What Life is Really Like in a Refugee Camp

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President Obama continues his final trip to Europe in what has largely been a last reckoning with the migrant crisis that exploded while he was in office and is far from resolved. The president lands in Germany today, the country that has been seen as a leader in its response taking in 1.1 million refugees in 2015. 

But the realities of daily life for refugees has been largely lost in recent weeks amidst the distractions of the U.S. election. Rana Shanawani is a Syrian American who came to New Jersey as a refugee years ago. This past summer she decided to pack up with her teenage niece for a journey to two refugee camps in Greece, volunteering with SCM Medical Missions.

She encountered people and lives that have forever changed her. She's now in the process of starting a non profit called Refugee Outreach International designed to teach English to refugees. Shanawani joins The Takeaway today to share her story. 

Check out some photos from Rana below.

Refugees at the Karamanlis refugee camp

(Rana Shanawani)

Rana taught an English conversation class in a warehouse next to a sewage treatment plant at Frakapour refugee camp.

(Rana Shanawani)

People milling around at Frakapour camp in the evening. "This is their lives. It's all they do: Mill around," says Rana.

(Rana Shanawani)

"Me, kids, and other volunteers teaching English conversation. These kids were absolutely hungry to learn. So desperate for more and more," says Rana.

(Rana Shanawani)