a discussion with Eleni Stamatoukou

“I don’t feel like a foreigner in Tilos”

 “What we’re experiencing now, here, in the accommodation structure we are hosted in Tilos, is like a dream coming true. I feel stronger than before. Compared to other people who came from the same place as me, I feel as though I’m in the best position. I have most of my family here with me, and I was the first to find a job. I live a normal life”.

Kousay is always polite, even though his smiles are somewhat restrained. “Do you need something? I’m glad to help!”; this was the first thing the 25-year-old Kousay told us upon agreeing to talk to us.

The long trip to Greece, away from the war, begins in Daraa, in Syria, whereas he has been in the hosting structure of Tilos the past nine months. Three months ago, he was fortunate enough to be able to welcome his mother and his younger brother to the island. For the past few months, he has been working at the only bakery on the island. We ask him whether he has learned any Greek. “I know how to say good morning, goodnight, and a few words relevant to my job, like bread, dough, flour. I attend Greek lessons at the structure’s school, but I have difficulties concentrating during the lessons. My employer talks to me in Greek so I can learn. The truth is, I prioritized English. This year, I was able to get my certification at a B2 level in English”. Before the war, Kousay worked as an air-conditioner technician. He’s a high school graduate, and he has attended the first year of classes at a University of Economics.

In the middle of our conversation, he suddenly excused himself, as he told us he had to run home. He then appeared with a plate of ejjeh in hand, which he offered to us. Ejjeh is a traditional Syrian dish which consists of greens, eggs, flour, parsley, and a bit of mint. “My mom made this for you. When we lived in Syria we often couldn’t find bread, so we made it like this. In Syria, we have Arabic pita instead of bread. My wife doesn’t know how to make it so I used to make it. Here in Tilos, I cook sometimes, in my free time”.

“I haven’t had any difficulties with work. People who see me in the bakery come to congratulate me. I don’t feel like a foreigner in Tilos. Like most, my biggest challenge is the language barrier. I thought I’d only be here for a bit, and suddenly I had a job. My relationship with Michael- Tilos’ baker- is really good”.

We ask him if he has a friendly rapport with the rest of the locals as well. “I think friendship takes time, so maybe at some point in the future we’ll achieve that. But I recognize and know all of them, and we always greet each other”.

Kousay Al Damad is a beneficiary of the Hosting Scheme project of SolidarityNow, and he lives at the structure on the island of Tilos.

#ESTIA, the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation programme, is implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by UNHCR and funded by ECHO.

Tilos – Community & Integration pilot project

The Refugee Accommodation shelter was created in 2015 by SolidarityNow, in collaboration with the Municipality of Tilos and stood out as an example of a local project through which the local community welcomed the refugees, supporting the smooth integration of those who would remain on the island. The operation of the shelter concerns the provision of accommodation to 50 beneficiaries and has hosted 100 people so far. Watch the BBC tribute to the Tilos program: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-40586229/the-greek-island-where-syrian-refugees-are-welcome.

Fariba on the mountains’ top

by Julia Terner, SolidarityNow intern – trainee

“Sometimes I go outside to the forest alone and I start to sing with a loud voice.”. I am talking about the power of music and singing with Fariba, a Kurdish woman from Iran. She speaks quickly and earnestly and has a pleasant husky timbre to her voice. With strong features and short, smart russet hair, she cuts an elegant figure as she sits opposite me in the van. We came to the van for Fariba to sing ‘Soltane Ghalbha’, a romantic song from the homonymous and famous Iranian film of 1968. She feels people disapprove of her singing in the camp so we have created our music studio in the car park. Fariba sings the song in a strong, reedy voice. As she signs without accompaniment, the arresting performance transports us out of the van, over the hills that hug the port and into another space. We discuss how important it is to use singing as a release. Fariba confesses that she begins to feel down when she hasn’t sung for two days or more. “I feel relaxed singing the songs because whatever I have deep inside, I can bring them out when I’m singing the song.”

Fariba understands the importance of transporting oneself out of the everyday and clearing the mind of its emotional baggage; along with her love of singing, Fariba is a keen mountain-climber. She tells me about the feeling of summiting a mountain: “when you reach the highest part, you forget about all the pain and the sadness and tiredness. You forget everything.”

