Greece is the gateway to Europe for most refugees crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety and with hope for a better life. Greece’s stressed economy and infrastructure has been inundated with those seeking asylum in Europe. While the Greek government wades through the bureaucracy of applications and documents, more people arrive daily on boats and those already in Greece wait in camps to be processed. Asylum seekers face ambiguity and insecurity about their future. This situation has a serious effect on mental health and ability to form communities.
Schisto refugee camp, located in Athens is a temporary home to refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. To help address the importance of community and bring people together Danish Refugee Council teamed up with aptART (Awareness & Prevention Through Art) with the support of the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO). Together the youth of Schisto refugee camp and artists painted the camp’s library, offices and kindergarten with bright colours and messages highlighting the beauty of coexistence and power of collaboration.
Coexisting In Colour consisted of 4 workshops:
Better Together, a workshop about typography which artist Camilo Rojas gave to the children. Afterwards everyone came together using chrome markers and covered 3 sides of a prefabricated office building in the center of the camp. Camilo then painted massive letter on each side of the caravan, reading “Better Together” and “Hope”. The different languages and alphabets engage everyone who passes by, no matter where they come from.
Once Upon A Time is a workshop on books and stories. To share the joy of books, the aptART crew and the children read together and drew pictures from their favorite stories. Then they all went to the community library located in the center of the camp. Ernesto Maranje painted a massive rabbit leaping towards a pile of books with leaving coming around the sides. Inside the leaves children drew scene from their favourite stories. Some drew caterpillars transforming into butterflies while others drew Spiderman, Snowmen or Rapunzel. The drawings remind all who pass by the important of stories in the lives of children.
It’s A Beautiful Day is a reminder of the beauty that each day can bring. Everyone got together and covered the walls the camp Kindergarten with green paint. Then they made flowers and bird stencil and painted more flowers with spray cans and brushes. As a finishing touch they sprinkled word about what makes a day beautiful in different languages. The result was a garden bursting in colour and creativity.
The Gift Of An Image, a workshop about basic photography where Valeria Lopez discussed the concepts of composition and subject matter. Valeria explained how photography allows us to capture a moment in time and keep memories of people and places. Then the kids were given polaroid cameras to practice. Over 1,000 instant photos were taken during the week of workshops. Everyone was snapping photos of everything from family photos and friends to pictures of flower in someone’s garden.
About aptART
Awareness and Prevention through Art (aptART) is an organization of artists and activists dedicated to sharing artistic experiences with conflict-affected and marginalized youth throughout the world. AptART coordinates workshops for youth that result in large-scale public art in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.
In collaboration with local and international organizations operating on location, artists and activists coordinate workshops with youth from different communities. The workshops culminate in large-scale public art as well as individual pieces. The workshops and art focus on issues affecting communities with messages of positivity and hope.
About The Danish Refugee Council
Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private Danish humanitarian organisation, founded in 1956 after the Second World War, and has been active in large scale humanitarian projects around the world. Through convoy operations DRC was responsible for delivering half of the international humanitarian aid in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the wars of independence in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s.
Today the Danish Refugee Council works in more than 30 countries around the world including Syria and the neighboring countries. More than 500,000 persons receive emergency relief from DRC each month in the region. The situation in and around Syria is the largest humanitarian crisis the world is facing and 30% of the population have left their homes as a consequence of the violence. In Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq, DRC distributes relief aid as mattresses, clothes, blankets and hygiene kits – and rehabilitates shelters. Inside Syria, DRC helps displaced and conflict affected Syrians in Homs, Dara’a, Aleppo and Damascus.
The international DRC activities aims to protect refugees and internally displaced persons and to promote long term solutions. DRC assistance in acute refugee crises, remains focused on long-term effects.
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Danish Refugee Council: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
