“Look at me, I am a human like you”

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There are 73 young children living in the Kofinou Asylum Center today. Their parents and the people of the Humanitarian Organizations who are close to them, assisting the state services, are teaching them to love Cyprus and its people. They teach them that when they grow up, wherever they find themselves or end up in their lives, they must love this island, which is called Cyprus and 44 years ago, had also war and refugees. “And when they ask what they have in their hearts, they should always say, gratitude for Cyprus and its people.”

At the age of 46, Tatar Dota from Albania, ,has been living for the last two years at the Kofinou Asylum Center. For political and perhaps some other reasons, he cannot return to his home country, Albania, or to Switzerland where he lived before arriving on our island. It’s been several years for his children to see Dora, who was at a military school in his own country, Ali Berisha, but for various reasons he never completed his studies.

Tritan deserves respect because he was the unknown hero on Saturday, February 17, when some episodes took place at the Asylum Center. “That should not have been done. There are problems at the Center, but that should not have been the case. The 73 children and at least 250, perhaps more, people who live here, have no problem with the Cypriot people. We are grateful. I am also a human. I live with the hope of returning to my homeland one day. A mother gave birth to me, like you. I only communicate via facebook to the outside world and my relatives and friends. I’m thankful that Cyprus accepted me. I want to be a friend with you, like you want to have friends. I am a political refugee, Tritan Doda, and you are not in danger of me. Look at me, I’m a human like you. We are not different. I am Tritan Dota and I am looking for a room in Larnaca that the rent will be paid by the European Union. I want to leave the camps of political refugees that I have been living in the latest years. I also want to have my own room at last. “

Photography Exhibition: THE ALIEN TRAIL – Making an obscure part of our society visible

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The Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation [NiMAC] and the European Capital of Culture Pafos2017 organise and present the photography exhibition titled Τhe Alien Trail on Friday, 8 December 2017, at 19:30 at NiMAC. Initially presented in Pafos, the exhibition travels to Nicosia in the framework of the Nicosia Pop-up Festival 2017 and under the auspices of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cyprus.

The Alien Trail exhibition forms an integral part of a wider project created by Nicolas Iordanou to raise public awareness about refugees and migrants living in Cyprus and to promote their integration into society. The increasing number of these people living among Cypriots underlines the need to enhance the understanding of the local society about who the refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants are and why they came to Cyprus.

NiMAC’s Director, Yiannis Toumazis, points out that “the exhibition, which is taking place immediately after the completion of the major project Terra Mediterranea: In Action, underlines NiMAC’s efforts to raise our awareness against segregation and partitions of all kinds. Culture is an important agent in drafting hospitable, cohesive and inclusive futures by encouraging a creative dialogue among different groups of citizens.”

“UNHCR welcomes such initiatives, which promote understanding, acceptance and mutual respect. If refugees are accepted for who they are in their hosting societies, are seen as equals and given the chance to engage fully in all aspects of community life, integration can be achieved and cohesive societies built,” said Mr. Damtew Dessalegne, UNHCR Representative in Cyprus.

The photographic exhibition presents the work of renowned photographers from Europe, who were invited to Cyprus to showcase through their lens the lives of refugees and migrants. They wandered in neighbourhoods where these people live, visited the reception centre for asylum-seekers at Kofinou and spent time getting to know them by listening to their stories, dreams and aspirations. Through their photos, they tell the untold stories of refugees and migrants; through their art, they contribute to achieving social inclusion.

The participating photographers in the exhibition are Bieke Depoorter / Magnum from Belgium, Antoine d’Agata / Magnum from France, Nikos Economopoulos / Magnum from Greece and Nicolas Iordanou from Cyprus.

Curated by Nicolas Iordanou and Sylvia Nicolaides, the Alien Trail exhibition was first presented at the Old Powerhouse in Pafos last September as part of the Pafos2017 programme. NiMAC, Pafos2017 and the UNHCR office in Cyprus are grateful to the German and Swedish Embassies in Cyprus for their support in having the exhibition presented in Nicosia.

The exhibition takes place at NiMAC, Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation [Old Powerhouse], 19 Palias Ilektrikis, 1016 Nicosia, T: 22797400, [email protected], www.nimac.org.cy, https://www.facebook.com/NiMACnicosia/

 

Duration: 8 – 30 December 2017

Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 21:00

One year “AWARE”!

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One year of information and awareness for refugees and immigrants

One year “AWARE”! A year full of childish smiles, joy, optimism, full of messages of acceptance of diversity, and messages condemning racism. Our campaign, co-funded by the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Republic of Cyprus, was the biggest information and awareness-raising project for refugees and immigrants that took place in our country.

As part of our action, we have been constantly informing people about the refugee and immigration issue through the social media of our campaign and through our website www.cyprusaware.eu/. We’ve also created 3 short movies with messages of acceptance and respect for diversity, as well as two documentaries with real protagonists’ refugees and immigrants.

