ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΕΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΕΣ

Abracadabra!

Posted on Wednesday August 23rd, 2017

Harrison Kramer knows about magic tricks. He has a magic wand and make things disappear. He puts a love spell on people and make them happy. You see – he is a magician! He is the owner of “After School Magic”, a performing arts company located in Manhattan, NY. “After School Magic” provides a wide array of entertainment, enrichment, and hands on educational services. Harrison is an expert communicator and has facilitated over 1000 performances and educational workshops at different venues ranging from schools and weddings to refugee camps and pediatric ICUs.

SN had the chance to meet him during the summer and enjoy his volunteer work in its Northern Greece office where he performed and taught his art!

During his stay in Greece Harrison kept a journal, where he wrote down his experiences and his secret magic tricks. Harrison wanted to share them with us.

If you don’t believe in magic, be prepared to embrace them after your read the following.

Relax and let the magic enchant you!

6/30/17 Thessaloniki

Harrison visited on 30 June SolidarityNow’s Blue Refugee Center where he gave a magic and juggling performance and conducted a workshop for kids and teens. It seems that our young beneficiaries love magic as they were eager and enthusiast in learning the easy yet baffling magic tricks. Harrison taught them: balloon balancing, the ball and the vase trick, how to do a mind reading trick and the plate spinning. Later they chatted with Harrison about how magic tricks can be done with mainstream materials and about the importance of concentration during practice to achieve successful skill development. “For me the most rewarding thing was to see the kids coming up with their own ideas as well as how the more distant participants became more active and excited throughout the program” writes Harrison on his notebook.

7/3/17 Sindos Shelter

With the help of a skilled interpreter and a dedicated volunteer, Harrison performed in front a group of 16 children. They started with a series of magic and juggling tricks. Juggling had the greatest impact to the kids as it was more easily perceived by the them. After the performance, the kids where excited to learn more about magic and tricks. They sat together shaping a big circle and they successfully performed various tricks. “When I asked who wanted to try pretty much everyone raised their hand. It was wonderful to see” writes Harrison. “This was the perfect storm for me. When I envisioned this project, it looked almost exactly like this. The “After School Magic” philosophy is to facilitate creative enrichment through skill building and encouragement, which may ultimately lead to a child’s physical and psychological empowerment. Today I think we accomplished a wonderful thing” writes Harrison.

7/4/2017 Drama Refugee Camp

“After School Magic” visited Drama Refugee Camp. A large group of people -around 70- gathered to see his magic and juggling show. The kids got very excited. “While I am still learning to adapt my performance to these new environments, today was maybe the best show I have put so far” writes Harrison on his notebook. Before proceeding with the workshop, Harrison let the kids to explore and play with his magic equipment. Then he shown them ball balancing, plate spinning and how to use devil sticks. NGOs staff was also there playing with the children and helping Harrison. When the show ended, some of the children dispersed and those who were left continued to play with each other. “While I did not get to teach much magic, which in my opinion is one of the best aspects of the “After School Magic” programs, I think the children really did enjoy and even benefited from our efforts. Before leaving we donated a small batch of equipment to the camp to be kept in the staff office for future use. During the two-hour drive, back to Thessaloniki my two incredible facilitators, from Solidary Now, helped me better understand the many aspects of the refugee crisis, its population, the various dynamics at play. Today was a great day” says Harrison.

7/5/17 Kavalari Camp

For the last day of “After School Magic” project, Harrison visited Kavalari, where a little girl and boy did a trick but the girl was very shy and would turn away when Harrison tried to get her to participate. “In my experience if you put an interesting object in front of the kid and act like you are not paying attention they will likely pick it up to examine” writes Harrison. Indeed, the little girl took the sponge ball and then handed it back to Harrison.

This time, 15 kids and 20 adults participated in his show as well as a mixed group of NGO workers. The show went smoothly. After the workshop was finished, a group of adults and NGO workers asked questions about magic tricks. The shy girl was standing there and watching me. By that point, she was a very active participant. “I opened my arms to hug her. She did the same thing to me” Harrison writes.

“As we all know the only thing that separates these children from any others of their age is the circumstances. I am so thankful to all these NGO’s who are working with them and making the real difference, even though it may never be enough. These children deserve the childhood that is being stolen from them” Harrison says.

“You have to taste a culture to understand it” *

Posted on Tuesday June 27th, 2017

Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

*Deborah Cater, British travel and food blogger

On the evening of June 19^th, the Seychelles restaurant in Kerameikos had altered its catalogue adding Barshank’s dishes – humus, spicy lamb, tabbouleh, grilled chicken with spices and groats and mutabal. The same happened when Abdul cooked at the 7 Food Sins restaurant in Plaka, where the cook confirmed his reputation as the “king of falafel”!

Both sides ceased the opportunity to come closer to each other’s culture; the Greek public on the one hand and the chefs from other countries on the other; the chefs who live currently in Greece as refugees and/or asylum seekers. Among them, Barshank and Abdul, chefs, refugees from Syria, beneficiaries of the SolidarityNow housing and accommodation program.

All this became a reality for the first time this year, since the Refugee Food festival, which is organized by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in several European countries, came to Greece and more specifically in Athens!

It took five days, from 17^th to 22^nd June, for the five chefs who cooked in five different restaurants in Athens, their countries’ traditional dishes and literally charmed the audience. Some of the restaurants even needed to extend the days for the new chefs to satisfy the people who wanted to taste the flavors of the different countries, such as Syria, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan.

The organization’s beneficiaries, firstly Barshank, on June 19^th and then Abdul on June 21^st, cooked for us Syrian spicy dishes, which were accompanied by their warm smile as they could not hide their happiness doing what they love. Cooking. They cooked for Athenians, delicacies from their own country, giving in this way a message of solidarity, respect and equality.

We wish to all the chefs who participated in the Refugee Food Festival to find their way to a peaceful and safe life and gain the opportunity to do what they love; besides, Abdul states that food and his relationship with it “is the ticket for a better future”!

Initiatives, such as the one by the UNHCR, will always be supported by SolidarityNow, since they are steps towards the next day; the one of social acceptance and integration of refugees and/or asylum seekers into the Greek community.

Abdul and Barshank were uniquely photographed and filmed by Giorgos Moutafis’ lens.

