More than 7.800 people have lost their lives while attempting to cross the US-Mexico border since 1998—driven by hopelessness, by not being able to support their families. They didn’t survive their perilous journey through the desert. The Colibri Center for Human Rights helps families of disappeared migrants to identify and honour the lost souls.
Journalists Morgan Childs and Giuseppe Picheca both migrated into the Czech Republic, a country with nearly 600.000 residents that are considered foreigners. Together, they created a podcast to examine the insights gained from being labeled “foreign”, and to explore migration and human rights in the Czech Republic. A ten-part series well worth listening to.
Having fled from Iraq, Yousif spent one year in Camp Moria on Lesvos which, for him, was like ending up in prison. He decided to document the stories of those struggling to survive there and continued even after he was granted asylum. Yousif Al Shewaili is 21 years old and the chronicler of refugee-life on Lesvos.
While there is much talk about the catastrophic conditions in the Kara Tepe refugee camp, the voices of asylum seekers themselves are seldom heard. This is where Eric Maddox, host of the ‘Latitude Adjustment Podcast”, comes in. His podcast academy for refugees within the camp empowers them to tell their stories to the world. Tune in.
Currently everyone looks south towards Moria. But seldom up north. For refugees stranded in Calais, life is just as hopeless, they’re stuck in a cul de sac, harassed by police, barely taken care of. Activist Marion Dumontet helps as best she can. "I want to fight against this injustice and show these people that they are not alone".
Aid-organizations are heavily dependent on state-funding and individual donations. But fighting the COVID-19 pandemic leaves donors with less money to spend. How do NGO’s work under these challenging circumstances? Will they have to stop helping although their impact is much needed? Bea and Nico are experienced volunteers, here they talk about how Corona impacts their work.
Lydia and Line are cultural analysts and close friends. Together, they researched what drove ‘Refugee Welcome’ volunteer groups in Germany and Denmark. They join us to talk about the volunteer’s motivation during the long summer of migration in 2015 and how small acts can make a big difference. Then and now.
Michal Ďorď (32) comes from a Roma family and spent the first 18 years of his life in institutional care facilities. Today, Michal is co-founder of an NGO that seeks to improve the situation of children in institutional care. In this interview, he talks about the horrid conditions of children’s homes in the Czech Republic and how these institutions are yet another instrument that fosters discrimination and marginalization of Romani people.
Afghanistan is a battered country: the Taliban, economic hardship, more than half the people live in poverty. And now: Corona. The virus strikes a country that barely protects its inhabitants. Activists Shahlla Matin and Diana Raofi on the health crisis and women's rights, terror and the hope for peace.
Jessica Nichols and her team cooked up to 1000 healthy meals per day for refugees on Samos. Then came Corona and now she’s down to 100. She worries about her volunteers, refugees themselves, all locked away. What if the virus hits the camp? Jessica and Project Armonia’s co-founder Aybüke on how to survive in challenging times.
Living conditions in the Greek islands’ refugee camps are bad enough. Now the Corona-Crisis is about to make things even worse. The last NGOs are retreating, forced to leave thousands to their fate. Legal advisors Bea and Nico caught the last plane to Austria. Here they talk about what happens on the ground. Worrying.
Alexandra Bogos was Team Leader at the Samos Legal Center that provides advice for refugees stranded there. Together with the two interpreters she take a close look at the humanitarian crisis on the island. „There’s not much hope here. But what the young volunteers see has a huge impact on them. And that’s going to change things“.
Refugees in the camp on Samos have to stand in line for up to five hours to get food that is often completely inedible. Jessica Nichols is co-founder of Project Armonia that provides healthy meals for those who are too old, too young or too frail to stand in line. She provides moments of dignity where refugees are treated as human beings.
Mohammed Wafayee is the coordinator of the Baoab Community Center on Samos. And a refugee himself. He knows what it means to flee one’s home country without being able to go back, as that would mean near-certain death. And what it feels like to be stuck.. The Government’s plans of solving the refugee crisis might well be a change from bad to worse.
The biggest NGO on Samos provides shelter, classes and assistance in a center near the camp. In Winter „Temperatures can drop to five degrees and it can rain for three days in a row“, says Corien Tiemersma, „and most people live in tents, everything is wet and they will be cold all the time“. That’s why NGO’s like Samos Volunteers are much needed.
