Updates and field stories

Yesterday, Shara and I (Trude) had the opportunity to visit Bahez, Bayan and Nabaz in Zurich. Almost three months have passed since they were brought from Greece to Switzerland. Both Bahez and his mother have gone through more surgeries and treatment in Switzerland, and young Bahez is just recently out of hospital. Their recovery is amazing!

We had an amazing day with the beautiful family. They welcomed us with fresh fruit and nuts before we went for a lovely walk in a nearby park. Seeing little Bahez running around, curiously investigating his surroundings as toddlers do, warmed our hearts.

The explosion in the tent in Moria camp last November seemed so distant on this beautiful day, but when the smoke from a nearby barbeque came our way, it obviously brought back some painful memories.

After our walk, we were invited into their temporary residency, where delicious Kurdish food was served.

Bahez is almost three years old now and he and his parents have been through more pain than most people experience during a lifetime.

Luckily their asylum application has been processed very quickly, and they have already been given asylum in Switzerland!

The future is ahead of them now, and their motivation for creating a new and safe life in their new country is strong. They are picking up new words every day and they plan to start language courses very soon. They have an incredible support from Michael and Bettina from The Voice of Thousands, the organisation who finally managed to bring the family to Switzerland. We had the pleasure of meeting them both this day in Zurich.

Thanks to many of you, A Drop in the Ocean has supported this family since the fatal incident last November. When they were still in Greece, the lifesaving medical treatment was covered by the authorities and the accommodation by PRAKSIS/UNHCR. During this period our support was mainly to provide people to assist with interpreting and assistance on site, contact with different authorities and organisations, as well as continuously interpreting on the phone, through amazing Shara.

The transfer of the family by an ambulance jet to Switzerland, has been crucial but also a costly affaire. A Drop in the Ocean is happy to be able to cover this together with The Voice of Thousands. We have also supported costs for medical facilities and hospital accommodation upon their arrival. The support from many of you, especially through the fundraising on bidra.no in December 2016 made this possible, and we and the family are so grateful for everyone`s contribution! The remaining earmarked funds will be used for special needs that will occur for the family when they now start their new life in Switzerland.

We had with us many beautiful drawings made for   Bahez, by children from the International School of Stavanger. He says “thank you” and “danke schön” to all and sends kisses to each and every one.

Bahez is truly an adorable little boy, and he is just crazy about airplanes. Whenever he hears one, he looks up to the sky and points at it. When watching a short video of the ambulance jet on Michaels phone, he was laughing loud and saying “Michaels airplane”. And “Michaels airplane” really made an important difference in the young boy`s life and future. Without this transfer to Switzerland and the treatment Bahez has received the past three months, I am certain he would not be able to walk and run around the way he does today.

Watching airplanes in the air and on the mobile phone.

A tired boy after a long day.

Thank you for caring and making a difference in people’s lives!