Category: ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Creation of 700 temporary refugee accommodation places in homes and households in Athens and Thessaloniki – Hosting program for asylum seekers in Greece by SolidarityNow

Posted on Monday April 4th, 2016
Anna Pantelia

Creation of 700 temporary refugee accommodation places in homes and households in Athens and Thessaloniki

Hosting program for asylum seekers in Greece by SolidarityNowWith the support of the UNHCR

Athens, 4 April 2016.

Fully supporting solidarity, SolidarityNow develops a Housing and Hosting Program for vulnerable groups that lack the fundamental human right to housing.

The aim of the initiative
“The aim of the initiative is to contribute to the solution of the problem of housing and living conditions of our fellow citizens seeking asylum to relocate in other EU countries. Through the program, funded exclusively by the UNHCR in Greece, vulnerable groups that in recent years have been living and traveling under inhumane conditions, will be hosted in homes in Greece”, says Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow. He continues: “At SolidarityNow, we believe that providing decent conditions to migrant populations further reinforces solidarity, through which it is possible to overcome any kind of crisis: humanitarian, spiritual, economic, political”.The program and its fundingThe program encourages the participation of ordinary citizens and migrants living in Greece, in a practical demonstration of solidarity towards vulnerable people, through the provision of decent housing in their own homes.
In order to support the relocation program of the asylum seekers and of persons who are eligible to relocate, SolidarityNow creates 600 temporary accommodation places in Attica, and 100 in Thessaloniki and the wider regions of the two cities.
In particular, citizens who wish to offer their house for hosting asylum seekers will receive financial support -approximately 300 euros over a three-member family for one month- in order to meet basic daily expenses resulting from the cohabitation. It is important to also note that the food needs of people who will be hosted, will not place a burden on the household as it will be covered on a monthly basis through food stamps (monthly coupons worth 250 euros per family of two people, or 150 euros per person), throughout the hosting period.
Implementation of the ProgramSolidarityNow addresses ordinary citizens. We ask you exhibit solidarity by offering housing to the people who need it most.“The recent developments raise many questions relating to the protection of people, so this is why we ask for the support of the citizens so that we can highlight our belief in the humanitarian ideal, which, so far, we have demonstrated as a country. For this reason we “bet” on the housing program, as a symbolic action, reflecting the practical demonstration of solidarity”, says Elli Xenou, Head of Programs of SolidarityNow.And she continues: “In this great act of solidarity, it is important for citizens to know that they are not alone. We are by their side. Both the guests and the hosts will have access to free medical, legal and other services that we provide at our Solidarity Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki. In the course of hospitality and cohabitation, they will be supported and guided by a trained team of social scientists”.“For the implementation of this innovative and necessary program, we would like to ask for your support!”, said Elli Xenou.“We urge you to encourage families or individuals wishing to host either an asylum applicant or a family, for a certain time period”. We seek preferably residential accommodation, and non-residential (eg summer houses).

The philosophy of the program and what it stands for
With the support of the High Commissioner of United Nations for Refugees and the European Commission, 20,000 reception places will be created in Greece.
During their stay in our country, it is important to offer these people the basic and obvious: shelter and food. It is a priority for us to offer them humane and decent living conditions. It is important for them to feel welcome again after a dangerous trip due to uprooting.
In one of the darkest periods of the refugee and migrant crisis, SolidarityNow turns to you citizens. We ask you to show once again your solidarity by offering housing to people who need it most.

We seek to help our fellow citizens to view these people as if they are a relative or a friend to whom they open their homes and welcome and host them. And share: space, friendship, food, culture.

For more information about the program, please reach 210 6772500/or filoxenia@solidaritynow.org and:
–        Dr. Eda Gemi, Project Manager, tel. 210 6772500
–        Ioanna Fourkiotou (for Thessaloniki), tel. 6949084488

For interviews:
Sophia Ioannou, Head of Communication and Fundraising, sophia@solidaritynow.org | tel . 210 6772500, 6937 251997

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Twitter: @Solidarity_Now
Instagram: Solidarity_Now
www.solidaritynow.org

SolidarityNow is a network of people and organizations established in Greece in 2013 by the initiative of the Open Society Foundations (and the support of the EEA Grants, the Norwegian Embassy in Greece and others), aiming to help the populations most affected by the crisis. SolidarityNow supports civil society organizations and public entities operating in Greece, to implement programs. SolidarityNow operates two centers in Athens and Thessaloniki, where vulnerable population groups can receive free medical, legal, etc. aid.

From early 2015 to date, SolidarityNow has allocated 10 million euros to projects solely on migration and the refugee crisis in Greece.