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The best for last! Barshank shares a traditional recipe with the organization’s readers and friends:

Baba ghanoush | Kurdish version without tahini

We punch out the small round eggplant with a fork a and put it in the grill, until it blackens and shrinks. Then, we peel it and put the flesh in the blender until it becomes a pulp. Then we strain it.

Take a pan and pour some olive oil. Add 2 or 3 cloves of grated garlic. In the pan, we can add a whipped egg. Then, we add the pulp eggplant, paprika sauce, salt, pepper. We place the pulp on a dish and make a hole in the center. Add mint or other fresh herbs, olive oil and some slices of tomato to decorate the dish.

The Hosting and Accommodation Programs are developed by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO).

Shalama: “We left behind the war and the fear, to find safety and life”

Posted on Monday May 29th, 2017

SolidarityNow

“We left behind the war and the fear, to find safety and life”

Shalama, refugee from Syria, 36 years-old, father of four

Shalama, his 25-year-old wife, their 6-year-old son and their twin girls, arrived in Greece in 2016. During their journey, they were also “carrying” their son; the couple’s youngest son was finally born during their stay in the refugee camp of Kilkis.

Shalama, a constructor in the profession, narrates a beautiful life with a lot of work and rich wages in the house construction sector in Aleppo and Latakia. “Everything went well, I had my work and we lived happily with my family“, and then the war broke out. Gradually the work stopped, it became impossible for Shalama to travel from his village to places and at the end it was difficult for them to access necessities and medical care.

That was when the prosecutions began. Shalama has ten siblings living in different countries. His mother with one of his siblings remains in Syria, while his father lives in Turkey. He has lost traces of one of his brothers – he hasn’t seen him since 2011, when the country’s regime imprisoned him because of his opposition affiliations. Today, he is still looking for him, with the support of the Red Cross – he does not even know if his brother, a lawyer, is still alive.

The decision to flee away from the war was now the only alternative. Shalama could no longer tolerate his children’s reaction to the violence of war. “In every noise, the children were hiding under the table; I could not allow myself to live like this“.

The family crossed the mountains, hid in a Syrian village near the borders with Turkey, sometimes sleeping in a mosque, sometimes in the woods, waiting for the smugglers to keep their promises for a smooth trip; a trip that was never smooth. After two months, they managed to cross the borders. They remained for ten days in Turkey, and then, by paying a huge amount, boarded on an inflatable boat along with 60 other refugees, heading for Mytilene.

Next station, Edomeni, from where they believed – like thousands of other refugees – that they would leave for northern Europe. Dreams collapsed and the end of winter found them in the camp of Nea Kavala, Kilkis. Still, there, another dream came true; their little son was born.

Shalama did not struggle to communicate with the Greeks, because he has an advantage! He speaks Greek, which he learned in Greece while working in house construction from 2005 to 2007.

Since Shalama and his family are all together in Greece, he remembers strongly that his children were hiding or running in his arms during the 25^thMarch parade when the war planes were in the air. “Suddenly I saw them running to hide and shout ‘Dad, Dad’”- each time I was trying to comfort them; my dream is to forget“.

Spring finds the family at Softex’s camp, in Thessaloniki, where they remained for almost six months. Then, they joined the UNHCR Relocation Program and the SolidarityNow Housing and Hosting Program. Today, they are hosted in the organization’s accommodation structure in Peania, waiting for their departure date in the coming days. The country of relocation? The Netherlands; and they are very happy about it: “I have fellow villagers there, but will it be hard? I don’t know. I am worried about not knowing the new language, worried that everything should be done from the scratch. But I don’t mind. We will make it. I really want kids to go to school and learn foreign languages. If you don’t speak a language, it is as if you’ve been left out”.

At the end, Shalama describes one of his dreams; “my boys will learn football, since I love it so much! I would love to see the Champions League final game in June, at Cardiff – I wish to be lucky enough to make this dream true!“.

*The Hosting Scheme Project Home for Hope is implemented by SolidarityNow with the support of UNHCR GREECE and EU funding.

Asmael and Cherie: a love story of two people who left their country but not one another

Posted on

Valia Savvidou

You do not exactly call them a typical family.

Among them lives the 8-year-old Superman, two twin boys of 1,5 years old, a beautiful girl in her six, a so-serious 13-year-old teenager, a reserved 10-year-old girl, and of course their parents, for a not to be taken lightly family sum of 8!

Head of the family, the invulnerable mother Cherie.

Cherie, Syrian of Kurdish origin – whose name in Syria means “something beautiful” – is 36 years old, mother of six, talks loud and describes poverty, births, nights in the mountains, cold, with a smile that almost forbids you to regret or be sorry for her.

“The twin brothers who hosted us in Thessaloniki, when they saw Hassan and Hussein, my twin boys, welcomed us as if they knew us for years and a few days later we were all crying together because we had to leave for Athens!”

This is how Cherie begins to tell the family’s story, since “at first”, as she notes, “I want to say how well the Greek people we met have treated us“.

The story of the family for Asmael has as its beginning, his wife, Cherie.

– She didn’t know we would get married. She was asking me when we bumped into each other in the neighborhood “When is your marriage? When are going to celebrate?”. Then she found out, from my friend, and brother of her, that I wanted her; and she wanted me too.

– I wasn’t aware of me wanting to marry you, I just thought … I like you!

– We were not in love when we got married. But now we love each other so much!

Cherie agrees with Asmael. “Nothing makes sense without him. He is everything.“; and it seems their optimism derives from love –from their love and then the love for their children. “When we arrived in Chios, I prayed to God; it was enough that we were all together.”. The whole family thinks of the future. Shortly, they will be relocated to France. Until then, they are hosted in the SolidarityNow housing and accommodation structure in Peania, Attica.

They know how it is to be on the move; Syria – Kurdistan – Iraq – Turkey – Greece. They had to save themselves and their children many times from cold, hunger, smugglers, violence. In Greece, they thought their dreams would come true on their arrival to Edomeni. However, the continuity is known. The borders closed, Edomeni was evacuated and their moving began within the country: E1 gateway to Piraeus, Ioannina, Vasilika, Thessaloniki, Athens. In Thessaloniki for a very short time, they have been happy to be accommodated in a house that has opened for them their beloved twin siblings.

