Balkan Steps – Silvia story Written by Silvia ValdreJuly 2017 “Today we can finally breathe!”, I thought, maybe too naively, this morning. The heat, until yesterday nearly unbearable, has decreased considerably, gifting us with a bit of relief. Problems, however, as I too soon discovered, have not stopped yet: the burning sun has been replaced by…
Balkan Steps – Alessandra’s story Written by AlessandraJuly 2017 In the last weeks we had the chance to have a glance at the hardness of the reality that the refugees here are forced to face every day and to try to understand it better. All of them keep trying the so called “Game”, a nice name…
Almut’s letter from a refugee camp in Greece Written by Almut SchlepperFebruary 2017 Hello everybody, I hope you are all well in spite of these cold and dark days. Only one ” T ” free day to go! I wonder are there any protests happening around you. A word of warning: This is going to be…
Workcamp in Kurdistan with refugees Written by Helena Casas PerpinyàJanuary 2017 Every morning we wake up in the Guest House. Roj bash! Our Kurdish partners have prepared the breakfast and we get together at the table while having a chat, laughing, about our linguistic differences. Heval, partner in Kurdish. In Diyarbakir they are always willing to…
#IStandWithRefugees Written by AinaJanuary 2017 My time in Greece began at City Plaza, a squat hotel in downtown Athens that was occupied by four hundred refugees, as well as Greek and International solidarity. This project was unique in how it functioned. It was more than just accommodation. Residents – both refugees and solidaritarians alike contributed to the…
Ben in Ireland Written by BenOctober 2016 It’s a text-book summer’s day in Mosney, Co. Meath. I’m sitting by the lake where, two decades ago, amorous teenagers in swan boats might have glided through the water against the sound of the nearby waltzers. Behind me stands the now derelict train station where hundreds of seagulls are…
Sabra and Shatila, a massacre to remember: voices from the camp Written by Alberto, Aran, Ilaria, Luca, Marcello, Maria and Martina, workcamp volunteers in refugees camp of Shatila in Beirut, LibanoOctober 2016 Flyering. How often this verb recurs in the life of a young person. The thought immediately goes to the clear days of hot summer…
Meeting for Refugee Crisis in Greece Written by Stella ElmatzoglouAugust 2016 A few weeks ago, in a big room somewhere among the narrow streets of Barcelona, almost 20 people highly involved with SCI got together in order to talk and exchange beliefs and ideas regarding the refugee crisis in Greece. We referred to the chronological order of…
Experience of a camp coordinator Written by Ivana KosovacMarch 2016 The Bear the Peace camp was held in the Kuterevo bear refuge, where every year there is a large number of volunteers from all over the world, most of which subscribe to the same values and are interested in peace/building. There were 10 volunteers, from different…
A voice from Kurdistan Written by Alberto SannaJanuary 2016 From December 16th to 26th a workcamp organized by SCI Italy, in collaboration with “Genclik ve degisim, Youth and Change Association”, was held in the refugee camp of Diyarbakir, Turkish Kurdistan. Within the area, run by the Kurdish municipalities, there are about 4,000 refugees, 1,500 of whom…