So along with her singing outside the camp, Fariba has tackled the large hills that surround the camp – climbing each of these on her own since her arrival here. Back home, she has climbed some of the most challenging mountains in Iran and the surrounding countries. Together with a group of mountaineers, she has climbed Sabalan, Dena and most impressively, Mount Damavand, a potentially active volcano, which is the highest peak in Iran and the Middle East, and the highest volcano in Asia. For this reason, perhaps people can be forgiven for calling such climbers crazy. Indeed, Fariba says “we like the word that’s give to us, of crazy.” Fariba did not start climbing properly until she was 35 years old, but one could say it was inevitable. Her brother was a guide and her father was a climber himself. At 95, he has seen a lot but he still has great power and energy, which Fariba is convinced is thanks to the mountain climbing. “It’s great at giving you energy, not just physical but mental too.” This is due to the physical exercise you get but also the practice in focusing your mind: “you never think of anything, you just think of your aim to get to the top of the mountain, and getting yourself there.”.

Of course, you are also richly rewarded for your efforts by the view. “There is a place, there are forests in Kurdistan, which when you visit the you believe it’s paradise. Sometimes I found myself thinking, ‘If this is not paradise, what is?!’”. However, the overall feeling of stunning beauty combined with achievement and clarity is one that Fariba tells me she simply cannot put into words. “Until you have been to the place itself, you won’t understand what I’m telling you (…) I cannot express my feelings right now in words.”

Fatima Sadiqqi is 16 years old and she is coming from Afghanistan. Last Saturday she ran her first 5km race at the 6th International Thessaloniki Half Night Marathon half marathon in Thessaloniki, Greece and hit a record! Wearing her hijab, she crossed the finish line with net time of 00:13:56, making history as the only woman teenager refugee among the Greek women!

Fatima loves running! When she was in Afghanistan she was running for her own joy. We met her few hours before the race and we talked with her about her big day. “I love racing! My dream is to be a real champion, this is my goal!” she said and she stood with confidence in front of the camera. “Today I want to send a special message to my people, I want to tell them that they must exercise!”. Fatima is a fearless girl, she is so inspired and motivated and she pursue her dreams!

SolidarityNow is proud of Fatima and the rest of the teenagers and their parents who participated in this important event that has altered the course of city’s history! This race helped pave the way for greater equality and equal opportunities. Refugees and immigrants show on Saturday that despite the difficulties they have faced, can contribute to society through their talent, their skills and their passion for life!

a discussion with Eleni Stamatoukou

“My name is Ahmad, and I’m 30 years old. I come from Syria, and more specifically, the city of Deir ez-Zor, which is situated near the boarder to Iraq. Deir ez-Zor is Syria’s richest city, a result of the oil reserves found in the soil, but the people who live there are the poorest.

In my native country, I worked as a construction worker, and then I opened my own shop, which sold women’s accessories. I arrived in Tilos in March 2017, along with the rest of my family. Before this, we were at Ioannina. I’ve been in Greece for a year now.

I don’t speak Greek yet, but I’m gradually learning. Of course, I try to learn as much Greek as I can from my job. I’ve been working on the island at Michael’s hotel since the end of May as a helper. I managed to get this job with the help and support of the SolidarityNow team. Things are going great at the hotel. When the clients see me, they greet me before I manage to greet them! I have yet to make some Greek friends, but I’d really like to. The problem is that I still don’t speak the language, but when I manage to learn it, I’ll drink yerba mate, a traditional Syrian drink, with the Greek families.

I have no complaints, everything is perfectly ok. I’ve taken the first step. I got a job”!

Ahmad has certain expectations for his and his family’s future.

If he can secure a stable job and a house, he would like to stay in Greece. However, if he isn’t able to find a job, he would prefer to seek out a career and be able to progress in another country. “I just turned 30 years old, and I have already experienced so much. I don’t ask for anything, just that my family is okay, both the one that is here as well as the members that are currently in Turkey. I don’t ask for anything for myself, just for my children. I don’t feel very strong, because I’m far away from my mother and my four siblings. When we are all reunited I will feel strong again!”

Ahmad Alkhalaf is a beneficiary of the Hosting Scheme project of SolidarityNow, and he lives at the accommodation structure in Tilos island.

#ESTIA, the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation programme, is implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by UNHCR and funded by ECHO.

