Written by Nataliya R. The path of a refugee towards naturalization is like a poorly maintained rodeo at a luna park, that runs in a big avenue with 200 km/h, on a holiday. For some people, this road is one way, for others pedestrian, for some other motorway, and for others there is not even a road, they create it themselves. Sometimes with their own life. […]
Prompted by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s post on social media in regards to the derogatory racist remarks of so called sports journalist Takis Tsoukalas directed at his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo, we want to see an end to everyday racist behaviors as well as to highlight the response mechanisms available. The anti-racism law L. 4285/2014 passed in September 2014 counts any public, verbal or via press or via […]
Fawzia came to Greece from Afghanistan at the age of 17. Today, she is 19 years old and a mother of a 1.5-year-old girl. She is also a volunteer in Generation 2.0 RED, as a teacher’s assistant on the advanced class of the Greek language courses. Her dedication and inclination in learning languages helped her speak very good Greek in less than 2 years. Now, […]
Ahmad is 8 years old. He has brown hair and his dark eyes look around astonished. His brother, a few years younger, looks like him, only a little bit shorter. Both very quiet, they are playing together. Their mother wears pink trousers and her hijab is full of colors. With her green eyes she looks at her daughter, the youngest among her children. Next to […]
Written by Anna-Maria Vouzouneraki, Career Counselor of Generation 2.0 RED Many young people who are looking for a job today would like to be asked the question: What do you wish employers knew about you and your skills? They would definitely have a lot to say about their positive characteristics, their potential, the treasure that each of them carries within and wants to share. But […]
This is Yasser. He is only 20 years old, which makes him the youngest person of our column until now! He comes from Afghanistan and has been living in Greece for two years now. With a very discrete presence and the most polite nature, Yasser is the kind of person you don’t forget, for he is such a good and sweet young man. After this […]
Photo taken by Abdulazez Dukhan – Through Refugee Eyes An article by Silvia Giulini They were right in front of me, behind the glass door. It was the only thing separating me from 100 persons. They were of all ages: children, adults, old people. Some must have had my age, they could have been me, a friend of mine or a university classmate. Differently from […]
By Natalie Sotiropoulos From the 14th of February, Ghouta is being mercilessly pounded by aerial attacks against the remaining dissidents’ forces in the city. The Asad government claimed that no civilian population is targeted or threatened, but the data are shocking: According to the Syrian Human Rights Watch, more than 800 civilians have been killed by the violent bombings launched at the guerrilla bastion. Among […]
The Choosing to Dream column this time hosts Saeid, a 31-year-old man from Iran. He has been living in Greece for something like more than a year now, and he already speaks so good Greek that makes you wonder: How does one learn such a difficult language so quickly? Very polite and willing, Saeid gave us a meaningful interview that answers the previous question. When […]
When you live in another country and you don’t understand what’s going on. An article by Silvia Giulini 23rd of February 2016. I was outside ROMANTSO, waiting for my supervisor. She told me to come at 10:00 but she was not there, yet. In front of me there was a bar, a door and a weird door phone without names, only numbers. The place was […]
Our next interviewee is Henry Morris. He is 43 years old, from Nigeria and has been living in Greece for 13 years now. What to say about this guy? Full of energy, always smiling, more communicative than most of us, always up to something new and willing to keep on going! Let’s hear it from him. “I am occasionally working at a pastry shop in […]
Written by Nataliya R.* – Good morning, I’m here to sign up on the Population Register, I said proudly as if I came to receive a scholarship for the Oxford University. – When did the decision arrive? The voice behind the glass. – A week ago. My voice in front of the glass. – Oh, then no… you will come after 20 days in order […]
Estragon: What do we do now? Vladimir: I don’t know. Estragon: Let’s go. Vladimir: We can’t. Estragon: Why not? Vladimir: We’re waiting for Godot. – Samuel Beckett – Written by Silvia Giulini I looked around. Scattered between the bushes, which were dry because of the very warm weather, some tents proved the presence of people living there. It took me some time before getting closer. […]
Written by Natalia Sotiropoulou A few days ago, Angela Davis was the keynote speaker at the Pulantzas Institute in Athens, for the “Abolition Feminism: Theories & Practices of our Time” event. I don’t think there is someone, anyone really, who could be more appropriate as a central speaker than a woman whose agenda has been around and relevant for almost fifty years. For those who […]
“We keep on going, thinking we run away from the old ages but, in reality, we stand on the exact same place.” An article by Ahmed Fares Stage one: The Facebook When H. changed his Facebook profile picture and I saw him standing beside the Eiffel tower, I took the decision to do anything possible or impossible to move to Europe. This is how P. […]
An article by Etinosa Erevbenagie It’s not because I saw an almost age mate of mine, who grew up in the city where I was born, being captured, humiliated, tortured, auctioned and sold. Yes, sold. You read that right: SOLD. Just like an iPhone 6 you don’t want anymore. It’s not because most of them are from West Africa, where I’m also from. It’s not […]
An article by Natalia Sotiropoulos “If it wasn’t on TV, it never happened…?” Each and every one of us shapes his/her opinion based on his/her experiences, on what he/she saw, heard or read. What happens, though, when you haven’t seen, heard or read something? What happens when it comes to shaping an opinion on an issue that is currently happening? This is when the Media […]