More hugs awaited in Athens for the 8-member family. Upon their arrival, they stayed in the accommodation structure of the organization in Peania – it is probably the most cheerful apartment of the structure! Asmael and Cherie are confident they will make it in their new country, while her looks forward for the children to go to school: “I want my girls and boys to go to school. In my family, I was equal to the boys – we were free to decide what we want to do.“.

Something “cherie” will always accompany this family’s life, something sweet and beautiful – just like them!

*The Hosting Scheme Project is implemented by SolidarityNow with the support of UNHCR GREECE and EU funding.

“Every cloud has a silver lining!”

Posted on Monday May 8th, 2017

Andreas Vasiliou, Hotel owner in Rovies, Evia, hosting refugees in the context of the SolidarityNow program “Home for Hope”

Rovies is my village, a small holiday resort in eastern Evia and I, the owner of a small hotel that has been converted into a home for refugee families from Syria. I have talked many times about the reasons that led me to this decision; I have been one of the many volunteers who traveled to Idomeni and Diavata since the beginning of this humanitarian crisis to help refugees who arrived in our country, forced to abandon their warring own.

Time passes in this beautiful small village of Greece, in a different but so lovely way, while the change in many of fellow men occurs every day in front of my eyes and is expressed by everyone in a diverse way. I felt the need to write about this change, because I greatly appreciate people’s courage to admit their own mistake, and I find it hopeful to see them, but also to contribute, to altering for the better!

During the last days, two local professionals talked to me about refugees and how well they have been integrated in our society, admitting that “their initial fears proved to be groundless”. Indeed. With our joint effort, the local community’s, my own and the organization’s that supports us -SolidarityNow-, the social integration of refugees no longer seem to be impossible.

Hope is here; people change and learn, if they are given the time to adapt to an unexpected change, as I will outline below with some examples:

– My cousin, with whom we do not associate because of his extreme right-wing rhetoric, he pleased me with a small but characteristic gesture; one day he parked his car a bit further from the hotel fence and secretly passed through a bag full of clothes he had brought for the children.

– The descendant of a National Army officer who, along with his wife, supported us from the beginning, have brought a whole collection of clothes; and they have such a great taste!

– The always calm and smiling lady became furious when she heard Asia Minor Greeks speaking negatively about the refugees, in our meeting that took place about a year ago.

– During the same meeting, a friend of mine who never speaks about politics, cried remembering having heard the same accusations for her son, when he left as an immigrant to Germany.

– The old lady, who on the first day the refugees arrived at the hotel, while many still lived in fear, smiled at an elderly couple standing outside her courtyard to look at the embroidery she was preparing. She invited them in her house and offered them coffee and sweet; without understanding a word of each other’s language, they spent the whole afternoon together, with the grandmothers “discussing” for their embroideries.

– The businessman, with whom we had argued fiercely in the past, when asked to act against the refugees’ arrival in our village, he steadily replied that he goes to Asia Minor every year, where his family comes from; thus, he thought, acting against the refugees would be an insult to his ancestors.

Of course, there is a flip side to this coin; the aggressive, hostile attitude on behalf of few people who do not want or won’t admit how unfair and prejudiced their behaviour is.

Personally, I prefer to deal with the majority that, either from the beginning or later, they overcome the initial ignorance or fear and open their arms for the refugees; these people turn their solidarity into action and they engage themselves in the refugees’ relief effort.

Yes! Sometimes, after all, there is a silver lining!

*The Hosting Scheme Project Home for Hope is implemented by SolidarityNow with the support of UNHCR GREECE and EU funding.

Blue stories are happy stories!

Posted on Friday April 21st, 2017

For the protection of the most vulnerable refugee and migrant groups, special support centers –already known as “Blue Dots”- for children, women and families are being operated in more than 10 points across Greece to provide vital services, counselling and play in a single location.

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

Everyday, SolidarityNow teams live the stories of the people they are helping and most of all they create new stories together with them. Stories which inspire joy and hope. Small, everyday stories that we have collected and share with you ….

On the occasion of World Children Day, the #SolidarityNow team at the Refugee Reception Center in Drama, share some moments of #laughter, relaxation and carelessness with the #children, with the screening of a children’s #film. We all enjoyed it so much!

The old #tourist accommodations in the small spa town of Volvi, for the past year have been housing Yazidi families, as well as people from Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Afganistan, Syria and Pakistan. Due to the diversity of the population and in the context of SolidarityNow Blue Dots program a barbecue was organized outside the Child & Family Care Hub. Everyone enjoyed themselves beyond borders and differences. They sang their traditional songs, they danced, they cooked and ate all together. The friends and family of SolidarityNow’s employees were also there!
* Iliaktida as UNHCR’s partner has the management of Volvi Accommodation Scheme, through IATAP.

SolidarityNow loves women’s #volleyball! Last Saturday, 23 teenagers-beneficiaries of SolidarityNow’s Blue #Refugee Center* from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, had the chance to go to watch a volleyball match in the context of the #Greekwomen’s #Volleyball Cup. The game took place in the indoor arena of the Municipal Stadium of Pylaia. The match was between A.C. Aris and A.O. Makropoulo. We would like to thank A.C. Aris Women’s Volleyball Team and its Manager Mr. Yiannis Yiannakis for giving the opportunity to SolidarityNow’s beneficiaries to attend the match and meet the team! In SolidarityNow we support the integration of refugees and immigrants in the Greek society through #sports!

“The sky is our limit”.
With these words the children of Elefsina hosting structure expressed the empowerment they experienced at the Adventure Park at Malakasa, challenging their physical skills, feeling like super heroes in this marvelous adventure!
We would like to thank the Adventure Park for their kind hospitality.

«When toys talk…»: When the girls from the Elefsina camp, held their handmade dolls in their hands, then suddenly…the dolls found their breath and narrated stories that the gilrs could not articulate. The girls’ stories met with a book tale. “How do you take your tea?” Through this story, girls and dolls revealed big and tiny secrets, related to this daily habit.
We would like to thank #Traumateddy and Shelley Deane for the offered opportunity.

“Do you want to see the most important person in the world? ”
Each child opened the box and smiled as they saw themselves in the secret box with the mirror.

