Refugees in Europe

THE LIFE OF YOUSIF

Yousif is a 21-year-old Iraqi refugee boy who lives on the island of Lesvos in a refugee camp. He arrived in Greek territory in February 2018 and is still waiting to receive refugee status.

His story might be an anonymous story like that of thousands of people crossing the Aegean from Turkey, but Yousif tells stories with his camera.

For a long time in Moria he lost the desire to continue with his passion for photography, but luckily one day he decided to go back to his goals and thanks to this he tells us the stories of his people, his neighbors and colleagues. Unlike many other outsider reporters who tell how to live in a camp from the outside, Yousif tells the story from the inside.

His exhibition will continue at Ecolectia so that we all know what life is like, normal, natural and familiar for displaced people.

Moria was the penultimate station, but their journey has to continue to the true refugee protected by international humanitarian standards.

A FLAMMABLE WICK

Last September a powerful fire devastated the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos. It was until now the largest refugee camp in Europe, inhabiting 13,000 immigrants when its capacity was only 2,000.

The reason for the fire is believed to have been a protest by refugees refusing to be held after testing positive for Covid-29. Obviously in such a crowded place, with plastics and waste, the wind made the field in a matter of minutes an inhospitable fireball and the inmates had to flee. Families, adults, boys and girls, had to leave their few belongings to save their lives.

Today they are still out in the open, without being reassigned and many without being able to continue leaving the island of Lesbos. Some flee to Greece and others roam the outskirts of Mitilene, the island capital.

We recall that in 2015 the EU member states committed to relocate 100,000 migrants from the southern border of Greece and Italy in less than two years. Since then, Spain had promised to relocate 9,323 people, but only 1,359 were welcomed.

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

We are in the middle of a humanitarian collection campaign with the help of RED SOS REFUGIADOS to get food and hygiene products for the refugee camps in Greece.

This NGO aims to combine synergies and resources to quickly and directly help displaced people and refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. They contact and coordinate with the different groups of collaborators, local associations and individuals, facilitating the flow of materials to Greece in an efficient and responsible manner.

Channeling solidarity is essential especially in times of emergency. On this occasion the main products are food (cans, pasta, cookies, rice, milk powder) and cleaning products (soaps, gels, detergents) since their constant use means that in a few weeks the stocks have to be replenished.

There are many other ways to help RED SOS REFUGIADOS and its partners in Greece. If you want to know more, you can visit www.sosrefugiados.org or make a donation in their account and even help as a volunteer.