The Board of Directors of SolidarityNow is comprised of:
Stelios Zavvos, Christos Rozakis, Nikos Alivizatos, Efthymios Vidalis, Aristos Doxiadis, Jenny Cavounidis, Antigone Lyberaki,Panos Marinopoulos, Manos Matsaganis, Calypso Nomikou, Anna Triandafyllidou

Our actions in figures!

Posted on Friday April 1st, 2016
Giorgos Moutafis for SolidarityNow

Facts and figures reflecting the actions of SolidarityNow from 2013 until today. In total, 68 programs throughout Greece – 43 programs related to the broader social spectrum and 25 programs exclusively on migration and addressing the refugee crisis. Our Solidarity Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki have welcomed from the beginning of their operation more than 40,000 people, having delivered almost 100,000 free services.

See the infographics here

The actions of our Solidarity Centers in figures!

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Facts and figures reflecting the actions of SolidarityNow through the Solidarity Centers. Our Solidarity Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki have welcomed from the beginning of their operation more than 40,000 people, having delivered almost 100,000 free services. Specifically, the Athens Solidarity Center has provided 70,800 services to 30,255 beneficiaries, while our Center in Thessaloniki has offered 18,700 services to 10,787 beneficiaries.

See the infographics here and here

“Migration: A Threat or an Economic Opportunity for Europe?”

Posted on Wednesday March 23rd, 2016

Athens, March 23, 2016. The Harvard Business School-Club Greece (HBS) and the “SolidarityNow” successfully held a very timely presentation entitled “Migration: a Threat or an Economic Opportunity for Europe?” on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at the Megaro Mousikis Concert Hall. The event began with a minute of silence in honor of the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Brussels. The presentation stressed that migration and the people on the move can serve as an important lever of economic growth in modern Europe. At the same time, the speakers presented their suggestions that could help address the complex phenomenon of migration.

The Harvard Business School-Club Greece presentation of this year was organized with “SolidarityNow” at a critical time for both the country and Europe. Due to the specific theme of migration, three perspectives were examined:
–   The political perspective
–   The financial perspective
–   The European perspective

The keynote speaker of the evening –discussing from a political perspective- was the internationally renowned contemporary philosopher, Political Science and Philosophy Professor at Yale University, Seyla Benhabib. The Ambassador of the German Embassy in Greece, Dr.Peter Schoof was also a speaker, speaking through the European perspective on migration. Lastly, the presentation of the internationally renowned Emeritus Professor at Columbia University, Bimal Ghosh, was delivered by Mrs. Jennifer Cavounidis, member of the Board of Directors of SolidarityNow -as health reasons kept him away from the event. He shared with the Greek audience that filled the Concert Hall, extremely timely opinions and thoughts about the economic outlook of the migration crisis, as it is unfolding.

The event’s moderator was the President of the HBS and Chairman of the Board of “SolidaityNow”, Mr. Stelios Zavvos.

“In 2014 the number of refugees worldwide reached 59.5 million – while in 2013 it was only 8.3 million. In 2015 these figures soared: refugees exceeded 65-67 million. Each year, there is an increase of refugees by 10 million”, said Seyla Benhabib, professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University, as keynote speaker of the event. Also, she noted: “Globally, the number of migrant populations increased from 154 million in 1990 to 232 million in 2013. We witness that it doubled in 10 years’ time”. Ms. Benhabib, originating from Turkey, released data on migration in our neighbor country noting that in a period of 10 years (from 2001 to 2011), the number of arrivals and migrant departures tripled – from 23 million in 2001, to 63 million in 2011.

Regarding the recent developments and the EU decisions for the people on the move, Ms. Benhabib stressed the importance of respecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, noting Articles 13 and 14 on “the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state” and “the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”.  Concluding, Ms. Benhabib cited Aristotle’s “Politics” to refer to who constitutes a citizen and resident in a country: “There is often great controversy regarding the “citizen”, and not everyone agrees that the same person is a citizen. Someone who is a citizen in a democracy is often not in a totalitarian regime”.

Due to recent developments and decisions of the meeting of European leaders on the migration crisis, the Ambassador of the German Embassy in Greece, Dr. Peter Schoof, spoke from the European perspective of the matter and the obligations under the EU. He specifically noted: “We are working on a very complex issue. We cannot just press a button and make the refugees disappear. And the EU is not a federal state; it is a complex system of different Member States with different political and legal systems”. As pointed out, what the EU needs to do in order to tackle the crisis is to work together on the roots of the problem. We must empower neighboring countries that are affected by the crisis and combat the trafficking industry. And Turkey’s role here is key. Referring to Greece, the German Ambassador wondered: “How is it possible for Greece, a country of 10 million, to manage over 800,000 refugees?” For that reason, as he said, it is important to respect the process of relocation so that other countries bear a part of the burden as “the Geneva Convention dictates solidarity”.