With the occasion of World Children Day, the #SolidarityNow’s #Blue #Dot team at the reception center in #Thebes, a game of hidden treasure for the children. The children’s rights were transformed to games, peace posters, homemade smells, hide and seek, games, video, teasing, a clean environment, and discussion on the importance of knowledge … Parents and children, in groups or individually holding their “map” started looking … for their rights!

In the Child Friendly Space* of #SolidarityNow in Drama, the story of the Whirl Witch who ate the children’s #toys was the inspiration to explain to the #children a basic right which, quite obviously, is often overshadowed: their right to play! Because as they showed us through their #drawings, a world without toys is a bad #world!

Recognizing the respective needs of the #beneficiaries and the lack of legal #information, especially for the newcomers to the #Hospitality Center of Thebes, the SolidarityNow team, with the valuable collaboration of the Athens Solidarity Center, provided legal information in groups with the participation of families, single men and unaccompanied minors. The briefings were mainly related to asylum and rights issues and were given in Farsi, Arabic, Sorani, Kirmanji and Urdu. Participation was great and the #questions that were risen were answered by the experts and the relevant printed material.

SolidarityNow’s Child Friendly Space in Drama, organized for the children a series of activities about the animal rights. Specifically, they started by showing them pictures that depicted animals’ rights. Then, they discussed each picture, giving them the chance to say what it is depicted in each one. After that, they made a group project titled: “The Earth does not belong only to humans”. On a cardboard, they drew and painted the Earth, putting around it different kind of handprinted animals created by the kids. Then, the children were asked what each animal might need. “Love, care, food and water” were some of their answers!

On September 1st, SolidarityNow‘s Blue Dot team at the reception center in Thebes, organized a painting activity on large surfaces, thus participating in the celebration of the Muslim Easter.
Children of all ages with their parents as well unaccompanied minors were drawing together aiming at the emotional expression of children and the cultivation of a spirit of cooperation. A professional painter was there too, sharing his knowledge on techniques of using the right brushes and colors!
Among the participants was Ali, the leader of a single-parent family, who showed his children how paint big suns and hearts, while singing a cheerful song, saying: ” «You are the sky’s great moon, And I’ll become a star and go around you. If you become a star and go around me, I’ll become a cloud and cover your face…”

We celebrated together with our beneficiaries in Thessaloniki!
In particular, at the Children’s and Family Protection Hub (Blue Dot), on the occasion of the Eid Al Adha celebration, we enjoyed food, festive cookies made by the beneficiaries themselves, gifts for children, songs, dancing, and much laughter! People from different countries – Syria, Congo, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine – were given the opportunity to dance their traditional dances from around the world!
A multicultural feast, a celebration of love and solidarity!

“Journey to the World of Emotions”

The 1st Experimental Workshop of the Child & Family Support Hub has been successfully completed through a journey full of colour, music and action! The children’s smile and energy became our strength through to make the adventurous journey to the feelings’ island of the composer, Manos Hatzidakis. Joy and sadness alternated while we were travelling through different landscapes and places with love being our guide.

Due to great participation, the action is going to be repeated for our little friends!

Music has no borders, no color, race or religion! Music brings us together! With this message the 30 children of our choir, composed of refugee children living at the Elefsina camp, sang in Greek, English and Farsi at the Haidari Botanical Garden.
In this special summer party organized by the SolidarityNow Blue Dot** team, the children left their life in the camp for a while and remembered how it is to play, have fun and sing carelessly.
Because for All children, life must be Joyful!

In the very center of Athens, SolidarityNow’s new Blue Dot hub welcomes everyday dozens of refugee children who come to spend their time but also to learn new, exciting things! Creative activities of art and theater, board games, books, painting, reading and singing as well a bunch of other activities delivered by the #SolidarityNow team, fill the hearts of these kids with joy!

The SolidarityNow Team of the #BlueDot Center in Kavalari organized its own gymnastic demonstrations at the end of the school year! The young beneficiaries of our program took part with joy, while their proud parents were watching and encouraging them!
A celebration of well-being and happiness, where everyone has won. We shared smiles and gave medals medals to everyone – even to our youngest friends – and of course countless applause for their wonderful effort and courage!

Are you afraid of the lions? The snakes; The crocodiles? Our little friends and benficiaries of SolidarityNow’s BlueDot Elefsina project, however, seemed not to be scared at all! On the contrary, the visit of the Attica Zoological by the children and their parents living in the Elefsina camp, will surely be unforgettable as they met many of the animals for the very first time!

A very interesting and useful session was organized by our active team at Elefsina!
Our Blue Dot team in Elefsina, with the collaboration of the legal service of Athens Solidarity Center, realized a legal briefing to the inhabitants of the refugee camp of Elefsina.
During the two meetings, the participation rate by both women and men was high. At the end of the meetings, discussion was held, questions were answered and brochures with relevant information was distributed. The topics covered were human rights and asylum, family reunification, etc.
Also, a special reference was made to issues regarding gender violence and abuse.

SolidarityNow team of the BlueDot program in Elefsina escorted the children from the refugee camp in the area to a 5X5 pitch to play football with their peers from nearby schools. In an effort to get in touch with the community, the children played and mingled with each other! Αt the end of the event, each little player received a ball as a gift! Thank you all!

“Loose parts” are objects that are not toys. Instead, everything can be used to play with emphasizing in the procedure rather than the result. Children at the Elefsina Refugee Camp, in the context of BlueDots program by SolidarityNow, used plastic bags, branches and strings to bring in Greece something from the place they come. The result: some wonderful kites !

At Kavalari Thessaloniki, the BlueDot program team surprises us again and keep us posted on the following field activity:
“Facing the not ideal living conditions of the refugee camps, we took the situation in our hands and, through creative activities, we – together with the refugee children of 6 up to 10 yo- put big red Xs on the dangers they face in places they live. There were more than we we imagined, but we treated them with courage! ”

Spring struck us to Kavalari, and the BlueDot SolidarityNow team together with our young beneficiaries celebrated it by making small indoor gardens! We picked up our materials, we grew our lawn, we put water in the pond, we decorated it with some stones and we planted nice flowers!

