“Life is far too short to be sad”

The waiting room in Thessaloniki Solidarity Center is crowded. Smiles, over thinking, anxiety, relief, some of the feelings that are reflected on people’s faces. M’s figure stands out from the crowd. Tall and ramrod straight, with his big eyes and a calm look, he holds a bag full of books and awaits the time for our appointment.

M.’s colors reveal his African origin. He is only 25 years old and he has been in Greece for the past 2 years. At a very early age, he lost his parents, however his foster mother raised him with a lot of love. His life as a child and as a teenager was difficult, as he had to work as a farmer to be able to support himself and pay the tuition fees for his education. “But I did it, because I have always had a positive attitude towards life and I have honestly believed that everything would be fine”, he says. And indeed, everything went well. He has managed to enter the University and specifically, the law school. Immediately after graduating, he began working for the government of his country. One of his main duties was to train the Police Forces on criminal procedures and the respect to fundamental human rights. Unfortunately, for security reasons he was forced to leave his job and flee away from his country. At the time, he was enrolled in a postgraduate program, but he wasn’t able to complete it.

“When I arrived to Lesvos and saw myself in a tent, I started to cry, when I remember my past -my studies and who I am”, he states. But, at the same moment, he looked around and he saw hundreds of people caught in the same situation as him. “I said to myself that if people can live like that, I can do it too. I saw it as a challenge and I believed that something would change”, he notes. Within a short time, everything changed. He left Lesvos and went to Derveni refugee camp and from there he was moved to one of the organization’s apartments in Thessaloniki. Things changed when he won a scholarship to study at the Perrotis College-American Farm School for the academic year 2017-2018, part of the “Education Unites: From Camp to Campus” program offered by the United States Embassy. He attended undergraduate courses in business environment and due to his good marks, he was given the opportunity to continue his studies. But unfortunately, because his asylum decision was still pending, he couldn’t get the scholarship.

They say that «every cloud has a silver lining», and in the case of M. it’s true. His willingness to continue his studies and his optimism led him to attend free courses in the European Civil Law program of the law school at the Aristotle University. With the help of his professor, he applied and got accepted in the postgraduate program LLM in Transnational and European Commercial Law, Banking Law, in the International Hellenic University in Thessaloniki. The only thorn was the expensive tuition fees. M. had paid an initial amount to cover the costs of his enrollment, and then, with the encouragement of a friend, he created a crowdfunding campaign. Despite his anxiety about whether he will be able to raise money, he has never lost his hope. “I feel happy, and I am very grateful given the situation, as few refugees have the ability to do what I do right now”, he points out.

In addition to his postgraduate studies, he also attended the “Future Interpreters”, a comprehensive training program for community interpreters and cultural mediators organized by SolidarityNow in Athens and Thessaloniki. “I thought it was a good idea to attend these seminars so I can find a job as an interpreter, but unfortunately there are not many people coming from my country to Greece”, explains. Despite the obstacles and difficulties, M. dreams his life in Greece, his studies, his desire to learn Greek, but also to work as a lawyer. “This positive way of thinking is a charisma. I think my mother inherited it to me. Life is far too short to be sad” he adds.

It is in January 2019 and 2018 seems far away. M. has come to the Center and is sitting in the computer room. We greet him and, with a huge smile, he tells us that the administration of the University has decided to cover 50% of his tuition fees, and through the crowdfunding campaign he has managed to raise the amount he was asking for! “This is life, man. If you think negatively, it’s like suicide”.

*Thessaloniki Solidarity Center was established and is supported by Open Society Foundations (OSF/OSIFE).

* SolidarityNow, with the support of the Guerrilla Foundation and in collaboration with the Society for the Care of Minors (SMA) and the Panhellenic Association of Professional Translators Graduates of the Ionian University (PEEMPIP) organized a comprehensive training program for community interpreters and cultural mediators in Athens and Thessaloniki.