Our third interviewee for the “Choosing to Dream”column is Foroozan Amiri. Foroozan is a young woman, only 25 years old, who comes from Afghanistan. She arrived in Greece last year and has been working as a cultural mediator for some time now. But how did she make this fresh start? We will let her speak for herself. “I am currently working with Save the Children […]
By Silvia Giulini In the middle of Flanders, in Belgium, 30 minutes from Bruxelles by train, there is a small city called Mechelen. Its beautiful main square is enclosed by small symmetrical houses and, behind some of them, the cathedral raises majestically. Although significant, there is something even more beautiful than its monuments, which makes this city unique: The fact that 138 different nationalities live […]
By Silvia Giulini At the stroke of the 20th hour of the day, the sailors weigh anchors and the ferry starts, slowly, to glide on the sea. Next to me Abdullah, a young Afghan guy, smiles. He turns towards me and tells me, almost in confidence, “I don’t want to see Lesvos at least for the next five years. I hate it”. In front of […]
By Rosie Fly Meet Alex. Alex is the owner of the Ministry of Concrete in Athens. Some time ago, the shop was about to close and an old stock went for sale. Fortunately for us, things changed, the shop stayed open and got transferred in the center of Athens (Axarlian Dionisiou 3, Syntagma). So, Alex, apart from an honest businessman (honest businessman = someone who […]
Mr. Mahmoud is 63 years old and Bangladesh is his country of origin. He has been living in Greece for more than 20 years and he sets the example of a person who has not only faced efficiently the difficulties that came his way, but he also made good use of the opportunity he saw. Always with his backpack, after having handed out his CV […]
By Natalia Sotiropoulos A few days now, articles about the fierce prosecution of the homosexuals in Chechnya are all over the internet. As the independent Russian newspaper Novoya Gazeta states, homosexuals are being prosecuted, arrested and imprisoned. There have been denounced tortures and murders, as well as the existence of a concentration camp for homosexuals. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm all these facts, because the government […]
By Silvia Giulini Photo by Abdulazez Dukhan, Through Refugees Eyes On the 20th of March 2016, exactly one year ago, the EU-Turkey Deal started to be applied. I was 24 and a few weeks before the signing of the Deal, I started my post graduated internship at Generation 2.0. It was my first time living abroad and I was finally working in a place where […]
We launch a series of narratives concerning individuals who made a fresh start in Greece. They share their story with us, along with the difficulties they had to face, but also the new opportunities they took advantage of. Our first interviewee is Mawhib, 34, from Eritrea. He has now been living for 9 months in Greece and has been granted the refugee status. “I work […]
It’s not long since we last spoke about the safety gaps in the camps, specially the one in Moria. The media talk about “unfortunate incidents” and “individual events”, but the truth is nowhere near these statements. When the tents in the camp of Moria were completely covered in snow and destroyed, topical media talked about policemen that did not let anyone inside nor outside of […]
* Photo by Abdulazez Dukhan, Through Refugee Eyes New year’s eve is just around the corner, people are counting backwards the hours left, running to buy last minute gifts, the atmosphere is festive, children are happy cause of the snow, everyone is tightening their scarves, some hate Christmas and stay at home, others enjoy the holiday spirit, these magical days, the hugs, the kisses, the […]
By Ganna Milenko A knock on the door of the classroom. The teachers stops the lesson. All eyes on the door that opens. The Vice Principal stands by the door with a A4 paper on hand. He apologizes to the teacher and takes a formal look. “The foreigners, please, stand and follow me”, he says with a loud and steady voice, as if we are […]
The message of a young refugee leaving Athens “Well, here we are it is my last hours in Greece, Holly Greece, I really don’t know how to thank you and your people, for everything you gave to me: Love, adventures, good company, and for helping me to Rebuild my personality. Athens I am so sorry cuz I am leaving, you are my 2nd home I’ll […]
By Dora Vangi & Nikos Odubitan In July 2015, the Law 4332/15 was voted, amending the Citizenship Code, and coming to fill in the legal vacuum caused by the abolition of the law 3838/10, securing the right to Greek citizenship for the second generation, meaning children of migrants who were born and/or raised in Greece. Without a doubt, that was its goal. However, still today, […]
By Melina Kalfandi & Dora Vangi 30 people were gathered in the offices of Generation 2.0 RED, a space within 30m2, to use computers and internet provided for free to communicate with the Asylum Agency and get that hot-shot interview for international protection. The procedure is this: for every language and country of origin, there are specific hours to make an appointment through skype, one […]
By Dora Vangi …And in Lifo we read “1st, LOL”. Where does this LOL come from? We can only feel sadness can we feel about what we just watched and it should be published, not for targeting this guy as a racist – we are sure that he expressed himself in that way due to ignorance – neither for the “irony” of this incident, but […]
An article by Vassilis Gerasopoulos, a Criminology postgraduate student in Utrecht From the moment the civil partnership was voted, I am experiencing – in lack of a more fitting term– internal conflict. A voice in my head (the most realistic – or, perhaps, the most pessimistic) tells me that there is no reason for celebrating a legislation that has been unreasonably delayed and which, when […]
