Greece

A multilingual space for refugees and Greek citizens

In June 2018, Libraries Without Borders and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) began a program of assistance to asylum seekers and migrants at the JRS center in the Victoria neighborhood of Athens. Lasting a year, this project sought to eliminate barriers linked to language, to culture, and to the local environment, to fight against the loneliness and boredom of young exiled persons. The goal was to encourage them to take part in the reconstruction of their new life and to support their inclusion in the host country. Thanks to the Ideas Box, around 30 people a day, adults and children, have benefited at no cost from books and computers, notably for learning basic skills in the sciences and computer technology, and have taken part in awareness or CV workshops.

More about our actions in Greece

An Ideas Box for isolated minors in the island of Lesbos
Objective

Emergency & post-conflict situations

Start date

1458000000

Status

Ongoing

Background

Since March 20th, more than 5,000 refugees are trapped in the Moria camp, now transformed into an open-roof prison. Risking their own lives, the refugees are now seeking to register themselves as asylums and to avoid returning to Turkey. At the present time, the refugees do not have permission to leave the island. Besides the aid provided by religious organizations, the inhabitants of the Moria Camp receive insufficient support. In this camp of Moria, Libraries Sans Frontieres works in the reception center for isolated minors, where more than one hundred children live for a duration of a few weeks to several months.

Project objectives

  • Provide safe spaces where children, adolescents and the most vulnerable can rest and relax, thus help fight against stress and insecurity in the camp.
  • Provide an internet connection and communication tools to allow refugees to find, reassure or just contact their loved ones.
  • Provide access to high-quality information on places of transit and travel, legal and administrative processes (asylum law), actors and services present in the area.

Beneficiaries

Isolated minors living in the closed reception center inside the Moria camp.

WITH SUPPORT FROM

Financial partners

Operational partners