deviousdiva on March 26th, 2009

I have been accused many times (unfairly in my opinion) of never posting positive stories about Greece and Greek people. I concede that it is not “balanced” in the sense that I post one positive story for every negative one but I would challenge anyone to be able to do that on a blog [...]

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deviousdiva on January 26th, 2009

A few months ago, I posted an article about the makeshift shantytown in Patras that is “home” to over a thousand refugees, mainly from Afghanistan. On Wednesday last week, a large part of the camp was burned down, leaving more than four hundred people homeless. Fortunately, no-one was hurt in the fire. The Red Cross [...]

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deviousdiva on November 24th, 2008

The heart-breaking story of Ziyad, an Iraqi refugee who was deported from Germany to Greece even though he had never stepped foot in this country before. He had traveled from Iraq with his brother to escape persecution and to settle with other members of his family in Germany. For some unknown reason, his brother was [...]

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deviousdiva on July 28th, 2008

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on July 14th, 2008

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on June 20th, 2008

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on April 3rd, 2008

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on March 19th, 2008

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on November 16th, 2007

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on April 6th, 2007

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on December 29th, 2006

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
Trafficking Women on July 2nd, 2008Trafficking on September 26th, 2007Human Trafficking on June 6th, 2006

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deviousdiva on December 14th, 2006

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 [...]

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deviousdiva on June 20th, 2006

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 [...]

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