In honor of World Refugee Week, we’re sharing stories from our phenomenal community members who have invested their love and time in justice work to address the global refugee crisis. Boris Khmelnitskiy works at the International School of Peace in Lesvos, Greece and has worked closely with Lab/Shul to bring awareness and support to the refugees of Lesvos. You can read Janee Graver and Sheridan Gayer’s stories from World Refugee Week.
My initial plan was to get home from a teacher training session and write several paragraphs for you… but we had a new boat arrival from Turkey – which is quite rare these days – and right after the training we were mobilized to the beach just north of the town to welcome, feed, and embrace (while socially distancing) the newest additions to the continent. Serendipitously, this encapsulated the essence of this moment: leaping between the inspiring, daily academic and social activities for the hundreds of students stalled on the island and the spontaneous, swift delivery of dry clothes, food, and language assistance on the rocky shores to the few emerging dozens.

In the aftermath of tragedy, the International School of Peace is continuing its operation on the island of Lesvos. The school’s fundamental commitment – to be one of the anchors of community empowerment, to help defuse the sentiment of otherness, to counter the degradation of hope with encouragement and furthered education – has not changed. We adjusted our instructional methods to offset the restricted access to our students inside the camp with expanded use of virtual and self-guided learning.

Over 200 students participate in English classes across five levels: some are gathering in make-shift classrooms inside the camp; others are using WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with their teachers and peers, and submitting their homework assignments via texts, or photos, or audio recordings; students of advanced levels are sharpening their pronunciation and conversation styles on weekly Zoom video chats. Our teachers create and deliver new learning materials for their students, improve their own language and teaching skills, and offer free translation services to the medical and legal organizations on the island.

Refugees face inordinate political pressures in Greece, escalating asylum rejection rates, and prolonged camp lockdown. The school continues to stand in solidarity with the communities we serve, and add its voice to advocacy on their behalf. Neither the pandemic, nor the destruction of the school building, nor deteriorating conditions in the camp can wrestle with the spirit of curiosity, determination, and hope that the School represents to its students and the entire refugee community.