Bimal Ghosh, as a professor at Columbia University, argued that migration should be seen as an opportunity for development and economic prosperity in Europe, noting: “Governments, especially in Europe, feel swamped by gathering waves of disruptive and unpredictable migration. As their fears grow that immigration is getting out of control, some governments become even more restrictive, creating a vicious cycle and inter-state tensions build up”. Referring to people entering the EU, Professor Bimal Ghosh stressed: “It is important to remember that although the arrival already of more than one million additional people within the time span of one year seems an overwhelming event, they would represent roughly one-fifth of one percent of EU’s population. The new arrivals would represent 0.4 percent of the labor force of the European Economic Area and Switzerland”.

Regarding what should be done in order to achieve a greater and more effective control of the flows, he stated: “Since the root causes aren’t addressed and emigration pressure remains unabated, flows are diverted to irregular channels.
A regime of regulated openness can be achieved through proactive collaboration of origin, destination and transit countries”.

While concluding and ending the presentation, the President of HBS and President of “SolidarityNow” noted:“Recent migration flows pose an existential threat to Europe and suppress the social fabric of Greece. It is necessary to develop and implement a common European asylum policy to avoid nationalistic, extreme solutions”.

Brief bios of speakers

Seyla Benhabib: Seyla Benhabib, born in Istanbul, Turkey, is the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University and was Director of its Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics from 2002 to 2008. She was the President of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association in 2006-07 and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1995.  She has previously taught at the New School for Social Research and Harvard Universities, where she was Professor of Government from 1993-2000 and Chair of Harvard’s Program on Social Studies from 1996-2000. Professor Benhabib holds Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Utrecht (2004), Valencia (2010) and Bogazici University in Istanbul (2012).

Bimal Ghosh: Bimal Ghosh has a long record of activities running concurrently between academia and international organizations. He is Emeritus Professor at Columbia’s Graduate School of Public Administration, and a Senior Fellow (global migration) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva as well as at the Institute of International Policy and Diplomacy, University of Tadeo Lozano, Bogotá.

Dr. Peter Schoof: Before joining the German Foreign Service in 1988, he had been a Programme Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva and Islamabad. In the Foreign Service he held positions in the German Embassy in Damascus and the Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva as well as at the Foreign Office in Bonn and Berlin. Since 1998 he has worked extensively on EU affairs, holding positions – among others – as Spokesman at the German EU Representation in Brussels, as Coordinator for the EU Presidency in 2007 and as Deputy Director-General for European Affairs at the Foreign Office in Berlin. Mr. Schoof holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Freiburg/Germany.

 

The Advisory Board of “SolidarityNow” is composed of:
Stelios Zavvos, Christos Rozakis,  Nicos C. Alivizatos, Efthimios O. Vidalis,
Aristos Doxiadis, Jennifer Cavounidis, Antigone Lyberaki, Panos Marinopoulos, Manos Matsaganis, Calypso-Maria Nomikos, Anna Triandafyllidou.

The press release for the event  “Migration: A Threat or an Economic Opportunity for Europe?”, can be found here in a pdf form.

 

Watch the video of the event here:

By your side! The first official presentation of the “Programme to Combat Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”

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The official presentation of the “Programme to Combat Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Prevention and Intervention” was held with success on Thursday, March 17, 2016, which is a continuation and development of the “we live like you” program, designed in 2011 and implemented in 2011-2013 by the General Youth Secretariat. The event was hosted at the Onassis Cultural Centre. Attendees included heads of institutions, academics, and representatives of organizations.

During the event the objectives and the two main projects of the program, were presented:

  • The Psychological Support Hotline 11528 – By your side for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, their families and teachers. It operates on weekdays, Monday to Friday, from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The calls are anonymous, confidential and those carried out by OTE have land line charge. The calls are answered by specialized and qualified psychologists.
  • The 1st Panhellenic wide campaign to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Through the organization of workshops across the country and viewing communication material, the camaraderie between couples of the same sex is portrayed and serves as the vehicle for claiming equal rights and opportunities for all citizens of our country (regardless of sexual orientation or identity or expression sex). It also familiarizes the public with these themes.
  •  Responsible for the project are the following: Lesbian & Gay Community of Greece (OLKE) and the organizations “Thessaloniki Pride”, “Athens Pride” and “Positive Voice” . The program has the solidarity and support of the organizations: “Families – Rainbow”, “Queertrans”, “Homophobia and transphobia in Education”, “LGBT – disabled “, “ThessDIKTYO”, “Thessaloniki Rainbow Youth”, “Proud Seniors”, “AMKE Scale” and “Generation 2”. The 11528 – By your side line he has the moral support of the City of Athens and the Attica region.

