Get a mobile library to refugee camps in Greece

Greetings from Athens everyone, this is Becka speaking, one of the library coordinators.

I hope that, wherever you are, that your summers held many moments of relaxiation and enjoyment. 

These past few months it has been brought home to many of us here at the library just how treacherous it is for some to continue journeys towards safety, dignity and a future for themselves and their families. We were devastated and outraged concerning one tragic story that hit the headlines this summer. A young Syrian girl called Maria was part of a group of 38 asylum seekers who were stranded on an uninhabiltable islet in the Evros river between Greece and Turkey, having been illegally pushed back there by Greek police. As a result of their deliberate actions and neglect Maria died from a suspected scorpion sting, 5 years old and never able to reach a place of safety. 

Illegal pushbacks, the forcible removal of people trying to seek asylum in one country back across the border, has been happening at an increasingly alarming rate, both on land and sea in Greece. It goes against human rights, including the right to seek asylum. It is estimated this year in Greece that 75% of people trying to reach Greece from Turkey have been subject to illegal pushbacks. 

This last period also saw an accelaration in the Greek government's attempt to make life for asylum seekers even more miserable. This summer witnessed the struggle of camp residents and solidarians to prevent their eviction from Eleonas camp - the only camp which was reachable from the centre of Athens on foot, or via a short bus journey. Following the use of tear gas, stun grenades and riot police the camp was closed at the end of August, with remaining residents moved out to "other structures". 

Whilst we repeatedly call for the closure of the camps, the residents of this one had asked for support from the wider community to allow them to continue living there, as it clearly appeared that alternatives had either not been provided for them, or were worse. The camps which we visit outside of Athens remain isolated, lacking in services, including public transport into Athens where many essential services are located. Moreover, the continued exclusion from these camps of grassroots projects such as the library means that there is even less information about the living conditions inside.

As the library took a month's break over August a lot of our friends moved on with their lives beyond the Greek camps. After several years of waiting, frustration and paperwork there was a large movement of people out of the camps, mainly onwards into northern Europe. Many this summer also left Greece in their attempts to reach Northern Europe via the dangerous smuggler routes through the Balkans before the weather shifts.

All in all, a bittersweet time. We are happy that people are continuing their journeys towards a more stable and dignified future, however it also has meant a lot of goodbyes and losing many of our most enthusiastic library users. Although it seems a large number have moved on, an equally large number remain and we are committed to providing our library services, books and access to education for anyone who wants them. It is a very small project, offered in the spirit of solidarity and we continue our work to reach as many people as we can during our weekly library sessions. We have refreshed our Arabic collection with 50 books acquired from Jerusalem, increased our Farsi collection and received a generous donation of children's books, including our first (and very much sought-after) Somali books from fellow librarians who were visiting from Sweden. A massive thank you to them and to yourselves also for your contiued support of our library. 

Since we last wrote you, our mobile library has kept running Athens' and Attica's roads.

Despite not having access to camps, we have good sessions in front of their entrance gates, on side streets, parking lots and alleys. We keep visiting Malaksa and Ritsona camps, and the two Kurdish-led camps in Lavrio every week, Oinofyta every other week, and Korinthos every month.

Every week we also hold sessions at the Khora Social Kitchen, at Welcommon hostel and in Platia Victoria in Athens, and we started visiting two minors shelters in the city area.

Our kids activities are now organised and led together with PiliPala, a group we partnered with to create art-based workshop and learning-through-play activities.

Thanks to our fantastic team, we got donations of beautiful new Farsi, Turkish and Kurdish books, for both adults and children.

And this is only possible thanks to your support!

Thanks so much,

The library team

ECHO Mobile Library

Links:

• http://echolibrary.org