https://www.theguardian.

com/global-development/2020/jan/11/lesbos-moria-refugee-camp-syrian-
teenager-family-uk

Trapped on Lesbos: the child refugees waiting to start a new life

Thousands of children are living in appalling conditions on the Greek island. At the Moria camp, one Syrian
teenager tells of trying to join his family in the UK.

Around 40% of the 20,000 migrants in and around the Moria camp on Lesbos are under 18. Photograph:
Orestis Panagiotou/EPA

Outside the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, a shanty town made of tarpaulin strung between olive trees is
getting bigger every week. There are now 18,000 people living in this second camp, designed for just over
2,000.

Ahmed (not his real name), 17, and his friend Musa wind their way up muddy tracks towards their tent,
swerving to avoid groups of children running in flip-flops through the dirt.

The boys have made their home under plastic and they want to show us how they are living, huddling in a
group of three to keep warm. Ahmed has been here since October, when he arrived from Syria expecting to
move quickly onwards.

Although he knew nothing of the laws on family reunion when he set out from his village near Aleppo,
Ahmed knows now that his family in the north of England – a brother and cousin who are desperate to give
him a home – are his only hope of escaping Moria. But he is worried. “It is so slow, and I know if we do not
get into the system quickly it might not happen.”

Last week British MPs voted to reject proposals that would have kept protections for child refugees in the
redrafted EU withdrawal agreement bill. MPs voted 348 to 252 against the amendment, which would have
guaranteed the right of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with family members living in the UK.

Safe Passage, the charity helping Ahmed, works across Europe to help children, some under 10 years old,
apply to join family members in the UK. It says that 95% of its cases would be impossible without the EU
law on family reunion, because British law only allows children to join their parents. Ahmed’s case, a boy
wanting to join his brother, is far more common.

The charity has been contacted in recent months by many worried families who are afraid of losing the
small chance of saving a young cousin or sibling from taking the dangerous journey across Europe alone.
Charities know that the risks of this journey include widespread exploitation and abuse.

When Ahmed left his village last year he had no plan to reach his brother. He thought he would just keep
walking and crossing borders until, with difficulty, he might reach safety in northern Europe.
“The smugglers lied,” he says. “I thought I would spend one night maybe in Lesbos and just keep moving
forward through the forests like I did all the way from Syria. I had no idea I would be stuck like this.”

Ten minutes’ drive from the holiday resort of Mytilene, the scene around him is tough. There is no
electricity and very little water. Among piles of rubbish, thousands of people are busy surviving, pulling
branches from the olive grove for fires to cook on, rolling flour into flatbreads, stringing tarpaulin over
pallets to make new shelters. Women breastfeed on the muddy ground. And there are hundreds of
children. According to the UNHCR, 42% of the 20,000 migrants in and around Moria are under 18, and
nearly half of those are under 12.

Ahmed, whose curls are pushed under a woolly hat, is bundled inside an oversized coat, scarf and tracksuit
trousers. His family began to plan his escape when he turned 15. “For young men, as you get to this age it is
very dangerous. Someone will make you come and fight and kill your friends, your brothers.

“Many people had already left, and after a year of talking, my parents decided I should leave, they are too
old but I can go. It was so difficult, nobody wants to leave home. When the situation became so bad, I had
to go. Our house had been destroyed by bombs.”

His journey was brutal: one of his friends was shot dead as they crossed the Turkish border. When he first
arrived at Moria, nightmares of the sea journey woke him screaming in the night, disturbing people around
him.

“Inside the main camp there are many adults and a lot of fighting. It is better out here. My parents are very
worried about me, they don’t want their son in this situation. They sometimes regret letting me leave and
sometimes they say it was the only choice.”

Ahmed wants to know why, if there is a law that lets him join his brother, it is such a confusing and long
process.

His case is a drop in the ocean for Greece, a country with 4,000 unaccompanied minors to look after. On a
visit to the Greek islands last month, the UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, called for
Europe to do more. “Europe has to get its act together,” he said after visiting Lesbos. “ There is a children
on-the-move emergency in this country that needs to be tackled.”

Almost every day a boat arrives in Lesbos from Turkey, bringing more desperate people. Huge numbers of
them are women and children. On Thursday night a boat came with 57 people, 33 of them children.

For now, Ahmed’s brother is sending him money to try to help him survive while Safe Passage pushes his
case to join his family in northern England. What does he know about the market town where his family are
waiting for him? He laughs. “I don’t know anything, but I know it is better than Lesbos.”
TRAPPED ON LESBOS.