We visited 19 schools and 6 departments of Pancyprian Universities, implementing seminars with informative and experiential character to young people.

We’ve also participated at the Film Festival of the Ministry of the Interior with the 3 short films created within our program. We organized a Festival for the “World Refugee Day” in cooperation with UNHCR and the FWC at Faneromeni Square with the participation of various humanitarian organizations, with the presence of asylum seekers from in Cyprus.

We participated at the Youth Festival of the Youth Board of Cyprus with our own actions and an info table of the campaign, and we peaked our action with the Pancyprian Student Conference of the AWARE Campaign with the participation of students attending our informative and experiential seminars.

The AWARE campaign completes today its first successful circle of actions, and this significant effort continues as the program is to be renewed for another year with more actions and new stations!

From the “AWARE” team

THE WINNERS OF «AWARE» SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE

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The “Aware” national campaign which is co-funded by the European Asylum and Migration and Integration Fund and the Republic of Cyprus, with the aim the Public Informing and Awareness about refugees and immigrants, during the running year, invited young people to step up their action by employing their imagination and creative talent and take part in the big contest “Aware Social Media Challenge!”

In this context, with the main message of Acceptance, Respect and Participation, participants were asked to take pictures or videos on topics such as multiculturalism, acceptance of diversity, mutual respect and anti-discrimination.

The contest was open from the beginning of the campaign until the end of November and all entries were posted by the AWARE group on the campaign’s social media with the hashtags #socialmediachallenge and #cyprusaware. The participations that stood out were the ones that best demonstrated respect and acceptance of diversity and sent in their own creative way, messages against racism.

The decision of the winner and of the three other participations that took second and third place was taken by a five-member committee consisting of Kyriakos Pierides, AWARE Campaign coordinator, Elena Fyentzou, European Union Fund Officer, Yiannos Christoforou, graphic designer Willy Totoro, President of the Association of Recognized Refugees in Cyprus and Christos Polykarpou, producer of Synergia Media.

 

The winners of the Aware Social Media Challenge are:

1st place: video with images and lyrics of the poem “REFUGEES” by the Christiana Theologou, Giorgos Theocharous, Thea Savva and Irene Zacharias, students of the Gymnasium of Polis Chrysochous.

 

2nd place: video by students Elli Konstantinou, Christoforos Kyprianou, Marilena Nikolaidou, Orestis Germanos students of Linopetra Lyceum.

 

3rd place: video with choreography titled “Dramatographia as Thalassographia” by Petria Efthyvoulou, Eleni Chatzantonis, Maya Maria Ofilia Smaltou, Maritini Aresti, Elena Maria Bountai and Elena Tsolaki, students of Gymnasium of Aglantzia.

 

3rd place: video “What if Costas, what if Hussein” by Evi Christoforou, Theodoros Ioannou, Panagiota Chatzivassiliou, Christina Giannopoulou, Eurydice Konstantinou, Andria Dimitriou, Eurydice Konstantinou, Rafaela Georgiou, Andriani Kaimakliotou, students of Gymnasium of Anthoupolis.

 

The participations that won the first three places have been posted on the campaign website while the participation that won the first place will be awarded with an honorary diploma titled “Aware Social Media Challenge Award” as part of the renewal of the AWARE program.

 

FIND THE WINNERS HERE: http://cyprusaware.eu/en/the-winners/

Kythira: Frontex identifies a sailboat with 55 migrants and refugees

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A sailboat that was carrying 55 immigrants and refugees, with 5 children among them, was identified during a patrol by a Frontex vessel, 15 nautical miles southwest of Kythera.

The sailboat, escorted by the harbor, was taken to the port of Kalamata.

Refugees and immigrants temporarily detained in the port of Kalamata until the completion of the control and counting procedures

Immigrants and refugees, Somalis and Pakistanis in the majority, are expected to be taken to the old hospital in Kalamata where they will be accommodated.

REFUGEES DIRECT DOCUMENTARIES FOR REFUGEES – Stories through the eyes of refugees

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They are young people from five refugee countries. They learned the art of film making in order to record their own experiences about the refugee crisis. This is the documentary Home new Home, coordinated by Mr. Kostas Spyropoulos. The project is in progress, having now completed 60% of its target.

Mr. Spyropoulos said that this is a project that authentically records the emotions and the genuine reactions of the people who are experiencing the refugee crisis and the people who welcome refugees, in an attempt to capture the many different and contradictory truths.

Young children wanting to escape the conventional image created around refugees and immigrants were trained in cinematic narratives at intensive seminars in Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine by prominent directors and academics in schools, universities and refugee camps.

Project HOME new HOME aspires after its completion to travel from September to every corner of Greece, giving an educational opportunity beyond the classical public projections of films on the refugee crisis.

