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Episode 58: Greece - Refugees Tell Their Stories

These are the personal testimonies of refugees from Moria Refugee Camp on the Greek Island of Lesvos and in Athens. These interviews were recorded in January and February and are the second of a three-part collaboration with Are You Syrious concerning the situation for refugees and communities in Greece. Much has transpired in Greece and in the world since we spoke, but their stories remain current and are in many ways timeless examples of what many of our parents, grandparents and neighbors endured before settling in our communities. As the Coronavirus bears down on the most vulnerable people it’s critical that we make space to hear and share their stories rather than reducing them to numbers, faceless victims, and political talking points.

 
 

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Episode 34: Are You Syrious?

Have you ever watched a humanitarian crisis unfolding on the news, witnessed the subsequent failure in leadership, and thought to yourself, "I wish I could get some friends together and just do something to make this better?" 

That's what Milena Zajović and a few Croatian friends did when the largest refugee crisis to hit Europe since World War 2 came to their borders in the Summer of 2015. That initial impulse lead to the creation of Are You Syrious?, a nonprofit that focuses on field work, integration, and advocacy for refugees in the Balkans and Southern Europe. Lately a lot of their work has focussed on reporting on the so-called "push backs" that have seen Croatian authorities playing the role of border enforcers for the European Union. These measures have been accompanied by widespread reports of violence and other human rights abuses and campaigns by various governments to criminalize the work of human rights defenders, a worrying trend that Latitude Adjustment covered in our previous episode about Malta as well. 

Be sure to subscribe to the Are you Syrious Daily Digest, a resource that's become reference material for foreign embassies, aid workers, and journalists, and which provides up to the minute reporting for and about refugees in Europe and across the Middle East. 

photos & logo design credit: Are You Syrious?/ Milena Zajović

 
Are You Syrious? Daily Digest

Are You Syrious? Daily Digest