Tilos – Community & Integration pilot project

The Refugee Accommodation shelter was created in 2015 by SolidarityNow, in collaboration with the Municipality of Tilos and stood out as an example of a local project through which the local community welcomed the refugees, supporting the smooth integration of those who would remain on the island. The operation of the shelter concerns the provision of accommodation to 50 beneficiaries and has hosted 100 people so far. Watch the BBC tribute to the Tilos program: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-40586229/the-greek-island-where-syrian-refugees-are-welcome.

by Julia Turner, SolidarityNow intern – trainee

“We wanted to get away from… from being so alone; and you know keep our minds busy.” Suhail is explaining how the Elef Club was set up. Six months ago, Suhail and a couple of friends approached Solidarity Now CFS Facilitators* Theo and Eleni, asking to set up a group for the teenagers of the camp to provide entertainment and to make friends with one another. The club started with a piece of paper, on which everyone wrote down what they wanted to do or what they could teach the group. That way they built activities to do everyday: “we made a schedule everyday… football, volleyball, board games…” Now the group meets daily and is a central part of its fifteen members’ lives.

The interview is as chaotic and fun as you would expect to have with a group of teenagers: dominated by excited laughing and teasing, infinite distractions as phones go off and tangential conversations take hold, and plenty of talk about girls. However, what strikes me is how earnest the boys are and how open they are about their feelings and fears. When I ask the group about their favourite activities, they initially call out specific games: “when we write the homework and play volleyball”, says Danial; “I like Jungle Speed and Dobble” says Zobair; “I like when the teacher helps me with the, you know, girly things…” says Ramin. But when Sadeq brings up the social aspect of the club, saying “I like to think that we gather around and play together”, everyone agrees. “I like that we are together and can discuss anything”, says Zobair; “And if we have a problem we can share it with anyone”, says Suhail. Theo recalls that they agreed at the beginning that they would be the solutions to their own problems. “I remember that sentence”, mulls Suhail “We will be the solutions”.

So how would the boys describe the club themselves? What are the words or feelings that the name ‘Elef Club’ conjures up for them? “When I hear Elef Club, I get happy”; “I imagine I am playing”; “Being lucky”; “Problem solver!”. And what about the members who make up the club themselves, what do they want to do in their careers? Sharoq wants to “go to Madrid to play football with Ronaldo” and he’s not the only on who wants to be a “footballist”. Others are more artistic – an astronomer and a singer are among the group; or more technical “I want to learn medical in Germany”; “I want to be a mechanic”; “Professor in MIT…in computers”. They become more adventurous when we discuss what they want to do with their lives outside their careers: “I want to create a submarine and do some research in the sea”; “I want to create a big airplane”; “I want to go around the world… in 80 days!”; “I want to help the poor people… to make Earth better”, says Zobair; “I want to love someone”, says Younnes.

Ultimately, the club offers so much more than fun activities for its members to do everyday. It bolsters their confidence by providing support through Eleni and Theo, and through the strong bonds that they have built together. “You know, in this group, we have some really good friends… and we’re not just school friends or something. We live together. It’s something so different. It’s like, they’re my brothers.”. The importance of these bonds is particularly clear when the boys describe their first day of school, which they all agree was a huge highlight of their time here: “I went out of the car, I saw the girls, I ran back!… All of us were going back, shouting ‘Go back!’ and then Danial said, ‘Let’s go guys’ and we went in front and we had to enter.” With many of the group on family reunification programmes that may see them move to other European countries, the future of the club is not certain. Nonetheless, it’s enduring importance is secured through the friendships it has helped to build: “I don’t want to say goodbye to these friends”, says Danial. Ramin nods, “I don’t want to say goodbye to my friends”.

The BlueDot program is supported by UNICEF and funded by the European Commission – Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid Operations – ECHO

Ahmad works at Michalis’s hotel. Kousay found work at the island’s bakery. Maha and Maysoon are working for the first time in their lives and feel the joy of earning a salary and being able to support their families. Mohsan for the first time devotes time to raising his children. All of them live in Tilos. The island that has been demonstrating its solidarity since the beginning of the refugee crisis; not with words and analysis, but with deeds.

SolidarityNow follows these people in their everyday lives, takes notes of their stories of coexistence; stories which they share with us and portray emotions, realities and dreams as they narrate them. In #LivingTogether, a photographic journey with the collaboration of the photojournalist Giorgos Moutafis, we travel to Tilos, the island of tangible solidarity. And we realize that “small miracles” just need brilliant and open minds and few competent people with a great deal of will.

