warm clothes in big amount which I will look for. The amount of cash even if it’s small can be used by volunteers to at least improve one person’s situation. Sometimes even if we make two people smile it is worth a lot!
By respect I mean because of lack of education and maybe our religious view sometimes we forget the fact that we are all made by same God and in His eyes we are all equal. Even before I go to Lesvos sometimes I could be narrow minded and in special moments I thought I’m different from others. I heard many people calling refugees ‘terrorists’ or a ‘threat to our economy’ but this is not true at all! They would love to work and make a safe home like we all want and desire!

Sadaf you are from Iran living in Cyprus. This is also one of the reasons you can see clearly how it is for someone to be forced (or has to) to live away from his country?
This question is quite funny to me not in a bad way but in a good way…. I guess me being from Iran and living in Cyprus has nothing to do with who I am today and who I want to be in the future .. Iran was a country that I was born in and Cyprus is a country that I grew up in but none of the two countries really played a major role in shaping my personality and goals .. There are many things that I like and dislike about both countries but I guess this refers to all countries in the world.
Nationality and religion are not really the issues of 21th century and in my case I never felt like I’m a stranger in any country as I think this planet belongs to all of us and borders and country names are only politic games .. With the internet and Media these days we can’t really say that a specific country has changed or made us to be who we are. Cyprus has always been a home to me and I have never been pushed to live here. Iran is the only a place that I was born in and I have few good and bad memories from … I think I was always easy with making friends from other nationalities and religions and that’s my only concern. If I could I really want to live in every country of the world at least for a year and being Iranian has nothing to do with my feelings towards refugees. I love refugees like the way I love African kids who are suffering in Iran and Cyprus and all around the world from different problems. I think I love all humans, refugee and non-refugees and I would love to be able to help whoever is in need.

Last but not least if I ask you to send one message to our readers what that message would be?
I would like to ask every single person who reads this interview to see and feel and be aware of the problem that our world is suffering from. You can volunteer or donate or even share the problem in order to make the situation easier for those are suffering. I think we are all wiser today and we know why all these wars are happening and since we have no power to stop the wars we can at least treat the victims of those wars as a brother and sister. Refugees really need our support and love not only our money. They travel thousand of miles to build a new life and we can be next to them and help their new world to be better than the one they had. After this experience Greeks and all those European volunteers are heroes into my eyes and I adore them all and I want to thank them all for making me believe in humanity once again!