ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΕΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΕΣ

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Benjamin wants to help his community, the Pomak minority

Posted on Sunday September 10th, 2023

Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I study nursing in Patras, and I also love oil painting which is my hobby. My motivation to participate in the project was mainly my origin background. I am from Pomakochoria in Xanthi and as a minority we face many problems. I felt the need and the obligation to do something to change the lives of my fellow human beings for the better. I thought that through this project I would acquire the know-how so that I could implement actions aiming to improve the lives of the people of Xanthi, but also of the Pomak minority.

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

Of all the workshops held, the one I would single out is the one that dealt with human rights. I found it extremely interesting, as it opened horizons for me as to how I could defend the rights of the community from which I come.

What was the highlight for you during the project?

It was the choice of the topic for the project we have undertaken with my group which aims to empower Pomak women.

Would you like to share anything else with us?

Yes, my dreams for the future! One of my dreams is to help minority groups. Instead of standing up for people who are different from the whole, we tend to judge and marginalize them. So, what I dream is that there will be no more discrimination due to religion, color, race, sexuality. In addition, another dream of mine is to manage to save and record the elements of Pomak culture – culture, tradition – before they are lost!

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The programme aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Cyrielle found some of the answers she was looking for

Posted on Tuesday September 5th, 2023

Το έργο “Empower YOUth” υλοποιείται στο πλαίσιο του προγράμματος Active citizens fund Greece με φορέα υλοποίησης το SolidarityNow και εταίρο τη νορβηγική οργάνωση Norsensus Mediaforum.

Το πρόγραμμα Active citizens fund, ύψους € 13,5 εκ., χρηματοδοτείται από την Ισλανδία, το Λιχτενστάιν και τη Νορβηγία και είναι μέρος του χρηματοδοτικού μηχανισμού του Ευρωπαϊκού Οικονομικού Χώρου (ΕΟΧ) περιόδου 2014 – 2021, γνωστού ως EEA Grants. Το πρόγραμμα στοχεύει στην ενδυνάμωση και την ενίσχυση της βιωσιμότητας της κοινωνίας των πολιτών και στην ανάδειξη του ρόλου της στην προαγωγή των δημοκρατικών διαδικασιών, στην ενίσχυση της συμμετοχής των πολιτών στα κοινά και στην προάσπιση των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων. Τη διαχείριση της επιχορήγησης του προγράμματος Active citizens fund Greece έχουν αναλάβει από κοινού το Ίδρυμα Μποδοσάκη και το SolidarityNow.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I study Political Science & Sociology in France. I got my Erasmus in Greece two years ago and wanted to return, so now I’m doing my master’s degree at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on migration. When I heard about this project of SolidarityNow, I wanted to participate because I thought it was a very good opportunity for me to find some answers. It is very difficult to see the problems in your community and feel powerless to do something due to lack of the appropriate tools on how to run a project and do something that will have a positive impact on other people’s daily life. So that’s why I took part!

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

At the end of the day when you have the right tools, and you learn how to build your project it can be very easy to turn your ideas into concrete actions.

Furthermore, when I meet other young people from completely different backgrounds who might live in very difficult conditions, they may live in camps for example, but still have the courage to give something back to the society, then I keep the hope; we are not alone in this world.

What was the highlight for you during the project?

I’m impressed by the story of my classmate, Marinos, who is deaf and wants to create an organization to support other deaf people. His motivation to communicate was amazing! Even if we were struggling to understand each other we all tried very patiently to share our thoughts and fully communicate our ideas.

Would you like to share anything else with us?

Yes, I think it is very important if young people could participate in more programs like this where they could meet others with the same needs and ask for support and encouragement. Sometimes, it can be very depressing to realize the inequalities and injustice in the world, but there’s always the opposite side of people who want to offer for the common good. And if we are all united, we can do good and take courage from one another.

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Mohamed mostly wants to help the children

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I signed up for Empower YOUth to learn! I am a curious person in general and have a constant need to evolve. I go to the night school in Chalkida and learn something new every day. Because I read so much, I feel that something has changed in me. This program is a great opportunity because I want to learn how I could change something in my community, how to help people and especially children. For example, in the Ritsona accommodation site where I live, the children don’t even feel like going to school in the morning, because every day they are dealing with other more serious problems such as their residence permit in the country.

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

First, the positive atmosphere with my classmates and teachers. They taught us so many new things, both theoretical and practical. We became very close with my classmates and got to know each other very well. We will continue to hang out after the end of the program!

What was the highlight for you during the project?

What I liked most was the action in which we had to create the script ourselves and make a stop-motion video from scratch. I had to play the angry one while my friend Cyrielle read a poem. It was a lot of fun!

Would you like to share anything else with us?

