Learning from Lesbos

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Learning from Lesbos 

13

Finding 1:

 The IRC’s early 

engagement with the Municipality 

of Lesbos led to mutual benefits 

in the immediate term, and was 

approached with a view to ensuring 

positive long-term impact as well.

Early in its response, the IRC explicitly acknowledged 

the authority of the Lesbos Municipality and sought 

to work within its parameters. Both as a principle, 

in recognition of the mandate of the local authority, 

and as a means to facilitating future cooperation, 

this step was considered critically important.

As a result of this acknowledgement the municipality,  

in turn, came to regard the IRC as an appropriate partner 

for jointly conducted programming, and as an actor 

that had an awareness of the needs of both refugees/

migrants and of the broader population of the island. 

One example of this joint programming is the provision 

of sanitation services to the Kara Tepe site at the start 

of the IRC’s activity on Lesbos. Because the Kara Tepe 

site had been vacant prior to the crisis, certain public 

services (such as solid waste management) provided 

by semi-private contractors elsewhere on Lesbos were 

not available there. The municipality was not prepared to 

devote resources to having the existing contractors service 

the site. In order to preserve as much as possible the 

existing service-provision structures on Lesbos, the IRC 

sought the municipality’s approval to contract the existing 

providers to service Kara Tepe. Taking this approach 

avoided the creation of a parallel service-provision system, 

with the possibility of differing standards of service. 

By having the IRC serve as the contractor, the municipality 

and the service providers also avoided legal constraints to 

the provision of such services to unregistered migrants. 

Legal and procedural protocols required by the municipality 

and the Greek government at the national level were 

not at all geared to the urgency of a humanitarian 

response, and caused serious delays in programming. 

Although a process of adaptation was taking place, 

and the situation is now significantly improved, in one 

instance, it took two months of negotiations to finalise an 

memorandum of understanding (MoU) with government to 

pave a roadway leading to the IRC’s transit site in Molyvos. 

It is important to recognise that the strength of the 

IRC’s relationship with local authorities on Lesbos 

was a key factor enabling the successful navigation 

of these obstacles so that programme delays did 

not blow out to become programme failures. 

The IRC’s early engagement with the Lesbos Municipality 

facilitated a strong relationship built on mutual trust and 

transparency. The Lesbos Municipality has indicated 

that it views the IRC as an exceptional example of an 

international NGO willing to respect local jurisdiction, and 

as a result, the IRC has been able to overcome legal and 

procedural constraints and to ensure that programming 

fits well within existing systems and structures. 

Key Findings 

opposite: A refugee family walks through the port of Mytilene. 

Tyler Jump/IRC

left: Water points at Kara Tepe camp are often filled with rubbish and 

surrounded by dirty pooling water. These taps are used for everything 

– from collecting drinking water to washing clothes and showering.

Tyler Jump/IRC

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Learning from Lesbos 

14

Key Findings  

(continued)

Finding 2:

 Working with  the existing 

urban systems of  Lesbos – both public 

and private –  to deliver humanitarian 

programming proved particularly 

effective.  Where existing systems were 

inadequate or appeared to be operating 

in ways that were problematic, the 

IRC sought to engage in ways that 

addressed gaps and ameliorated or 

mitigated problematic practices. 

Throughout its work on Lesbos, the IRC has sought to 

work with the island’s existing urban service delivery 

systems, either directly or indirectly. An example 

of indirect service provision using existing systems 

has been the IRC’s partnership with independent 

businesses on the island, particularly money 

transfer companies such as Western Union. 

Access to currency exchange and transfer services has  

been critically important to refugees and migrants arriving  

on Lesbos, as they require access to cash in order to 

continue their journey westward through mainland Europe.  

Those who carried cash with them to Greece faced the 

constant threat of robbery, potentially with serious violence. 

People who managed to arrive with their money untouched 

faced difficulty finding somewhere to legally exchange 

currencies. Those who relied on accessing funds held 

overseas, their own or those of relatives, needed a way  

to safely transfer money. 

Legally operating currency exchange services on Lesbos 

only existed in towns that were largely inaccessible to 

refugees and migrants, however. This was particularly the 

case in the south of the island, where reaching currency 

exchange services meant a journey of at least an hour 

on foot from the nearest site. There was only site at 

which transfer services were available, but it was small, 

and did not post the current fees or exchange rates.

As a result of this lack of safe, legally accessible 

services, many of the new arrivals were in a situation 

of significant financial vulnerability, and at severe risk 

of exploitation or outright robbery. IRC staff reported 

that, at the height of the crisis, when sites were 

overflowing and people were spilling out onto the streets 

of Mytilene, robbery and exploitation in the context of 

informal money exchanges were, in fact, common. 

Recognising this fact, and recognising also that  

private-sector money transfer services already existed  

on the island, the IRC engaged in partnerships with these 

providers, allowing them to establish “pop-up” money 

transfer stations at sites like Kara Tepe. The locations of 

money exchange and transfer services were also mapped, 

and this information transmitted to refugees and migrants. 

Additionally, the IRC established a line of communication 

with these providers, informing them whenever a new bus 

had arrived at the site (particularly when this happened 

outside regular business hours). Importantly, the commercial 

operators agreed to ongoing monitoring and support 

(for example, translation) by the IRC, which provided an 

important guarantee that refugees and migrants using 

the services would receive respectful treatment.

As a result of the IRC’s intervention, newly arriving refugees 

and other migrants were able to transfer or exchange 

money in a safe, timely manner. At the same time, local 

service providers benefited from increased business and 

a safer, more controlled environment in which to operate. 

left: Businesses run by local residents were vital in providing essential 

services to the Kara Tepe site and elsewhere.

Samer Saliba/IRC

above: Newly arrived refugees walk along the coast of Molyvos.

Kulsoom Rizvi/IRC

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