Refugees: A journey to freedom through Greece

About 770.000 refugees and migrants have travelled through Greece this year, relocating from their countries to central Europe, in what is considered the greatest migration crisis the country has experienced in the past decades. Most of them travel from Turkey to Greek Eastern Aegean islands in small rafts and boats. The majority is fleeing wars and conflicts seeking safety, stability and democracy in European countries. As the Somali- British poet, Warsan Shire puts it, “you have to understand that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land”. This is why this project is dedicated to children who escaped death but are still lingering while their families are in search of a peaceful future. Those who arrive at the coasts of Lesvos island are then transported to a camp in Moria village where they receive the necessary documents in order to continue their journey. What I want to achieve through these pictures is not to simply inform people but to make them understand. The situation in Moria, just like the situation in all the migrant and refugee camps, is far from dreamy. There is not enough space for everyone and people are forced to sleep on the street in case they can’t afford to buy a tent. Food and water are, also, limited; the same stands for clothes and blankets especially for children of young ages. This is the largest displacement of people since WWII. Refugees and migrants walk thousands of miles and pay thousands of dollars to smugglers just to get on frail boats that could lead them either to the safety of Greece or death in the cold waters of the Aegean Sea. Since most of the migrants and refugees have never been in the water before, there are numerous cases of them drowning even in very shallow waters. This is why he work of volunteers in the Greek islands is absolutely remarkable and has saved thousands of lives to the day. For their next step, refugees and migrants board ships to Piraeus port and then most of them get on trains to the Greek-Macedonian border, while others stay in Athens either in makeshift camps or in government-provided bungalows. The most recent addition to the migrants’ troubles is that the Greek-Macedonian border is now closed to anyone who is not identified as a refugee. This resulted to the relocation of all migrants from the border to down town Athens, where the future of these people remains unsure. Furthermore, the conditions in the migrant camps are everything but ideal. Because of the vast number of the people arriving everyday, most of them lack necessities and there is constant need for diapers and milk for the children. The state-provided facilities are not sufficient and constitute a temporary solution to a permanent problem. This story covers the journey of refugees and migrants from the coasts of Lesvos to Macedonia, capturing every step of the way through Greece. You have been informed!