The program is funded entirely with the support of “SolidarityNow”

Joint Letter to European Leaders ahead of the EU Council Summit on the 17th & 18th of March 2016

Posted on Wednesday March 16th, 2016

Dear European Leaders:

As international organisations working directly with refugees and migrants in Europe, we ask European Member States present at the European Council meeting of 17th and 18th March 2016 to take the opportunity to come together in solidarity and conclude bold, unified and decisive policies to address the humanitarian crisis.

A response to the humanitarian crisis in Europe must build on the work of last year and squarely address the current, clear gaps in policy, whilst fully respecting the law and spirit of the EU’s own legislation and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

2015 proved to bring difficult challenges for all working on the ground; Member State authorities, humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations, local populations and volunteers. It also provided us with some tremendous lessons to be learnt.

One such lesson has been that an approach to migration based on containment costs lives. Since 2014, 74931 people have lost their lives at sea, a large proportion of which have been children. Border blocks coupled with no legal routes of entry force people to turn to smugglers to seek refuge in the EU on increasingly dangerous routes. Unilateral, arbitrary border closures worsen the humanitarian crisis. Such closures undertaken in the last weeks have forced tens of thousands of people into confined areas often without access to the absolute basic needs: shelter, food, health care and water. This confinement also creates enormous difficulties for the humanitarian organisations to reach areas quickly and provide adequate supplies and protection services.

The decisions taken by the European Council on 7 March 2016 have perpetuated the confinement of people and discriminatory practices. Border management is essential but must be separated from the inadvisable and unattainable goal of reducing migration to zero. Border closures, coupled with a stark lack of legal routes, are not the answer to managing the arrival of refugees and migrants in Europe. People, not borders, are in urgent need of protection.

The current situation has also encountered numerous institutional barriers, both in terms of mandates and funding possibilities. We welcome the efforts of the Council and Commission to bridge these gaps by establishing new and innovative instruments to ensure adequate response in this time of public pressure and urgent humanitarian need. We appeal to you as European leaders to follow this up with political support. Funding in itself will not do it alone, it will also require political courage and will. Europe has the capacity to manage this situation effectively and humanely. We therefore urge that at the upcoming European Council meeting, the following issues are addressed as a matter of urgency:

Create safe and legal routes. Policies that provide for a range of safe and legal channels for entry into the EU are an essential part of responsible and humane management of migration. We call on leaders to take a progressive approach to creating safer, more transparent, legal options, both temporary and permanent, for people on the move to Europe. As a matter of immediate urgency the EU must improve access to international protection for those fleeing conflict and persecution, including:
– Providing increased access to safe and legal routes for cross-border migration, including, for example, more flexible family reunification policies. Children should never be separated from their parents or primary caregivers unless this is in their best interest.
– Making new commitments to resettle refugees in need of protection. With refugee numbers at the highest level globally since 19952 , EU countries must take immediate steps to resettle their fair share of the ten per cent most vulnerable cases identified by UNHCR.Ensure safety at sea and at borders. Europe must maintain its search and rescue operations: saving lives should be the priority for all operations in the Mediterranean. The EU must also ensure these operations have the adequate capacity and mandate needed to ensure no further deaths at sea, and respect of the rights and dignity of those taken into European custody. Standards must be put in place to ensure that all current and future border operations are transparent and in line with international standards and European human rights law.Provide sufficient and humane reception conditions for all people arriving in Europe. Currently reception capacity in many places in Europe are inadequate for meeting people’s basic needs, ensuring their protection, and guaranteeing the respect of their rights. There is a lack of vital services including safe spaces, designated shelters and case management that takes into account the needs of vulnerable groups, including children. Ensuring that all people arriving at the EU’s borders can access basic services, be protected from harm, and have their human rights guaranteed, including the right to claim asylum, is a collective responsibility that EU leaders must take immediate steps to meet.

Take action to protect the most vulnerable. Up to 58% of people travelling into and through Europe are currently women and children. Children on the move, travelling alone or with their families, are exposed to specific risks, which require special attention and action. Women and girls also have specific protection needs stemming from greater vulnerability to gender-based violence, targeted robberies, harassment and assault, sexual exploitation and abuse. Specific protection measures must be built in to all policies and new proposals, and current systems must urgently be reviewed and adjusted accordingly.