REFUGEES CARE CENTER – A care center for refugees in Thessaloniki

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At the Refugees Care Center located in Thessaloniki,  refugees and immigrants have the opportunity to swim, wash their clothes, relax with a glass of tea or coffee and some snacks “surfing” on the internet, learn Greek, English or German, acquire some skills while children have their own play area.

The initiative belongs to the humanitarian organisation Agape, which, in collaboration with the Panhellenic Evangelical League, in Northern Greece, has managed in a few months to turn a dull and well-known place into a functional care centre for refugees and immigrants in the city.

“We had captured the idea from the old since the closing of Edomeni, but then we did not have the possibility to set up such a structure. We rented this space in January and until April we formed it, “explains Dimitris Tsoukalas from Agape in the APE-MPA.

There is a total of 8 bathrooms, washing machines and tumble dryers, donated clothes are distributed, while in the comfortable sofas and tables that are placed in the reception area, others are served in internet surfing and others are setting up wells by exchanging news of the day. “It’s a good opportunity to see some friends who ‘miss’ the other days of the week, living in the street,” says a young Pakistani, while a Syros, with the help of a translator, gives a young volunteer a blanket for washing.

Pakistani, Nepalese, Moroccan, Afghan, and 2-3 refugee Syrian families are the main “patrons” of the Refugees Care Center. “We write their names to know who they are visiting, but we accept them all,” says Tsoukalas and explains that while the initial thought was to create a center for families mainly of Syrian refugees, it was found that in this neighborhood were mainly people of other nationalities, those who lived on the road or needed help.

SCHULTZ: ECONOMIC PENALTIES TO THE COUNTRIES THAT REFUSE TO ACCEPT REFUGEES – The proposal by the head of the German Social Democratic Party

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An Economic penalty in European countries that do not accept refugees and, on the contrary, additional support to coherent countries, the head of the German Social Democratic Party SPD and candidate Chancellor Martin Schultz asks.

Assuming he is elected as Chancellor in the fall,  the German politician wants the function of this issue to be conceived with the drafting of the EU budget. As reported in the report, according to a keynote paper to be presented by the head of the SPD on Sunday in Berlin and owned by the dpa agency, any EU Member State refuses to accept refugees should suffer worse economic treatment.

On the basis of what is mentioned in this document, after the September elections, the SPD intends to negotiate at EU level the question of the worst financial treatment of member states not participating in the distribution of refugees within the EU. On the contrary, States providing protection to many refugees in need of asylum should receive additional financial support, the report says.

States that fulfil their duty should, according to the SPD, receive financial assistance. “States receiving refugees should receive support, for example, for the construction of facilities, schools or health care benefits,” said Martin Schultz. In order to encourage the voluntary acceptance of refugees, additional financial support is needed for each country that takes a large part of the burden, the document states.

Italy considers the granting of temporary visa to 200.000 refugees

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More than seven thousand immigrants and refugees have arrived recently on the coast of Italy. This has caused an increase in xenophobic phenomena while the Italian government is considering granting a visa to 200,000 refugees.

More specifically, the British press reports that the government of Rome examines this new strategy of granting a temporary visa to two hundred thousand immigrants and refugees who have arrived in Italy, with the main goal of being able to move freely in the various countries of the European Union. According to the London Times, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Marie Tziro confirmed that this is a potential issue.

According to the Italian press, this action could be based on an earlier European directive, which was adopted after the war in the former Yugoslavia to facilitate the movement of refugees.

It is clear, of course, that this would provoke the strong reaction of many other European countries. Italy, however, as several observers point out, once again notes that there is a lack of solidarity, as countries such as France, Spain and Croatia are reluctant to open their ports.

The whole debate on the temporary visa may, therefore, raise awareness of the problem that Italy faces regarding the uncontrolled migratory flows. It may even help to find a fair European solution that works on the substance, not just on paper.

Action Camp at Lesvos – Activists and Refugees Join Their Voices

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Local and international activists will meet at Lesvos with refugee activists in an action camp that aims to bring to light the tough situation faced by refugees trapped on the island due to Turkey’s EE agreement.

The organizers of the action camp are the Amnesty International and Lesvos Solidarity. The camp will bring activists from eight European countries to Mytilene along with more than ten local action and activist refugees and it will include a public action on July 21st.

According to Daniel Vails, an Amnesty International campaigner, the increasing number of refugee arrivals and the uncertainty about their future have been accompanied by risks of poor funding and poor reception conditions.

Efi Latsoudi, from the founders of Lesvos Solidarity, said “We unitedly demonstrate that Lesbos residents as well as people from all over Europe are willing to welcome the refugees and not feel they are represented by the inhumane EU policy”.

Amnesty International researchers will spend time with Noori, a new Syrian refugee who is currently detained in Moria after seven months in detention at the police station in Mytilene under wretched conditions. Noori is at risk of becoming the first asylum seeker to be officially reimbursed by Greece on the basis that Turkey is considered a safe country under the EU EE agreement.