Yes! When I go back to Ritsona I want to show everybody what I have achieved, for example now I can go to school and speak Greek with my classmates. I would like my example to help others understand that with we should never give up, but to insist and try to change ourselves, and then everything else will follow.

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Emmanuela learned how to put theory into action

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I am a sociologist, and currently I am a postgraduate student at the University of the Aegean, in social research, critical criminology and inclusion of vulnerable social groups. When I found out that Empower YOUth aimed youth from diverse social groups, I thought that it is an opportunity to meet other young people, but also to listen to their requests and experiences. In addition, I considered it to be an opportunity for our voice, requests and concerns to be heard. In general, I thought that we would be given the opportunity to present our different points of view, because in addition to only expressing demands and concerns about what is happening around us, the perspective from which we see things is also important.

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

The enablement activities were implemented through play to increase our energy levels before we got into the main activities. This was the best occasion to get together as a team and get to know each other. Because no matter how old we are, an intimate atmosphere was created through the game, that brought us closer, thus we could more correctly carry out the following activities, which either had to do with mediation, or with making suggestions, or with the concerns we all “carry” from our communities. In addition, I consider it particularly important that within the framework of the project we were offered the possibility for all participants to stay in the same hotel and to have free time to go out for food and fun!

What was the highlight for you during the project?

I was very happy as there were children from different groups, such as Roma, Pomaks from Xanthi, with whom we became friends, exchanged opinions and experiences. Through each person’s life experiences, it was easier to understand issues that we may have heard on a theoretical level because we are social scientists but are quite different in practice.

Would you like to share anything else with us?

My dream is to travel around the world, not just for leisure, but to be able to see how people live in different countries and understand their cultural background, their habits and way of communication. I hope one day to become a good and efficient researcher, who will help through research any social group that needs it so as to raise their voice and be able to express themselves freely.

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Eurydice believes that change is possible

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I am 24 years old; I study occupational therapy and I am in my 3rd year of studies. I signed up because I am concerned about some issues that the youth are experiencing. I want to find solutions; I want to try for something better and I believe a lot in the power of the team. All of us who have been here can change many things!

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

New ideas, new acquaintances, – which is very important to me -, a lot of energy, optimism and faith!

What was the highlight for you during the project?

The best part of the program was the activity during which we had to create videos using the stop-motion technique. The purpose was to make our own video on a social issue that concerns us. So, we worked with the whole team and the result was excellent!

Would you like to share anything else with us?

Coming here, I was thinking, if all that is troubling us is just in theory or if something can be done in practice. Through this training and the overall experience gained, I feel that now I have the tools and knowledge to implement some of my ideas, and not just be left with thoughts and concerns. I would like to be an efficient occupational therapist and be able to help people have a good quality of life.

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

“Empower YOUth” Tribute: Alexander & and the human rights

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Can you introduce yourself and tell us why you participated in the Empower YOUth project?

I am a history teacher. I teach history and philosophy and my major concerns the history of human rights. I am also a graduate of the Department of Philosophy and Science of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. I enrolled in the project due to my involvement in the field of human rights. I thought it would be very interesting to participate in the project’s activities and meet new people.

What will you keep with you from the Empower YOUth experience?

I really liked the fact that all the activities were in groups, thus we discussed everyone’s views, without any exclusion. We were able to exchange different ideas and discuss issues of our concern.

What was the highlight for you during the project?

When in an activity, my classmates chose me to get the leading role and represent the whole group. At the time, I felt particularly happy as I didn’t think I had the qualifications and skills for such a thing, but at the same time I was very excited about the role and tried to respond to it in the best possible way!

Would you like to share anything else with us?

Yes, I have a dream; to succeed in becoming a schoolteacher and teaching History. In addition, as an educator, I hope that at some point human rights course will become a school course. It is very important that when children finish school, they know what a human being’s fundamental rights are and the basic concepts related to them.

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The project “Empower YOUth” is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

SolidarityNow dedicates September to the youth!

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And more specifically to the young participants in the Empower YOUth project, whose first phase has already been completed and now the second is being planned at a fever pitch. Six (6) of the participants in Athens and Thessaloniki spoke to us about their experience so far, answering four (4) questions!

What made them sign up for such a project and travel to Athens and Thessaloniki for it, even from quite remote areas?
What have they gained from their participation so far?

The floor to the youth!

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“Empower YOUth” aims to empower youth, from different vulnerable groups, such as the Roma, the refugees/asylum seekers/migrants, disabled youngsters, persons from the LGBTQI+ community or from disadvantaged/remote areas that live under the poverty line, to become leaders and actively bring a positive change within their communities.

*The “Empower YOUth” project is implemented within the framework of the Active citizens fund by SolidarityNow in partnership with Norwegian NGO NorSensus Mediaforum.

