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September finds them all together in Tilos!

Posted on Monday September 26th, 2016

Three families of nineteen adults and children arrived at Tilos a few days ago in order to be hosted in the island’s Accommodation Centre. The Center is functioning by the Municipality of Tilos with the support of SolidarityNow, since the summer of 2015.
The Mayor of the island, Ms Maria Kamma, describes the reception of the families and shares with us feelings and imagery of solidarity in action.

“This afternoon we welcomed at the Accommodation Center in Tilos, three families of refugees, accompanied by a translator of NGO METAdrasi as well as a representative of UNHCR.
The surprise and joy of refugees was evident when they saw that each family will have its own space! In the Accommodation Center they will be able to do it all by themselves since the necessary equipment is provided; they can cook and store their food as well as to take care of their personal hygiene. In addition, the children accommodated at the Centre can, in addition to learning English and Greek, play on the playground and in the surrounding place of the Centre!
We realized and shared their relief, when we heard by them that they spent time living in Lesvos in a container with 30 people, sharing only one toilet. The transportation of the families was made by the bus acquired via the SolidarityNow funding project, in cooperation with the Municipality of Tilos“.

Today, the Accommodation Centre in Tilos has covered half of its capacity, while Ms. Kamma hopes that soon they will be able to accommodate more people exploiting the Centre’s facilities to the maximum. SolidarityNow actively supports the work carried out in Tilos and will continue to do so by funding the expansion of the Accommodation Centre.
History needs examples of humanity, such as the one of Tilos and as Ms. Kamma notes, “we hope the example of Tilos become the model of solidarity which will pass on all over Greece, since it is the evidence of successful coexistence among people of different nationalities based on the one thing needed: love!“.

Let’s create a tolerant society

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Dimitra Sarantopoulou, a sociologist in SolidarityNow’s refugee accommodation center in Porto Heli, talks about her experience – the experience of someone who tries to help and stand by to the people in need.
Today, 350 refugees of Kurdish and Afgan origin, are hosted in the accommodation center of Porto Heli.

A team with a common vision
Dimitra is a member of the organization’s team involved in educational activities provided to the refugees – the team consists apart from Dimitra, a philologist, a gymnast and an interpreter. For Dimitra and the rest of the team, the goal is one and clear: “To create a small society based on the principles of tolerance and acceptance in which different cultures and cultural habits can coexist”.

The different daily routine of this work
“There are a lot I can say about our daily life, the work we do, the feelings we share, that I really cannot put my whole experience into words. I feel appreciation that I was given this opportunity and I consider myself trying, along with the other members of the team, for a better world. There is no better feeling than knowing you made someone happy even for just a while.
My main role as a sociologist is to study and record the interaction of our society with new cultures, which are governed by different relations, laws and religions.
In parallel, it is my duty to try introducing in beneficiaries’ daily lives new habits and customs which will contribute to their smoother integration within the host society. Based on this principle and as a result of a great effort, we have created a small school which operates in the accommodation center. The entire team, with love for what we do, with persistence and patience, we were able to make feasible a dream that we thought impossible in the beginning! In order to have an effective school we have distinguished among the beneficiaries of different age groups and created a program able to engage all groups simultaneously and for as much as we can.
At school, beneficiaries are taught English and Greek, whereas one of its operational objectives was the creation and production of a guide with basic information that a refugee needs to know, in Arabic and Kurdish. Other activities included in the school program are gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, football and of course special activities for children such as art activities, singing and dancing – through the latter we become kids too!”.

I try…
“…in order to support them to catch the thread of their life from the beginning. I joined the organization Solidarity Now, which is trying to provide the least to people in need: a decent shelter, humane living conditions and food, opportunities for integration into Greek society, education”.

Present is part of the future
“I cannot think of the future; I prefer to think about the present. I just want to continue offering strength, courage and support to those who really need it”.

*The Hosting Scheme Project “Home for Hope” is implemented by SolidarityNow with the support of UNHCR GREECE and EU funding.

George Soros: Why I invest 500 million dollars for the refugees

Posted on Tuesday September 20th, 2016

George Soros, the chairman and founder of the Open Society Foundations, today pledged to invest up to $500 million to help to meet the challenges posed by the global crisis of forced migration.

Mr. Soros announced the initiative on the morning of the Obama Administration’s “Call to Action,” which has assembled U.S. business leaders at the United Nations in New York to make concrete commitments in response to the crisis.

“Our goal is to harness the private sector for public good,” Mr. Soros said. “We will invest in startups, established companies, social impact initiatives, and businesses started by migrants and refugees themselves. These investments are intended to be successful. But our primary focus is to create products and services that truly benefit migrants and host communities. I hope my commitment will inspire other investors to pursue the same mission.”

The investments will be owned by Mr. Soros’ non-profit organizations, and the profits will go to fund programs at the Open Society Foundations, including programs that benefit migrants and refugees. Mr. Soros said he would work with organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Rescue Committee to establish appropriate investment principles for the initiative.

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “The UNHCR firmly supports Mr. Soros’ pledge to make investments that will help refugees become self-reliant and help host communities. Refugees need access to financial and legal services, education, and employment opportunities; we believe the private sector is uniquely placed to help build the infrastructure needed to support these services.”

The promised funds will be in addition to philanthropic efforts already undertaken by the Open Society Foundations. The Open Society Foundations have been involved in the issue of forced migration since the early 1990s, when we sought to assist people displaced by the wars in the Balkans and by political repression in Burma. The Foundations’ response to the current crisis in Europe has included the setting up of “Solidarity” community centers in Greece in 2013 to aid both migrants and local people, and an initiative to provide Syrian refugees in the Middle East with basic legal advice. The Open Society Foundations also fund groups working with refugees, forced migrants, and migrant workers in North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

David Miliband, the president of the International Rescue Committee, said: “George Soros has shown extraordinary leadership with today’s announcement. By earmarking $500 million for investments that address critical needs of refugees and their host communities, Mr. Soros is showing how compassion and innovation can combine to meet the challenge of our age. Evidence from the International Rescue Committee’s work around the world proves that the private sector has a vital role to play in helping refugees become self-reliant. We look forward to helping Mr. Soros identify opportunities for investment, especially in the area of job creation in host communities.”