Each activity is the occasion for a new activity for SolidarityNow team at the Elefsina camp in the context of the BlueDot program.
Our staff together with our little friends have recycled the branches from the pruning of the trees and made houses for the children to discuss
the concept of personal space and any feelings associated with it. Just think how hard is for the children to open up about the traumatic issue of the abandonment of their own homes.
But this activity also had its entertaining side! The use of materials has led children to use their imagination and work together!

There are many ways to feel the concept of family, to create and ultimately to maintain what we call “family bonds”. The love that makes you feel another person like brother or sister has nothing to do with the blood. Love goes beyond the decisions of the grownups, the pain, or the conflicts!

The most important lessons of life come from the children. Children who think with their heart. And they express their thoughts spontaneously during the creative activities organised by SolidarityNow at the BlueDot project in Drama …

The highly creative team of SolidarityNow’s BlueDot in Faneromeni – Ioannina implemented an entertaining traffic education course for the young beneficiaries of the program.
Altogether they crafted traffic lights and traffic signs, and after the children learned about their usefulness, they played various interactive games to better understand the importance to respect the traffic rules and to be careful when being on the road – whether you’re an adult or a child!

The BlueDot team of SolidarityNow in Drama, visited Serres Therapeutic Equestrian Center, along with 76 beneficiaries – including 45 children. We had such a great time playing, have a picnic, and of course horse riding!

Esra, one of our BlueDot beneficiaries, was still pregnant when we met. Our team was since by her side, providing the necessary counseling and care during her pregnancy. Time went by and the day came when little Ali was about to come to our world. With his father Mahmud we were waiting outside the door of the delivery room, when a nurse let us know about a slight that worried us a great deal. But finally, all went well and since then we don’t enough of seeing our cute boy! The parents are more than happy! And so are we!

First day at school yesterday for the young beneficiaries of our BlueDot program at Elefsina, a program implanted by SolidarityNow, supported by UNICEF and funded by the EU.
SolidarityNow was beside them in during this joyful moment. We help the children get prepared and escorted them to the school with our interpreters and the scientific staff in order to work together with their teachers for their smooth integration.
The reception of children by the parents, students, teachers and neighbors was really moving, with all these banners, songs, gifts and treats.
Solidarity lessons into practice!

The BlueDot at Doliana team organised a very interesting, useful and … funny activity for the young beneficiaries of the program concerning the hygiene of their hands! The need of daily care and hygiene is imperative in all our structures – especially when it concerns the children! And when it is taught in a fun way, the kids never forget it!

We celebrate the first day of spring and the first day of the persian year – aka Norooz.

Beneficiaries of the program together with the team of SolidarityNow set the traditional table, cooked with the help of the NGO”The Other Man”, we dance we have fun!

Happy new year! Νοrooz Mabarak!

“Children here can rest, forget the war and the difficult journey they made and they can also express their dreams: one of them wants to become a horseman and another wants to work for NASA,” says a member of SolidarityNow team in the BlueDot in Serres where 45 children from Syria are learning sports, are doing creative and artistic activities to develop their cognitive capabilities.

“Blue Dots is the image of our world as envisioned by SolidarityNow – a planet where people will be equally treated and have the same opportunities living in societies based on solidarity and peaceful coexistence and this begins by helping children and families”

Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow.

#ListenToMyStory

Posted on Thursday April 20th, 2017

SolidarityNow, with the cooperation of the award-winning photojournalist George Moutafis, highlights and make known the people and their personal stories which derive from the current refugee crisis. “Listen to My Story” is the photo project that focuses on the everyday protagonists of this unprecedented European refugee / immigration phenomenon.

“The basic needs of the people is a priority. Unfortunately, inequalities are increasing nowadays. Improving the situation requires commitment and organization. Going to offer clothes once at an accommodation structure is important, but the greatest help is offered by the people involved in this, who, unfortunately, are not being paid. These are not the ones who are exposed to the media and are at events with volunteer awards; these are people that are more ‘hidden’.

I do not have a message of solidarity to send. For me, solidarity is an act. And I do not think I can describe it in 5-10 words. ”

Theano Metaxa, actress
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Athens , January 2016

“Last summer I worked as a tour guide in Santorini and saw all that was happening from far. When I finished my work I decided to come and help, as well. We welcome refugees arriving from the islands in the port of Piraeus, almost every day, and we try to support them by giving them food, shoes and clothes.
We are a small part of a chain and we try to make their journey easier because we know that the road is long.

Everyone helps and offers as much and whatever possible, some more and some less. Even the little time spent by someone to come help when the boat arrives, is important. When my children do not have school – mainly on weekends- I bring them with me to help. I am very proud that all of this is based on volunteerism. I believe that these people will make it. Having reached this far, they will find their way again. I am positive.

One day, I heard my daughter say the word ‘solidarity’ and I asked her if she knows what the word means. Immediately, she replied that solidarity is what happens daily in the port of Piraeus. ”

Georgia Dima, Tour Guide, Piraeus
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Piraeus, January 2016

“I just arrived at the port of Piraeus and I’m very happy. I believe that I will not face any other difficulties. I am on this trip alone with my child. I am going to Germany to meet my husband who has already been there for some months.

We left Damascus because we could not live there anymore. We really were in danger. I cannot wait until the moment I see my husband again. I believe my heart will stop beating when I see him. We are looking to find a safe place to live a normal life and raise our child. I do not ask for anything else.”

Haya 23 years old, Syria
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Piraeus, January 2016

“Fishing is my life. I feel the sea sometimes calling me and sometimes not letting me get close. Often, as I am going fishing, I see people who need help. I approach them and I let my mind work automatically. I know that in a few seconds a life can be lost or saved.
When someone is in danger, he/speaks our language and I understand his/hers. There is no time to lose. Solidarity is something different for everyone. For me it means doing what is obvious, without any gain and at sea, it is one of the things one should do without a second thought.

A moment I will never forget is when I went to take a little girl out from the sea. She was dead and lying on her stomach. I turned her over to put her on my boat and saw that her eyes were wide open and staring. I thought she would talk to me. I will never forget the face and eyes of this baby.
None of us had in mind awards, we do not think about these things. It honors as fishermen but I ask you, will it change anything? Let there not have been such awards and people having to leave their homes.