*SolidarityNow’s innovative Accommodation & Hosting program in Tilos, implemented since 2016, is proving in practice how integration of refugees in local communities can be a lever for sustainable development in a local community. The organization’s vision of this program being a model of hospitality and social integration and ideal coexistence, became an international example of positive change: a tangible example, with concrete results and achievements that can be replicated in other European societies on how a “crisis” may be transformed into “a success story”.

#ESTIA, the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation programme, is implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by UNHCR and funded by ECHO.

Their love story is one of the true love stories starring in the new video of the all-famous U2 band for their freshly released song “You’re the best thing about me“.

Who are they? Maha and Abdulrahman from Syria; SolidarityNow beneficiaries who have been living in the accommodation structure for refugees in the island of Tilos since February 2017. The couple has five beautiful children and they dream of settling down in Greece.

The filmmaker Tatia Pilieva and her team followed four real-life couples during the last 24 hours they had together before one partner had to leave for an extended period. One of these couples is Maha and Abdulrahman; this last one setting forth to work in Athens.

The two of them open their hearts to the camera:
– “Of course, I remember the first time my husband kissed me,” Maha says.
– “I gave her a kiss, here“, Abdulrahman confides and shows the edge of his lips.

Abdulrahman is a chef – and one of the best as his monicker in Syria suggests: “The King of falafel”. And if that isn’t enough, he proved it with his participation in the Refugee Food Festival, which was held for the first time in Athens on the initiative of the UNHCR, last June!

Watch him cooking, here

But now his wife Maha works too! Maha is currently an employed mother of five who works as a maid in a hotel in Tilos. What is more, the BBC tribute to the Tilos innovative hosting program implemented by SolidarityNow was based on Maha’s story and was presented internationally last July!

You can see the BBC tribute, here:

This couple of young and active people who fled war and came to Greece is an example of successful integration in the new social environment, which has embraced and safeguarded them. The true protagonists – life’s heroes, are now the protagonists for U2 also!

ESTIA, the Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation program, is implemented by UNHCR and funded by European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

Danyal, the sleepless guard

by Valia Savvidou

A restless teenager with black lively eyes, curly black hair and expressive hands that talks endlessly, while passing next to you singing and laughing!

Danyal makes everything during the day to serve anyone who needs it.

At night, he reads and learns. I ask him why in the night. “Why? It is quiet because I have insomnia, what does that mean ‘why?’ – I like it!” And yes, Danyal’s night has proved effective since, as an excellent user of the new technology, he has learned English online, and now he is also learning Greek.

In the meanwhile, he is the man who intervenes both for the service and for solving problems that arise between the people who reside, as he himself, in the accommodation structure for refugees and migrants in Elefsina. Among the rest he does, he welcomes the volunteers, while having the English language as a weapon -“I conquered it too“-, he guides them in the structure, shows them what to do, where and how they can help, naturally in agreement and with the instructions of the people of the structure; of course, he acts as the mediator between the organizations’ teams operating in the structure and the refugees-beneficiaries.

Everyone, younger and older, Greeks and non-Greeks, addressing vividly Danyal! He replies to everyone and they all listen to him – they wait for their turn until he can assist them.

“I am more pleased when I help others than they are themselves – I never get tired!

Besides, in four years from now, ‘remembering me, in four’, I will be the best and I will not be here of course! I will not stay here forever, but until I leave I want to do my best for me and for the others!”

For the people of the organizations, “these guys are like my family; we are all day together.” Danyal exudes his energy in sports activities that take place in the structure and is distinguished in the volleyball, which he loves the most.

He’s got plenty of dreams and has this beautiful arrogance and exaggeration of a teenager; the young man who wants to leave nothing to chance, but he has the will to fight and is certain to succeed in whatever he decides to do! Besides, in four years from now we share his confidence that he will studying biology, become an amateur singer, a very good volleyball player, and at the same time he will be speaking ten languages! But most of all he will be the ‘bright leader’, as he characterizes himself, for his family!

The ‘bright leader’, Danyal greets me with a sweet look, kissing my hand as a young gentleman, and leaves by saying “whenever you want to see me again, I will be here for a while.” Bright for everyone and not just for himself, Danyal is the best example in the structure for his siblings and other children who love him and listen to him; I too did the same -obeyed his instructions until I had a conversation with him because he had many tasks to sort out!

