Give a present to struggling refugees this Christmas

Yet life, if it can be called that, continues for the tens of thousands of people stuck in refugee camps on the Greek islands. I do not know the details of all the horrors they fled from, or the details of their dangerous journeys, but I see the horrors they face now every day.

The camp here is six times over capacity. Makeshift shelters of tarpaulin and scrap wood are tightly packed together across a muddy hillside. In the past few months several people have been killed in fires brought about by the conditions here. Getting enough food is a daily struggle, let alone clothing, bedding and nappies. It is obvious when confronted with the thousands of families in these shelters that Europe’s leaders have turned their backs on them.

One sound in particular punctuates the days — it is that of a child’s screams as its mother washes her under freezing water from one of the camp’s taps. There’s a pain in that sound I have never heard before, and one that’s hard to forget. Amid all this horror, what keeps me going is the support given by ordinary people who have stepped up to help. I’ve worked with teachers, parents, doctors, students, lawyers, chefs — people who’ve had enough of witnessing suffering on the news and have come to lend a hand. It is these people who are running the schools and clinics, as well as pitching tents and creating safe spaces for women. We know how important these projects are, because in the areas where there is not the capacity to run them, life is unbearable.

All of these projects are supported by many more ordinary people who I never meet but whose donations make the aid programmes possible. One way they’re supported is through the Choose Love shop in Covent Garden. It is the world’s first shop where you can buy real gifts for refugees. Our store contains practical items such tents, nappies and sleeping bags. But instead of taking them home, each purchase buys a similar item for someone who truly needs it.

The shop opened just over a week ago and we’re already using the donations made in the UK to provide nappies and warm clothing to thousands of babies here. Now, whenever I walk through the camp, I see these babies safe and snug. These simple items are changing lives.

My greatest hope comes from knowing that people are visiting this shop and learning more about the families existing under these conditions, and that they have the opportunity to pick up an item and feel a connection with the human being using it thousands of miles away. After all, when we realise our shared humanity, that’s when it’s possible to start to make things better.

Aslam Obaid is Emergency Response Manager for Help Refugees on Lesvos