Life Line Ezidi Calls for Assistance

“If we drown going to Europe, we die once. If we stay in the Middle East we die a thousand deaths.”

Charity Life Line Ezidi has issued a call for volunteers to be based in Izmir and Istanbul to provide good quality (SOLAS approved) life jackets to refugees before they attempt sea crossings to Europe.

Requirements of Volunteers

Speak English – A knowledge of Turkish, Kurmanji or Arabic could helpful but is not essential. When you meet with refugees you will be on the phone with a volunteer in a camp who will confirm the details of the family you are meeting and will provide any translation needed.
Flexibility – While we usually have 24 hours notice to prepare the life jackets before a family arrives, we sometimes receive calls for help at much shorter notice.
Physically fit – Volunteers will need to carry the life jackets on and off public transport, although they are relatively light they are bulky.
Self Funded – Funds are tight and everything we get needs to go to buy life jackets.
Self insured – Must have own personal insurance.

About Life Line Ezidi

My name is David Boulton, I’m twenty years old and I was the English teacher at the Sirnak Ezidi Refugee Camp in South East Turkey from June 2015 to November 2015.

In November my students and their families were leaving the camp en masse to go the sea in the hope of getting to Europe. I tried to impress on them how dangerous the crossing was but they were fully aware of the risks.

As one Ezidi said to me, “If we drown going to Europe, we die once. If we stay in the Middle East we die a thousand deaths.” Saying goodbye to my students and friends was terrible. I had nothing to give and I did not know if these young people who I taught, eaten with, laughed with, would be alive in 48 hours. Worse they did not know if they would be alive in 48 hours. They had survived the Islamic State’s attempted genocide against their people, they had watched children die on Mount Sinjar for want to food and water and now they were possibly going to drown on the edge of Europe.

Knowing that many of the life jackets on sale in Izmir and Istanbul are fake, of poor quality or simply unsuitable for the open sea, I was terrified for my students safety. In late November I began buying good quality SOLAS approved life jackets for my students and their families in the hope of increasing their chances of surviving the sea.

Since then, the operation under the name Life Line Ezidi, has expanded to helping refugees from camps across Turkey and Iraq. To date we have given 453 good quality life jackets to refugees. Until there is the political will in Europe to stop this trade in human misery, we must do everything we can to preserve life.

Contact

If you could help us please get in contact me for more information or if you would like to make a donation you can do so via our website. Thank you.

Website – http://lifeline-ezidi.wix.com/lifeline-ezidi
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/lifelineezidilifejackets
Email – [email protected]

Telephone & WhatsApp Numbers
+90 531 972 8243 (Turkish No.)
+44 7914 721 006 (British No.)