**The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The programme aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow.

Standing by him in every step towards a better life

Posted on Thursday May 18th, 2023

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

The 21-year-old M. from Iran lives in Greece almost a year, alone, away from his family. When he visited the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) he needed support to meet even his most basic needs.

The challenges for young M. were multiple. The first rejection of his request for international protection by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the lack of stable housing, and his serious and chronic health problems led him to have seizures and later to the hospital.

When his health improved, he visited the ASC again, and he started receiving targeted support on multiple levels under the coordinated efforts of the Social Service.

Initially, he was assisted in securing the necessary medication, which he had been deprived of for a long time. He was then mediated to recover his legal documents and was supported to lodge an appeal against the rejection of the asylum application, thus ensuring his right to the existing accommodation structures.

Today, M. lives in a safe and protected environment and receives the necessary care and support he needs. Of course, he still visits the Center and is supported by its free services on various issues. The goal is for young M. to be able to live independently, work, and, like the rest of the country’s residents, to have assured access to health services.

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**From 1/7/2021 till 30/6/2023, Kahane Foundation supports the Psychosocial service of the Athens Solidarity Center.

***The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

A new life: Giannis, 45, acknowledges himself

Posted on Wednesday April 19th, 2023

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

“I am old enough to have perhaps already reconciled with some truths and facts of life. But the reality for me is different. My inner battle became unbearable, and I decided that I could no longer be a stranger to my people. A friend of mine suggested that I should visit the Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow in Athens. I thought it was only for people from abroad. But it is for everyone, and the truth is I felt that from the first moment I met my later psychologist.”

At 45, Giannis introduces himself as “quite old”, “gay”, “a good son”, and “a distressed worker”. But we are never “old or young enough”, or anything else to ask for help from the right people.

And Giannis got the appropriate support which brought immediate results.

“I came out to my brother. I told him I’m gay. And when I went back home, I felt lighter. It was a strange feeling because I didn’t know how to manage it, it was as if I felt bad about feeling good, I don’t know how to explain it. Of course, this was quickly replaced by the feeling of standing on my own feet more firmly.”

I grew up in Athens. A nice child of a good family; nothing was missing from our home. We were not rich, but we were rich because we never lack love. I had a very loving relationship with both my father and mother. None of them are here anymore.

Also, I always had a good relationship with my half-siblings, my brother and sister, since our mother always took care of that. And generally, my mother always took care of everything.

As I grew up, I was never denied anything. I was never deprived either, but it took me a long time to realize that many things in my nurture, painless, invisible, literally and metaphorically, defined me in terms of my beliefs, opinions, and attitude. It was time for me to figure it all out one by one as the years went by, after realizing and admitting that I am gay.

I’m a nice person; my friends call me ‘the life and soul of the party’. But sometimes they tell me that so much energy and joy might hide something opposite; melancholy. Eventually, I think they are right, and I now know that a big part of it is directly related to my need for acceptance. Because even though some of my people know exactly who I am, I have spent most of the years hiding it from everyone else, even (or even especially!) from my family environment.

I thought it wasn’t necessary. I resigned myself to the attitude of my partners who were hiding too much. And sometimes I got stuck with a shame that I didn’t have on my own, but rather deep inside I accepted it as normal.

I never got to tell my mother I was gay. Instead, I managed to burden myself with guilt that by not living the way she would have wanted, I might have contributed to her illness and ultimately her death.

It was all weighing on me. And above all, one more guilt and shame weighed more heavily – the one that told me that you now live more freely, after your mother’s death. I couldn’t accept it. As if I were denying my adoration for her.

Now things are getting clearer.

My life has moved on. I live in the same house as my partner, I speak more comfortably about who I am, and I am also escorted to all social events. And I like it.

I see my psychologist often and sometimes I am happy as a child who goes to tell her about his accomplishments. Today I spoke to my brother! I get bravo, I get acceptance”, concludes Giannis with a smile.

He also faces his financial hardship in a different way. He feels more optimistic, more powerful about how to deal with what is coming: “I’ve been working non-stop since I was 19. I’ll always find jobs, I know, because I never expected things to come without effort.

And finally, I find that when I started being honest to and for myself, expressing my needs and desires with certainty, I asked, and I got. I asked for acceptance and love, and I got it. No one rejected me because I’m gay.

Maybe I rejected myself for so long – and that was visible. Now I am visible, it is me as this multidimensional person that I am, because nobody is just gay, just one or the other (he laughs). We are 150,000 different things that make people love us.

“You know,” he says, “I would like you to write this… that maybe we need to widen our embrace to include everyone and especially all those who feel different and for some reason feel bad about it.”

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**From 1/7/2021 till 30/6/2023, Kahane Foundation supports the Psychosocial service of the Athens Solidarity Center.

