CRI听力:Chinese volunteers help refugees in Athens

Oushinet.com, an online news source dedicated to overseas Chinese communities in Europe has just selected their 2016 top 10 news reports. One of the 10 stories features a group of Chinese volunteers in Greece helping refugees over the past year.

The volunteer group was established in December 2015. Its members included vendors from Chinatowns in Athens and Thessaloniki, and instructors at the Business Confucius Institute in Athens.

During the past year, the group has provided aid to refugees at Lesbos, the largest landing spot for refugees entering Europe by sea. They have also expanded their services to parts of Athens.

Distributing food, medicine and clothes, the group also tries to persuade refugees to go to formal camps where they are guaranteed a proper living.

A Syrian refugee said the group's help was vital to him.

"The good thing about this organization is that it's not only for (one) thing exactly. If you knew that some organizations are only for children; some organizations are only for clothes; some organizations are only for food. But the different thing about this organization is that it is an organization for all things, for everything you need," said the refugee.

Chen Xueyan is one of the Chinese volunteers involved in the local newscasts. Her team once helped a Syrian family.

Chen says that she has been humbled by the experience.

"I'm very happy. But we still are lacking in experience on handling some situations, some of the things we could have done better," said Chen.

Chen and her fellow volunteers once offered supplies to the family, helped them find job opportunities after they settled in a refugee camp, and bought them tickets to Athens when they were settled in an Athens neighborhood.

Another Chinese volunteer Wang Defeng says what they've done is more than just assistance.

"While we are offering our help, we became friends with refugees. I also brought my children here and they became friends with the refugee children. I brought them along because it teaches them to be tough on whatever life dishes out to them," said Wang Defeng.

The large influx of Middle Eastern refugees and migrants reaching Greece from the sea has made several of the country's islands hubs for a vast network of NGOs and solidarity groups involved in the effort. In Lesbos alone, more than 80 NGOs are currently operating, ranging from major international organizations like the UN's refugee agency, to groups of local residents and foreigners moved by the refugees' plight.

At a refugee summit at the United Nations a few months ago, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged an additional $100 million in assistance to help deal with the global refugee and migrant crisis.

He also said the country was considering setting aside a $1 billion fund for the purpose.