VIMA: The wounds and dreams of the refugees in the accommodation structure in Rovies


Their anxieties, their hope for relocation, and their gratitude to the Greeks

Published on the newspaper “To Vima”, June 3rd 2016

On one of the hottest afternoons of June, in the yard of a family hotel in Rovies, children are seen running, playing on the swings, playing quietly, almost silently, under thee shade of trees. Walid, one of the few adults who got up this morning, uses tools to take care of the garden, repairs what is broken, and is constantly looking for something to work on. In the kitchen, only few women help the cook to prepare traditional dishes of their homeland. Nearing the end of Ramadan, life for the people hosted at the hotel starts just before the sun sets, while breakfast is served at 2.30 in the morning so that they can endure the endless hours of fasting.For the past month, the coastal village of North Evia hosts 82 refugees who are eligible for relocation, and are mainly from Syria, with 40 children being among them. This is all being done as part of the Hosting and Housing Program implemented by SolidarityNow in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and with EU funding.

The full article is in Greek and can be found here