I feel the need to apologize. I feel complicit. Sorry t I cannot do more to stop this happening in our seas”.

Stratis Valamios , Fisherman , Skala of Sykaminia, Lesvos
Candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Lesvos, February 2016

“I came to Greece on a wooden boat 11 years ago. We could see the lights on the island and prayed to get there without having something bad happen. Our boat got stuck a few meters away from the shore and we all jumped into the sea. We were 25 people; women and babies. It was March 2005, a very cold night. I will always remember this night. My feet were swollen and I was hiding for two days in the mountains so that the police could not find me. I was looking for a way to leave for Athens. Back then, there were no volunteers on the coast or rescue boats, like there are now.

I came to Chios to work, I am a builder, plasterer and when I do not have work, I go to the coast to help. I prefer to go for two hours instead of sitting at a café for the same time.
Because I speak their language, I listen to their stories and understand what it means to not have money even for a bus ticket. I help them as much as I can. I talk to the bus driver and he allows them get on.

I remember one morning boat reached the coast and we were not many volunteers. A car stopped and a young couple came to help. They gave blankets and helped us change wet babies. Honestly, I had not seen them before and I still do not know who they are. They just stopped, helped and then left. That to me is solidarity.”

Sami, Egyptian, Builder and Volunteer in Chios
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Chios, January 2016

“Hundreds of refugees reach Oinousses. Along with Loukia, Eftichia, Annie and Vasilia – villagers and friends of ours, we spontaneously created a small solidarity network. We did not design anything. We just followed our instincts.
These months have changed our lives. We changed as people, we are helpful and sleep peacefully at night. Refugees arrive in remote areas, particularly at night. Many times we hear them yelling, but we cannot find them so we literally have a rescue operation. They’re wet, frightened and many are injured since they arrive in rocky areas. We are not familiar with first aid, we do not have equipment, do not speak their language and yet, we manage to help.

One morning a shepherd called us to go help him. Refugees had arrived in a rutty area. We found them and by almost climbing, we got back on the road safely. This is the moment you see the kindness in their eyes. Several offered us cookies they with them, to thank us.

Once it was very cold and a Syrian refugee took off his jacket and handed it to Elli who was literally freezing. It is not the help we offer them; what’s most important for us is that we learn from their own kindness.”

Eleni and Elli Lignou, volunteers from Oinousses
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Oinousses January 2016

“If you see someone who is hungry you should give him a plate of food. Obviously. But seeing this whole situation makes me furious. Mostly for older people, who wait patiently for their turn to get a plate of food. I look at them and think it might be someone close to me. A friend or relative. I think that we might find ourselves at some point in their position, perhaps.

I am the cook, a member of the social kitchen where we cook almost every day for refugees arriving on the island. Our cooking is based on what the world offers. Ordinary people who come, give food and leave without waiting to hear a thank you. Solidarity is when you can give when and take when you need to.

If the world stops giving us food, then there will not be any food. Our storage sometimes reaches a point where it does not have anything for us to cook. But always at the last moment, as if someone has a magic wand…we manage to find something to put into the pot.

I like to see people come get second plates. It means that they liked the food. When cook with your heart, the food is tastier.”

“I’m really happy that I got to Greece. There were 45 of us on the boat and I was very scared about this trip. Fortunately, the weather was good, we were at sea for almost 1,5 hours and arrived safe. I was impressed about how we were greeted by the volunteers on the shore. Volunteers from around the world. To be honest I did not expect this.

They gave us dry clothes and water and soon we were taken to tents to rest for a while before continuing our journey. I finished school in Afghanistan but I’m lucky because I know how to write and I speak English. I think this will help me in my journey. I want to study. I want to go to Norway, I have relatives who have been living there for 20 years. I’ll try to get there via the Balkan route. I know it’s a difficult journey, but I will make it. It’s hard to explain. I’m not searching for a better life, I just want to live”.

“For me, man has value. I do not care where it comes from or where it goes. We have everything and they have nothing. That’s why we decided to help them. We welcome dozens of refugees every day in our village. Our houses are on the beach and people literally arrive at our doorsteps. Thus, a group of volunteers was created that offers them warm soup, tea, dry clothes and shoes. If they arrive at night, they sleep in a place that the Church has given us. We feel close to these people and many of them promise us that will come one day to meet us again.

These people are sailing into the unknown, on a boat called “Hope”. We’ve heard about this but we have not lived it. And I hope we never have to go through such situations. Many call me Mom. Do you know how important it is for a stranger to call you mom? Perhaps it has an even greater value than it does when it comes from your child”.

“I volunteer because I cannot see people being wet while I am just comfortably sitting. Our house is on the sea and refugees arrive every day. Recently, a boat arrived with 45 people and many babies. I got into the sea, grabbed babies and put them in our home. We turned the radiator on and we gave them milk. I put socks on them and gave them diapers.
The other day I took sea urchin spines off the foot of an adult, they had arrived with their boat behind our house on the rocks and as they were about to arrive at the coast, he stepped on a sea urchin. These people are not familiar with the sea.
My teacher gives me thumbs up for helping but tells me that I also need to pay attention to my classes. The other kids at school make fun of me. They tell me I will get sick. What makes me angry is that several adults come by just to steal the engines of the boats and leave the people helpless.
It is just five of us who help here. At school we have history and religion classes and we are told to love and help our neighbor. But here no one comes to help”.

“By playing in front of these people, I try to feel alive. It’s a very emotional job and it requires great effort to make these children laugh or forget about their worries, even if that is just for a moment. No one is different from another. We are all the same. Only that now, these people are in need of solidarity. Solidarity unites people and spreads love. This job gives me strength and I think I am contributing to bettering the world in which we live.
Our own world, the world of clowns, aims to make others laugh. These children need to dream. These children need to be able to laugh again”.

Elena Xibille, 30 years old, Clown | Clowns Without Borders
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Idomeni, December 2015

“When the Coast Guard asks me to go with my boat and help people who are at sea, for me it is a very difficult moment. I do not know if I will find people alive or people that have drowned. Even when I go fishing, I often witness people stretching their hands out, asking me for help. My stomach becomes a knot, as I do not know who to bring aboard first.