Ensure all people arriving at the EU’s borders have access to asylum procedures. According to law , every migrant must be informed about their rights, including the right to ask for international protection, in a form and language that is easily comprehensible. The EU must take urgent steps to investigate and address the gaps in due process in national procedures and in ‘hotspots’ that have been identified4 Profiling of refugees at any border on the basis of nationality and any form of collective return, as foreseen at the latest EU Council, denies the right to an individual assessment of protection needs and constitutes a violation of international and EU law. Additionally, Iraqis, Afghans, and other nationalities will not benefit from the resettlement scheme proposed at the latest EU Council and do not have the right to claim long-term refugee protection in Turkey.

Protect the human rights and dignity of all people arriving in Europe regardless of status. For people who genuinely choose not to seek or who are found not to be eligible for asylum or other legal forms of entry, any returns process must still be respectful of their fundamental human rights and conducted only to countries where their safety can be assured. No one must be left to fall into undocumented status, a precarious condition with high vulnerability to abuse and exploitation, including at the hands of criminal networks. 10,000 children alone have disappeared since arriving in Europe; the EU must take urgent steps to ensure they are the last.

The EU has the means to manage the arrival of people humanely and with full respect to both EU and international law, and we urge EU leaders to re-establish the EU’s collective position as a global humanitarian and human rights leader and live up to their moral and legal obligations. The stakes are too high to continue down a path that risks exacerbating the humanitarian situation: we need bold leadership for genuine, collective EU solutions based on the principle of solidarity and fair responsibility sharing, and the priority of the protection and human dignity of the people arriving at the shores of Europe today.

Signed: Lorenzo Trucco, President, Associazione per gli Studi Giuridici sull’Immigrazione (ASGI) Agata Račan, President, Croatian Law Network Ann Mary Olsen, International Director, Danish Refugee Council Leigh Daynes, Executive Director, Doctors of the World UK Vladimir Petronijević, Executive Director, Group 484 Jane Waterman, Executive Director and Senior Vice President Europe, International Rescue Committee UK Emir Prcanović, Executive director, Association Vasa prava BiH – Legal Aid Network Katarina Bervar Sternad, Director, Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs in Slovenia Jasmina Mujezinović, Executive Director, Local Democracy Foundation The international organizations who are signatories to this letter, are ready and able to continue to be part of those solutionsMartina Smilevska-Kcheva, President, Macedonian Young Lawyers Association Martin Bandzak, Executive Director, Magna Marie Aude Tavoso, President, Medici per i Diritti Umani Onlus Evgenia Thanou, Director, Medicines du Monde – Greece Jan Egeland, Secretary General, Norwegian Refugee Council Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International Branislav Tichy, Director, People in Peril Association Janti Soeripto, Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children International Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director, Solidarity Now Deirdre de Burca, Director, Advocacy and Justice for Children, World Vision EUREP

INVITATION TO PRESS CONFERENCE “The Journey. People On The Move.”

Posted on Friday March 11th, 2016
Orestis Seferoglou

Photo Exhibition of Solidarity Now on migration at the Benaki Museum from 19 to 29 May

SolidarityNow and the Administrative Committee of the Benaki Museum invite you on Monday, May 16, 2016 at 12.00 to the Benaki Museum Building on Pireos (Piraeus 138 & Andronikou), at a press conference co-hosted to present the Photography exhibition:

The Journey. People On The Move.

8 Leading Photographers on Migration
140 photos
1 Journey from Turkey to Greece for a safe refuge in Europe

The civil war raging in Syria and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, have created those exact explosive conditions which inevitably led to a huge wave of refugees that landed on the heart of Europe. We are going through the largest refugee crisis since the 2ond World War and the tragedy of the people arriving in Greece is the global focus of not just the media but above all, societies.

In order to highlight this burning issue concerning people -and not numbers and statistics- and to raise awareness, but mainly, to awaken consciences, we co-organize the timeliest than ever photographic exhibition entitled “The Journey. People On The Move”.

Among the photographers who will exhibit their works, are world-renowned photographers that have been internationally awarded for monitoring and portraying the refugee/migration crisis. Among them are Yannis Behrakis and Alkis Konstantinidis, who were awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in the category “Breaking News.”
The Photographers: Yannis Behrakis, Giorgos Moutafis, Angelos Tzortzinis, Alkis Konstantinidis, Enri Canaj, Myrto Papadopoulou, Orestis Seferoglou, Chloe Krithara – Davienne
The Photo Exhibition runs from 19 – 29th of May and admission is free to the public.
Operating Days & Hours
Thursday and Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00 Friday and Saturday: 10:00 – 22:00

Curated by Dora Komninou
Organization: Benaki Museum, SolidarityNow