By Andromachi Papaioannou In April 2013, the National Strategy for the integration of third-country citizens, which replaced the National Strategy of 2011, was published in the Ministry of Interior. Comparing the two strategies someone can easily understand the complete different perspective on the meaning of integration in an institutional level. “Integration is a dynamic, a two-way process of mutual adaptation of both immigrants and citizens […]
By Nataliya R. I was born in 1987 in Symi, Ukraine, to my mother, who was a social historian and my father, who was a taxman. A few years later the Soviet Union collapsed. All the academics lost their jobs because they were supposedly undermining the new regime. So, in 1993, my mother took me and my brother and moved far away from an abusive […]
Another child of immigrant origins that has gone to Greek school and graduated Greek University but still has no access to the labor market in her studies sector, not because she does not have the necessary skills, but because she does not have the Greek citizenship. “I am Anna from Thessaloniki, I come from Albania and I have been living in Greece for 18 years […]
My name is Yohana Bryan, I am Assyrian and Ι was born on the 10th of August, 1984, in Tehran. My parents took the decision to leave the country since it was involved in a conflict with Iraq, plus the regime was theocratic (Islamic),thus opposing “infidels”. On the 11th of March 1987 we acquired the much-desired visa and came to Greece. I was two-and-a half […]
What does Greek citizenship mean to you? To be Greek? For me, to have a Greek citizenship means that my rights are recognized as a citizen of the Greek society, not only because I was born and I live here, but because I have the Greek education. What does the country of your parents mean to you? I consider the country of my parents as […]
By Joan van Geel Last June, Samaras was proudly showing off his generosity. Although Giannis Adetokounbo was already granted citizenship behind the scenes, Samaras saw his chance for a classical political trick. While surrounded by cameras, Samaras pretended to give Giannis his desired citizenship from his hands personally. Meanwhile, he extensively complimented Giannis for his extraordinary basketball performances, a sport so popular throughout Greece. Samaras emphasized how proud Greeks should be […]
By Nikos Deji Odubitan & Andromacha Papaioannou * The artcicle was published at Protagon In the end, to become Greek, one needs more than just to be born or raised in Greece. What we all realized a month ago was that to become Greek, one needs to get (at least) in the NBA draft. Because, apparently, everything else is just not enough. Having finished school […]
By Andriana Mardaki, Lawyer Many times, while searching information that interests me on the Internet, I see that what is more interesting, are the comments that accompany the articles or the opinion of the author. I also note that the more I read them the more I forget the original text, which was after all the main reason that attracted me to read them. The same […]
By Eleuteriou Olga & Fani K. The following thoughts are sincere and spontaneous, appropriate for each active and integral part of the Modern Greek society. However, it is about deeper personal speculations of a researcher and a philologist who both shared from a young age common moments, values and goals. The law of citizenship was held to be unconstitutional and since then much has been […]
By Joan van Geel In 2007, I visited Vietnam, accompanying my beloved friend Tuyet-Bang. We had been close for a long time and she invited me to join her on her annual visit to her family, which included her grandma and many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. It was a unique chance to discover Vietnam in such an intimate sphere of this hospitable family. Seeing […]
By Nikos Odubitan My parents came in Greece from Lagos of Nigeria in the late 1970s to study. My father studied law and my mother economics. I was born in 1981 in Athens. I was brought up and went to school in Patisia. My parents thought school was of great importance. They wanted me to definitely go to university and study like they did. I […]
The Hellenic Council of State, “Hellenism” and the Second Generation By Andromahi Papaioannou Since November 2012 we know that the Hellenic Council of State considered the 3838 Law as unconstitutional. But I did not expect that the unconstitutionality would be based on the arguments that I read on the Decision. I really thought that the majority of the judges would be able to separate the […]
By Andromacha Papaioannou When I was asking “What is the biggest problem that second generation youngsters face in Greece?” most people would ask back “Who are these people? What does the term second generation mean?”. When I started explaining that this term concerns the children of immigrants who have been born or arrived in Greece at an early age, most of them were looking at […]
By Olga Eleftheriou For a few months now, through “leaks”, we heard that the law 3838/2010 was considered unconstitutional on the 2 innovations it proposed. The first one was the right to vote and be voted (for positions of municipal counselors) in the local elections for specific categories of third-country citizens, who live legally in the country, and their homogeneous. The second innovation was the […]
By Nikos Odubitan Sometimes I wonder how would my life be if my parents were not migrants. If I was not a “2nd generation” child, as they call us, like we are so different that a new special category was needed to be made for us. However, the point is, that even if I do not feel different, the world around me is constantly reminding […]
By Andromaca Papaioannou Τhe Greek Forum of Migrants in cooperation with the Refugees Integration Council of Athens Municipality, with the support of the Greek Branch of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR GREECE), on Thursday 20 of December 2012 organized a meeting entitled “Bridging the gap. From legal residence to citizenship”. The aim of the meeting was the presentation of a new integration model for […]
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