I help because I want to call myself human. There is no time to think when you see people in danger. And mostly children, these innocent beings. When even the last person is out of the boat and ashore and before they all continue their journey, several of them turn around to shake hands with me and thank me. They give me their baby children so that I can hold them in my arms for a while and they look at me right in the eyes. As if they know that it was my hands that saved them.

I stand and stare until they go up the hill. I notice them glancing back here and there, and wave goodbye. I know I did the right thing. And believe me, you would do the same in my position”.

“Just as the refugees are now coming to Lesvos, so too did my grandfather with my grandmother come in 1922. Exactly the same trip, just that there were no life jackets back then.
Every day, from 7 in the morning, I walk on the shore and pick up rubber boats and lifejackets that the refugees leave behind. It is hard work; it is very difficult to clean the shore. On one day we clean, and on the next, we find even more as people continue to arrive on the island. This mountain that you see with lifejackets, I made myself. Every day I move hundreds with my truck. Seeing the way things are going, I think the mountain with life jackets will be the tallest mountain on the island soon. I cannot figure how many these are. I cannot tell you for sure if it’s tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. What I will say for sure is that people who were wearing lifejackets are lucky. They are the ones who reached the shore. Others never arrived”.

Stratis Karaeleftheriou, 54 years old, Driver, Employee at the Coast Cleaning Service
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Lesvos, November 2015.

“I work in the camp of Idomeni daily. I’ve seen thousands of people pass through. I know that their country has been devastated and this saddens me. I just look at them as they pass the border and this saddens me. Especially when children do. Unfortunately, besides working in the camp, I cannot do anything more for them.

Τhey leave in a hurry to cross the border. It is their need and desire to get to their destination and I understand them. That is how I felt too, when I was seeking a better future and left to go to Germany as a migrant. Leaving your home behind is a very bad feeling. Leaving everything behind. Friends, parents and home. The worst is that you do not know if you will ever come back to see them again…”

Christos Bassiakos, employee in the Cleaning Sector of the Idomeni camp
©Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow | Idomeni, December 2015

“When I saw them walking in the rain and mud three years ago, I felt like I could stay uninvolved. I talked with friends, with locals and we organized ourselves. We made a triptych with photos showing Greek, German and Syrian refugees in different periods in order to raise awareness among our fellow citizens. The response was great and now we have built a network of volunteers and we provide as much as support as we can.
The needs and difficulties are many, but with the world’s solidarity, solutions are found and problems are solved.
As a volunteer who deals with refugees going through my village, I want to tell the world to not be afraid. They have never hurt anyone. Do not be afraid! Especially here, where most of us come from Pontus and remember our grandparents who were refugees telling us exactly the same stories”.

When I was young, I would come to Greece with my parents. We would go to Crete for vacations. I have read about Plato, Thales, Pythagoras and Socrates for the philosophy of life, and I consider them humanity’s greatest philosophers. I was a mountain climber. I’ve climbed from Nepal to Switzerland. My father was a doctor in Damascus.

During the war I went to Homs and worked with many international organizations and with many well-known journalists. In Syria, I got injured during the collapse of a bombed building. I had to make some operations on my head and now I live with a leg paralysis. Throughout the trip my friends and fellow travelers helped me and took care of me. That’s what solidarity means to me. Without them there was no chance of going anywhere.

Many people ask me where I am from. “I am also from this planet”, I answer them. We aren’t different. I breathe, laugh, feel and hurt just like you.

‘Winter has come and the weather has worsened. Coming out of the boat wet, unfortunately, is something we cannot avoid. We light the fire and wait for them having socks and dry clothes, with other volunteers active in the region.

Things are very difficult especially at night when it is colder. Many arrive on the coast almost fainting, on the verge of hypothermia. It is a very difficult time for us. Just like when you hear children crying and trying to find their parents in the night.

We must stand by these people. We must help them continue their lives with dignity. You must have solidarity in you, feel it, and help without expecting anything in return.
We are twins and we have always been together. We always support each other in everything we do.

After watching the hundreds of refugees arriving daily in Chios, we decided to volunteer and help as much as we can. Once a boat arrives, I forget where my brother is. We are all together, helping each other. Rescuers, volunteers and refugees – we become siblings. ”

“There is no war in my country but it is like living a war. Believe me, being hungry for days is worse than living a war. That’s why I left! I’ve been stuck at the border. At night, it is very cold. I sleep in a tent. I don’t have anything else of my own. Just my tent. Fortunately, some volunteers and organizations give us clothes, food and water, but I want to continue my journey. I want to go to Germany. I want to work. When I get back on to my feet, I will go back to my country to continue my life there. Despite the poor conditions here, I try to be strong and often give courage to those around me too, so that they can stay strong. I must not fall apart now. I will not allow myself to give up.
I’m in Europe but I’m stuck between police and fences. Why don’t they allow us to continue? Can somebody tell me why Europe started differentiate between people?”

“Is solidarity the answer to the humanitarian crisis? Yes, it is”

Posted on Friday March 31st, 2017

Photo: Steven Tagle

One of the first to welcome beneficiaries at the Athens Solidarity Center, expresses her involvement and feelings.

by Vicky Anastasiou,

Reception officer at the Athens Solidarity Center

Is solidarity the answer to the humanitarian crisis? Yes, it is; and at Athens Solidarity Center we turn solidarity into action, in a continuous effort to make the desired, feasible.

People who come to the Center belong to the most vulnerable groups of the population, the majority of whom consists of refugees or migrants who managed to reach Greece facing serious risks, sometimes as survivors of war, but also of Greek people, unemployed, uninsured, elderly, and large families.

Their primary request is to obtain asylum so as to ensure some months of remaining in a European country. Refugees and migrants, most of them only speak their native language, desperately seeking for shelter. Initially, they try to find how to make an appointment for an interview to submit their asylum application. At this stage of the process they need legal support to be classified as vulnerable and recorded quickly.

For most of the refugees and asylum seekers, the above is the beginning of a very long procedure that can last several months until the asylum request submission and so many others until the final decision of the authorities is certain.

In the meantime, all these people need to secure their livelihoods. Therefore, accommodation emerges as the next request. Our daily practice shows that it is common to wait hours until it is their turn to social service, while dozens of requests are submitted every day. Because the capacity of the accommodation structures is limited, priority is given to unaccompanied minors and families with many children. This is because the possible, what can we succeed in our capacity limits, it is a realistic goal, the fulfillment of which can act as a catalyst for a meaningful and organized assistance and thus the moral duty of mutual aid will become reality.

