Refugees in Greece Taking Enormous Risks to Flee ISIS Genocide

LESBOS, GREECE - More than one million migrants entered Europe in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration. The group says the milestone marks a more than four-fold increase from 2014.

Operation Blessing is on the ground in Greece, working to help refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East. Refugees are making the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece, packed into small boats, risking everything to make it to Europe.

They arrive tired and cold and with few belongings, but they are relieved because they have fled from war and instability and Europe will offer them a new life.

One mother and her 9-month-old baby are Yazidis from Iraq. They fled from an ISIS genocide and arrived here on a small boat containing more than 40 people.

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The refugees are taken to camps where they are prepared for their journey onward to Europe. In the camps, Operation Blessing helps provide nutritious meals for refugee families. Fresh fruits and vegetables and warm food is served, and for many who have been on the move to get here this is the first proper meal in weeks.

In addition to food, Operation Blessing provides solar powered lights to refugee families. Accommodation in the camps is dark at night, and their journey deeper into Europe will mean rough sleeping. The lights provide safety and comfort.

Alison Thompson is with a group of volunteers in Greece. She called Operation Blessing "amazing."

"They wrote to us and said, 'Look we'd like to support the light project,' and I got so excited," Thompson said. "Light brings joy and happiness, it's the only thing that I've seen light up their faces here, so that's what I'm focusing on is bringing light to Lesbos."

A new day brings new arrivals to Greece, and as this humanitarian crisis shows no sign of ending, Operation Blessing continues to serve thousands of refugees in Europe and the Middle East.