* Danyal is a beneficiary of the Blue Dot program in Elefsina. The program in implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by Unicef and funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations/ECHO.

Danyal is 16 years old, a refugee from Afghanistan, and has lived for over a year with his family in the structure of Elefsina. This does not hold him back, along with other children of his own age, from dreaming of a more optimistic and hopeful future. SolidarityNow, with the Blue Dots program, is there on the side of these children to support them, to teach them to play again, to dream again, to remember how it is to be a child.

SolidarityNow, with the collaboration of photojournalist Giorgos Moutafis, visited the structure of Elefsina and followed the organization’s team along with the children, on a different excursion. We filmed their creative activities as well as the important work being done by the SolidarityNow team members in a short documentary entitled #FollowMyLife.

So, let’s follow them!

• The Blue Dots are Child & Family Care Hubs for children, women and vulnerable people living in reception Centers in Greece. The program in implemented by SolidarityNow, supported by Unicef and funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations/ECHO.

2,000 children, women and vulnerable people will find a safe space through this program, in various sites all over Greece.

By Giannis Aggelis

Social worker, Athens Solidarity Center

There are certain points in your career which will be engraved in you, the memory of which will be at your side as much as you might try to distance yourself.

It is a moment like this which I will try to convey to you as concisely as is possible. And I will do it, because stories have the ability to open, in a certain, magical way, a window to the truth, to feelings, to life.

It was December, a few days before the Christmas holidays.

The clock indicated nearly eight in the evening. I found myself at my office, writing yet another social essay. The Solidarity Center had emptied itself of all beneficiaries, and I didn’t intend on staying longer than another hour. Another intense day had come to an end at that point.

My coworker, who was responsible for the cleaning of the Center, had already taken to working when I heard a knock on my office door. A silver-haired man of around eighty years entered, dragging himself towards me. He couldn’t have been over 1,60 meters, with a long, white beard, and along with his weariness, he carried a paper bag on his back and a cardboard box in his hands. His appearance betrayed his life on the streets. Before me stood an elderly man, who introduced himself to me, with impeccable Greek, as a Greek who was born in Russia- and more explicitly, he originated from a place close to Siberia.

He began to tell me the story of his life, which started at the beginning and ended on this day, without my having to pose a single question. I let him. I respected his need to talk, and my role in this was to be there to listen. He told me about his journey from Russia to Greece, which was intertwined with a dream that was constantly rendered futile. He told me about his strained financial situation these past few years, about the serious health problems with his heart, and the sudden estrangement with his son, who no longer wanted him around. He repeated that he considered himself a burden, which had an expiration date. As he recounted all this, his calloused hands oscillated soporifically, like waves before me.

He requested shelter for two, maybe three days. After that, he would be hosted at the homeless shelter in Athens. He told me that he desperately needed my help. He could not withstand another night on the streets. That winter evening was undeniably and truly cold. I told him that our organization does not offer its own accommodation. He begged me.

A certain reflex response immediately kicked in. I set aside my sense of realism, and I poured myself into my work, determined to find a solution for him. I grabbed my planner and proceeded to make several phone calls. I wouldn’t rest until I found something, anything positive or even promising. I contacted everyone, and I refused to stop, despite the overwhelming negative responses. I felt as though I had reached a dead end; I was merely hitting a wall that would not budge, a feeling that was only exacerbated every time I saw the man’s devastated eyes before mine. Suddenly, I remembered. Hoping that this time we would be lucky, I addressed the person on the other end of the line who had finally, willingly agreed to find a place for yet another one of our people, in a heated space for the homeless.

This news was very good. In this bleak atmosphere, I dared to feel a sliver of joy. I was proud to be able to announce to him that which had been agreed upon: that that specific night he would not have to spend on the streets. His eyes brimmed with tears, and he gripped my hand with all his might. The feeling I experienced at that moment warmed me from head to toe like a blanket. I jotted down the address and printed off a map. I was worried he might get lost.

Once he left, I plastered my face on the window. I wanted to see him one last time. As he walked down the sidewalk, he paused to look around him. He looked as though he was genuinely confused. In that moment, watching him like that, I was also stunned. Something very important was missing. Without even thinking about it, I swung open the window and yelled as loud as I could:

“I’m right here!”

He nodded his head enthusiastically in response, and continued his journey, a newfound spring to his step. Everything that could be said between us had been said. I glanced at my watch. It was 9:20. It was time for me to go home.