3 short videos about the lives of refugees

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3 short videos about the lives of refugees

By Caoimhe Butterly

These three films show some of the 50,000 women, men and children – and their strength and pain. They have to stay in Greece because of the EU-Turkey agreement and closed borders in the Balkans.

The refugee communities talk in the films about their lives. Their route to safety and the chance of new lives is now blocked. After these films were made, many of the people in the interviews have been forced into government camps around Greece. They are still waiting to hear what will happen to them and their families.

The Camp

https://vimeo.com/168356063

This film was made in Eko, an unofficial refugee camp in Polykastro, on the border with Macedonia. In June, it was one of the last camps that people were forced to leave. In the video, men and women in the camp talk about the humiliation – they are forced to be dependent – and they say they want safe lives and dignity.

These people speak:

Wael, a Palestinian father from Yarmouk Camp, Syria. He is now a single parent of two children, after his wife and his other children died after bombs fell on their house;

Abdullah, who wants to be a basketball player;

Salwa, who was wounded fighting ISIS in Kobane with the Kurdish YPJ (Women Protection Units);

and Maram, who wants solidarity and support for the struggles of refugee and migrant communities.

The Border

https://vimeo.com/167282042

There were more than 12,000 people living in Idomeni, the largest refugee camp in Europe since the Second World War, before they forced everyone to leave in May. This film shows the strength and pain of the people who are looking for a safe place to live. There are interviews with:

Rana, a Kurdish activist and mother;

Samar and Rania, two teachers from Aleppo;

Shaeyer, a shopkeeper and wheelchair-user;

and Mohammed, a young student from Damascus.

The Border won a Human Rights Film award from the The Irish Council for Civil Liberties on 1 July.

The Port

https://vimeo.com/168351626

Piraeus Port in Athens became a permanent home for many thousands of people. This film has interviews with Syrian, Iraqi, Afghani, Yezidi and Kurdish women, men and children who had to stay there. They live in tents and ferry terminals with too many people. They wait, try to get the right to continue their journeys and look for the safe place they hope for.

The Border and The Port films were directed and produced by Caoimhe Butterly, filmed by Marcelo Biglia and edited by Tristan Hutchinson.

NOW READ THE ORIGINAL: https://newint.org/blog/2016/07/01/enough-tiredness-and-lies-refugees-greece/ (This article has been simplified so the words, text structure and quotes may have changed).