Islamic Relief offices are supporting refugees arriving in Europe.
Every day more than 1,000 Syrian refugees are arriving in Sweden, and Islamic Relief is meeting them in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm to offer help.
Aid stations have been established in either the railway stations or ferry terminals of three cities where Islamic Relief offers advice and support. Those who are passing through Sweden on their way to either Norway or Finland are offered short-term shelter.
Working closely with the principal mosques in Stockholm and Malmö, Islamic Relief Sweden has served 3,300 meals to refugees, many of whom have sheltered within the walls of the mosque where they have also been offered new clothing, hygiene kits and access to legal advice and medics.
A spokesman from Islamic Relief Sweden said: “We have seen a tremendous help from the public – both Muslims and non-Muslims, who come to the mosque and deliver whatever is needed. Volunteers gather to work and help. The church Katarina, which is nearby, is now collaborating with us and aiding us in our work, giving shelter to our brothers and sisters.”
In Greece, in the last few days, Islamic Relief has distributed 4,300 hot meals to refugees arriving in Lesvos. Last month, more than 176,000 refugees arrived in Greece. To date*, the number of arrivals for October stands at 33,683. Many of them have faced difficult journeys to arrive in Europe and are exhausted and frustrated when they reach Europe.
Our Arabic and Farsi speaking Disaster Response Team (DRT) members have joined the International Rescue Committee in Molyvos, northern Lesvos, to offer important protection services, and to date we have reached 20,400 refugees there.
UNHCR estimates that 133,000 refugees have reached Italy from January to October 2015. Islamic Relief Italy has so far provided food to more than 4,000 refugees in areas including Milan, Rome, Bologna and Bolzano. In Catania, Sicily, Islamic Relief has joined with the local Islamic community to distribute food, while in Palermo, also in Sicily, representatives have joined local authorities, churches and journalists to advocate for dignity and protection for refugees. Hygiene kits are in stock and are being distributed, and shelter for 1,000 people has been secured.
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Donate*8 October 2015