READING COMPREHENSION.

Answer the following questions:

1. Give a word or a phrase between lines 1 and 11 that means the settlement of improvised building.
Shanty town
2. Find a word or a phrase between lines 5 and 20 that means to crowd together. Huddling
3. Find a word or a phrase between lines 27 and 35 that means an organization set up to provide help
and raise money for those in need. Charities
4. Find a word or a phrase between lines 35 and 45 that means a line separating two countries.
Borders
5. Find a word or a phrase between lines 38 and 45 that means contrabandist.

Answer the following questions: (accept other wording with the same meaning)

1. Which are the living conditions of refugee children in these camps? There is no electricity and very
little water. Among piles of rubbish, thousands of people are busy surviving

2. How do Ahmed’s parents feel now?

Find the words that complete the following sentences: Answer using words as they appear in lines 19 to
35: (exact wording only)

Example: Safe Passage is a charity that aims to help children, some under 10 years old, apply to join family
members in the UK.

1. The charities are aware of the fact that the risks of this journey ... include widespread exploitation
and abuse.
2. 95% of Safe Passage’s cases are possible because of… EU law on family reunion
3. There is a 42% of 20,000 migrants in and around Moria who are... under 18
4. Ahmed thought that he would not be stuck in Lesbos during… more than one night

To whom or to what do the underlined words refer? Answer using words as they appear in the text.

Example: their way up muddy tracks (line 6) — Ahmed and Musa

1. ... is far more common            (line 22)

2.  ...and nearly half of those under 12    (line 34)
3. It says that 95% of its cases         (line 19)
4. to give him a home            (line 13)
5. they say it was the only choice        (line 46) “my parents”

G3. Choose the correct answer:

1. What is the Moria refugee camp?

0. A shanty town where immigrants are living waiting for their opportunity to move on.
A. An utopia for refugees in a Syrian island.
B. A group of homes made of mud.
C. A ghetto inside a town.

0. Who is Ahmed receiving help from?

0. British MP’s.
A. The EU.
B. Safe Passage.
C. His parents.

0. Ahmed left his home because…

0. The situation became too dire.
A. His home was attacked by bombs.
B. For his age he had to start fighting.
C. All the other answers are true.

0. The text is…

0. Informing about tough lives some refugees live.
A. Promoting voluntary services and charities.
B. A camp advertisement.
C. Informal.

0. Which of the following would make the best alternative title for this text?
0. Ahmed’s trip to the refugee camp hoping for a better future.
A. Ahmed leaving the refugee camp.
B. Ahmed’s experience in the refugee camp and his hopes for the future.
C. Ahmed’s happiness in the refugee camp.

Choose the five true statements. (out of 12 statements; any order is accepted)

1. Ahmed used to live near Aleppo. 

2. British government guarantees protection for teen refugees to live with their families.
3. Ahmed's initial focus was finding his brother in northern Europe. 
4. One of Ahmed’s friends was killed.
5. Most of the people in the refugee camp are under 18.
6. The camp was designed for 18,000 people. 
7. Near the refugee camp on Lesbos, you can find an expensive hotel
8. Ahmed arrived on the camp in winter. 
9. All the children in the camp were walking barefoot.
10. Some children in the camp were wearing flip-flops.
11. We don’t really know who the protagonist of the story is.
12. Safe Passage helps adult refugees applying to join family members in the UK.

The following statements are either true or false. Tick the correct option then justify it using words as
they appear in the text. Both parts are required for 1 mark. (the justification can only include some
additional words providing they don’t alter the meaning of the quotation).

1. Ahmed left his village to reunite with his parents.

2. According to the UNHCR, 95% of the 20,000 migrants in and around are under 12. False. According to the
UNHCR, 42% of the 20,000 migrants in and around Moria are under 18,

3. Ahmed complains about how difficult the process to join his brother is.

4. Many MP’s voted against the right of accompanied child to reunite with family on the UK. True:

5.None of his friends died during the journey crossing a border. False: one of his friends was shot dead as
they crossed the Turkish border.
 What do the following words mean in the text? Choose the appropriate words from the list:

Example: trapped on (line 1): caught

27. swerving (line 8) deviate

28. breastfeed (line 50) lactate

29. tarpaulin (line 5) dropcloth

30. shanty (line 4) cabin

31. huddling (line 11) gather

A. cabin

B. caught

C. deviate

D. fabric

E. crossing

F. dropcloth

G. scary

H. gather

I. escape

J. lactate

K. starve

L. desperate