***The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

The story of Dimitris on the International Romani Day, April 8th

Posted on Friday April 7th, 2023

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

Dimitris has every reason to be proud of himself. Not only today, April 8th, that along with the rest Roma people, he celebrates their international day, but because with his everyday actions for a long time, Dimitris overcomes stereotypes, either the ones derived from his origin or the ones caused by choices and experiences that left him weak, illegal, and trapped for a significant period of his adult life.

By the time he reached 29, Dimitris had lived many lives, as he says he feels.

“I was born and raised in Pyrgos. My mom is Greek, and my dad was Roma. He died in prison, regretful. I have two brothers and four sisters, all married. I don’t remember ever feeling comfortable anywhere, to say this is my place, my people, to feel safe. I remember going to school for a very short time. At first, I attended school and after a while, they created a class only with Roma children, and it was basically as if they forgot about us. I remember touching a kid from another class and I saw him panicking; then he said that he must wash his shirt now. Back then I couldn´t understand why.”

While growing up, Dimitris began to understand. The school forgot about him and so did he, until he dropped out and never learned to read and write. He then followed a path like the one of his father’s. Unlawfulness and drugs were in Dimitri’s life by the age of 14. He became the child doing illegal business for adults and finally he was led to prison. Prison sounds so terrible when said by such a smiley young man, but Dimitris has a different opinion.

“Prison was my chance to escape. I had been in the prisons of Nafplio, Larissa, and Patras and finally I arrived at Eleonas in Athens. During my imprisoned years, I entered the drug rehabilitation program, and I got well. Through this ‘journey’, I met my people. The program’s social workers who supported me very much, my fellow inmates with whom we managed to heal together. Thus, I decided to never go back – neither to my parental home, nor to see my mother, nor to drugs, nor to anything I had lived before. I know that if I go to see my mother it’s going to be a setback, I’m going to get in trouble. I just talk to her on the phone. After all, we don’t have much to say, mom can’t understand that I’m changing my life, she only understands that she misses me, but that’s not enough anymore.

In the program, I learned to speak. At first, I didn’t say anything to Eleonas, but finally, I spoke to a group! It was awesome for me, it did me so good and the more I talked the more I couldn’t stop. My therapists helped me a lot.

I insisted and I still do because I will succeed, and I will make my life better. I also go to classes organized by an NGO, and I learn to read and write. I’m already writing my name!

The life I have now is already better.”

While he was in the rehabilitation program, Dimitris was informed about the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) of SolidarityNow and the operation of the Social and Employability Services. The next goal was to find a job. After a few meetings with the employment consultant, Dimitris got his first job. For the employment consultant, Dimitris was already a winner, because he was consistent, reliable and optimistic despite his constant struggle not to be afraid and to believe in himself.

“I thought the Centre was only for migrants, but I was wrong and now I am happy to come. They help me a lot. The first job I found was good. Of course, sometimes I heard comments about my origin, but I heard good things as well. I often feel that while I am trying to escape from the old life, others treat me in a way, a reserve, as if they anticipate my fate. I sometimes feel more condemned than when I was in prison.

The first job finished and the advisor from the Center supported me, so I got a second one. I had a schedule. Work, classes- twice a week-, taking care of the hostel I lived in with my two roommates.”

Dimitris completed the rehabilitation program and served his sentence. The extension he had received for staying at the hostel also passed and things did not turn out smoothly. He suddenly lost his job because as he finally realized, his employer could not keep a Roma in his job.

“I generally feel that making my life better is a cruel and lonely road. And I know that other Roma people feel the same – it’s like everyone is certain that we will fail and sometimes I wonder why I should try. But I’m not giving up.”

He was unemployed and homeless.

He immediately went back to the Athens Solidarity Center. He was registered in the Social service as a homeless person and after a series of medical tests which he carried out without wasting a minute, a hostel was found to accommodate him.

Dimitris is trying very hard. You see it in his eyes, you hear it in his voice. He does whatever it takes to move forward.

“I’m in the hostel now. And at the Center, everyone tried to help me. We made my resume and a few days ago I got picked up from a job and I already started. I hope everything goes well. I will collect money little by little to get a home and I will be good at my job. I’m going to keep learning to write and read because there’s no other way, I see everyone texting with their phones, and I want it too. Now I only speak with verbal messages.

And after I learn to read and write, maybe I will find a girl to love and have a family.

I am a Roma, yes, but I’m also a man. My friends in the program were all Greek. We looked alike, we had been through a lot, regardless of where we came from. That’s all I want to say. I make mistakes, but I also have dreams like everyone else. I hope I never forget that and never look at any of my fellow humans with that look; that look that makes me want to disappear when I feel it on me”.

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.