Help Asylum Seekers & Refugees Transcend Barriers

Thank you for helping refugees and asylum seekers transcend barriers in Greece!

We launched “Help Asylum Seekers and Refugees Transcend Barriers” in late 2021 to provide vital support to forcibly displaced families and individuals seeking safety in Greece. This population is in urgent need of essential services, including shelter, food, psychosocial support and legal and medical aid following several recent policy changes that have reduced assistance for refugees and asylum seekers. 

In just four months, you have helped us raise more than €16,000 and we thank you! Your generous contributions have sustained our work through increasingly challenging times (if you are interested in learning more about recent developments impacting the lives of people seeking refuge in Greece, please read the section at the end of this report). 

Here is a summary of what we achieved with your support since launching this project:

In Athens, our emergency response team answered a growing number of requests for help from people living in precarious conditions. Since November, we supported over 800 people, including 400 who contacted us via our hotline phones. We assessed their needs, booked medical appointments, provided guidance on navigating the asylum process and accessing social services, and referred people to providers of legal and housing support. We have also distributed 283 food basekts, over 60 supermarket vouchers, 287 packs of diapers, and 9,900 other essential items including hygiene supplies (soap, toothbrushes, feminine care etc.), as well as 251 items of warm winter clothing to families in vulnerable situations.  

In Ritsona, Greece’s largest refugee camp, we continued offering recreational activities (including sports, arts and crafts, music workshops and more) for school-aged children and youth. From November through February, these activities assumed even greater importance because children had little to no access to school due to COVID-19 measures, over capacity classrooms, and transportation issues. In our safe, inviting spaces, children and youth have the opportunity to be themselves, make friends across cultural and linguistic barriers, pursue their creative or athletic passions, and build their skills, including learning English. Since November, we have also welcomed 85 3 and 4 year old children every month into our informal daycare centre, where they can play, make friends, learn techniques to deal with their emotions, and develop their skills. Meanwhile, we also continued to invest in our Community Volunteers - refugees and asylum seekers living in Ritsona Camp who chose to contribute to our programmes for children – through training and capacity building workshops. 

The situation remains dire and we remain steadfast in our mission to respond with dignified humanitarian support. However, the specific barriers refugees and asylum seekers face to safety, well-being, and social integration are in constant flux. As needs on the ground grow and change, we adapt our programmes accordingly.Therefore, we have decided to close out this GlobalGiving project and replace it with a new one that more accurately reflects the work we are doing today. 

Nothing has changed with regards to whom we support or to our participatory approach, only the specific ways we provide relief. We continue to run activities and provide safe spaces for the children and youth of Ritsona camp, as we have done continuously since 2016. And we continue to provide emergency relief in the form of food and essential item distributions and case management for people experiencing homlessness in Athens. 

As we adapt and expand the support we provide, we hope that you will continue to support us by contributing to our other project on GlobalGiving. Together, we can continue making a difference! 

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Overview of recent changes affecting refugees and asylum seekers in Greece:

New arrivals on the mainland, Crete and Rhodes currently have no way to register their asylum claim, leaving thousands of people with few avenues to access legal protection, medical support, housing or food. Gates and surveillance technologies are being installed around walled-off camps, the final step in creating closed, prison-like camps across Greece that will restrict residents’ freedom of movement. The amount of cash assistance that certain categories of asylum seekers receive every month has also been reduced to €75 (meanwhile most receive zero). Food insecurity continues to be a devastating issue for residents of Ritsona - in February 2,600 people resided in Ritsona, of whom 1,600 were considered “ineligible” for food distributions. Government accommodations, including the ESTIA II programme which housed vulnerable asylum seekers, has been reduced and will be phased out by the end of this year. In January, the worst snowstorm in 14 years hit the Athens metro area, leaving thousands of people living on the streets and in low-quality housing in need of emergency warm shelter, winter clothes and blankets. In Ritsona, the snowstorm left the entire camp without electricity and potable water for some days. 

These obstacles exacerbate the long-standing, perennial struggles that thousands of forcibly displaced people across Greece were already facing. Those attempting to cross Greece’s land and sea borders continue to be met with violence, intimidation tactics and illegal pushbacks. Turkey has been designated a “safe third country” by the Greek authorities for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, meaning applicants from these countries face immediate rejections and the risk of deportation. Those in Athens continue to face uncertainty, poor housing, and limited job opportunities, whilst those in Ritsona Camp face waiting times of up to three years on asylum claims. 

Over the coming months we will be stepping up our advocacy for the reversal of harmful policies. Meanwhile, we are committed to continuing to provide emergency relief to people bearing the brunt of its effect. We are grateful to count you among our supporters and encourage you to continue standing in solidarity with those fleeing conflict, disaster, and persecution, who are trying to exercise their legal right to apply for asylum and be treated with dignity and respect.