An article by Malcolm Brabant (BBC correspondent in Athens) about the neglect of refugees from Palestine, Afghanistan and Somalia who have been rejected from the reception centre on the island of Patmos and are currently sleeping in the streets.

Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) claims says the 140 refugees had been crammed into a [...]

Thank you to Kat of Living, Working, Musing and Misadventures in Athens for the link.
A harrowing account of life in a makeshift camp in Patras for Al Jazeera by Danylo Hawaleshka

Local residents in the apartment buildings that crowd the shantytown’s perimeter resent the migrants’ presence and the inevitable filth resulting from so many people living [...]

Today is World Refugee Day.
Take some time to educate yourself

From Human Rights Watch
Refugees and Displaced Persons
Who
A refugee is someone with a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, who is outside of his or her country of nationality and [...]

Via EU Observer

On Thursday (3 April), the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) issued open letters to EU governments as well as the European Commission, calling for the red light until Greece fully complies with EU and international law.
The letter cites “the unacceptable conditions for asylum claimants in Greece, the obstacles to accessing a [...]

Hundreds of refugees fleeing the violence in Afghanistan have become trapped in squalid camps in Greece. They went there hoping to get into Europe for a new life but the authorities won’t allow them to continue their journey.
And for now, they’re not sending them home either. Nicole Itano reports from the Greek city of Patras

I [...]

An article in the Athens News by Nicole Itano on refugees reaching the island of Samos. She covers their dangerous journey

The island of Samos lies just 1,650 metres from the coast of Turkey, a distance so short it looks possible to swim. For migrants like Hailezgi, it is an increasingly tantalising gateway to Europe but [...]

An update on the situation of the Iraqi refugees posted in the comments by Panayote Dimitras of the Greek Helsinki Monitor.
World Organisation Against Torture
PRESS RELEASE
GREECE: Alleged ill-treatment and fear of forcible deportation of Iraqi refugees
Geneva, 05 April 2007. The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) together with the Greek Helsinki [...]

If you have a few hours spare a week…
VOLUNTEERS needed daily from 10.30am to 1pm at the Caritas Athens Refugee Centre in Omonia. The right attitude is more important than experience. Please call Laura Panayotou on 6944-423169 for info

It is often the way that once a famous person gets behind a campaign, things start moving rather more quickly than before. I have no problem with that if change can happen because of it and I am happy that they are putting their considerable weight behind human rights concerns. I just think that [...]

Today is World Refugee Day and the message for the day is never give up hope . There will be special events around the world to mark this day.
Latest statistics indicate that of the 20.8 million people of concern:

8.4 million are refugees who have fled their countries due to civil wars and ethnic, tribal [...]