Therefore, solidarity is not just the remedy to the economic impasse; simultaneously expresses the motivation and hope that will help us manage the pneumatic impasse too.

*The Athens Solidarity Center is accessible to all people regardless of nationality, religion, ethnic origin, or social status. The Center offers a comprehensive set of services to refugees, migrants and Greeks who are in need (legal, social, and psychological support, helpline and counseling for families, children, and adolescents (with the partnership of Together for the Children), children friendly space (through the Network for Children’s Rights), asylum office services, following an appointment by the central Asylum Service.

The story of Marzuq

Posted on

Photo: Steven Tagle

“You are from Morocco; you cannot go to Europe, you should stay in Greece“. This was the answer to Marzuq’s efforts to find out how he could travel and live in Europe. Marzuq is 20 years old and he is from Morocco; he arrived to Greece, in Thessaloniki, together with his mother several months ago, pursuing a better present and future. The reasons that prompted him to leave his country was the economic, political, and social unstable conditions in Morocco.

Marzuq began his journey to Europe with first stop being Turkey. Although so young, he decided to take his mother with him and not leave her alone; her mobility problems wouldn’t allow her to live alone. However, they did not want to stay in Turkey and tried in every possible way to go. Hence, they arrived to Greece, on the islands, with a boat.

Next stop, Thessaloniki. There, Marzuq, when he expressed the desire to find a way to travel to Europe was listening that as a Moroccan he cannot continue his journey; thus, he decided to come to Athens.

He didn’t know anyone. He tried to find his countrymen, when many of the refugees were staying for a while in Victoria Square in the center of Athens. His compatriots supported him initially and advised him to turn to organizations that could help him and so it happened. A few days later, he visited the organization’s Solidarity Center in Athens.

In Solidarity Center, Marzuq and his mother could be supported both medically, through the NGO Praksis as well as by the Asylum Office, housed at the Center. In parallel, he began to collect the required documents for himself and his mother that would enable them to request their stay in Greece.

Marzuq while being in Athens, has initially found a shelter in abandoned houses in the city center, then stayed in hotels, whereas now he and his mother live in a refugee camp. He still waits for his housing application approval and concurrently tries to get asylum and work permit in Greece. In his efforts to obtain a work permit, he is supported by the NGO Praksis employability program, in the Solidarity Center.

Marzuq doesn’t want to leave Greece. He doesn’t want to live in another European country. He dreams to win back his life and succeed here. He wants to succeed for him but especially for his mother, as he confesses touched.

There are many people like Marzuq. Young people, who take the responsibility of themselves and of the people they love, escaping from the difficult present, pursuing what they deserve, what every human being deserves. The right to freedom, self-determination, work, security. Marzuq is willing to try; and so, he is “doomed” to make it. His effort will be supported by us, the NGO people, but also life will treat him with respect as it does for the brave!

*The Athens Solidarity Center is accessible to all people regardless of nationality, religion, ethnic origin, or social status. The Center offers a comprehensive set of services to refugees, migrants and Greeks who are in need (legal, social, and psychological support, helpline and counseling for families, children, and adolescents (with the partnership of Together for the Children), children friendly space (through the Network for Children’s Rights), asylum office services, following an appointment by the central Asylum Service.

The story of Basel

Posted on Thursday March 23rd, 2017

Numerous human stories. Many of them are sad, however there are always some bright and optimistic ones about strong people who struggled but managed to accomplish their aims and pursuit their dream. Basel’s story is a bright one that starts from Turkey and ends up in one SolidarityNow accommodation structures in Athens, where Basel lives temporarily until he leaves for Portugal.

“I left Syria in February 2016 to flee away from the war. I spent three months in Turkey, but it was too difficult there for me; I didn’t have enough money to travel to Greece. Thus, me and my three friends made the decision; we would reach Greece by the sea. We started the preparations so as to be able to swim and reach Kastellorizo island, that we had seen it was the nearest Greek island to Turkey; we bought flippers and armbands and we developed the plan.

After fifteen hours on the bus, we arrived in Kaş, Turkey, exhausted; soon we reached the place where we could move across. We climbed the mountain with our food and swimming equipment trying to hide ourselves from the police. Once darkness fell, we have been prepared and we fell into the sea without clothes – each one of us had only a waterproof case with our documents, mobile and lighters. We decided to swim in pairs. The first kilometer was easy, but the friend who was with me got tired and we were in the middle of the sea; I told him that he could either continue or swim back, since I knew that I wouldn’t go back for any reason. He swam back to Turkey and I continued swimming alone. My problems started at the second kilometer. My bones were aching, it was cold and my legs were like sticks, I could not use them. I could hear the other two friends of mine swimming, but I could not see them. I kept on swimming only with my hands, looking at the strobe light and my mind was filled with memories, in two hours I reached the shore. It was so cold! I opened the waterproof case and the lighters were getting water; we were trembling. After half an hour, our lighters worked, we took the armbands and lit fire!

We were looking for volunteers or the police to help us. We waited four hours around the fire, but we were happy, we called our beloved ones to tell them we are safe! Suddenly, we saw a boat, we shouted, and they replied in English, Turkish and Greek. We did not know if they were Turkish and wanted to take us back. But gladly, they were Greeks and they showed us the Greek flag. An hour later we were at the town of the island, sleeping in the sleeping bags they provided us with; we could hardly feel our bodies.

The Red Cross supported our transportation to Rhodes island. Our next stop was Idomeni, were we tried to cross the border but finally we turned back to Greece. I remained in Idomeni until the end, until it was evacuated. I spent some time in other camps, before my arrival at the SolidarityNow accommodation structure in Athens. After some time, I got informed about my relocation; I will start a new life in Portugal and now I expect the news for the exact date of departure”.

For those who have dived deep and reached the opposite shore, everything is a journey towards a place that will allow them to build their future. We wish Basel to find safety and peace and build his own new life as he has dreamt it!

*The Hosting Scheme Project Home for Hope is implemented by SolidarityNow with the support of UNHCR GREECE and EU funding.