Konitsa Refugee Camp protests in northern Greece, 1-3 September, 2016. Lampros Raptis. All rights reserved.At the start of September 2016, I - along with thousands of other Syrians currently living in refugee camps - took part in street protests, peaceful sit-ins, strikes and marches in the cities where the camps are throughout the whole of Greece. You may not have seen information about the strikes or protests in the news. It is difficult for us - with little support, contacts and power - to get the information about this out, to talk directly to the people of Europe. We have kindly been given this platform in openDemocracy in order to address you, the people of Europe, directly.
We have been demonstrating because we need to ask for three things: (1) that the EU opens the Greek borders; (2) that better care is provided for refugees such as ourselves in the camps; and (3) that we be treated with dignity – as human beings, not as animals – and that we are able to achieve a future where we can live as we hope, in peace and in dignity.
The most important aim of the strikes and protests is to send the message to the Greek government and the EU that we need you to open the border, to let us into the rest of Europe. Everyone of us is asking that the borders be opened, or else that you find other ways for us to continue our journey. We recognise that there are steps being taken to reunite families and help minors trapped here without their parents or families – through the UN relocation and family reunion programme – but it is slow and we do not know how long it will take before we will see our families and loved ones again. As such, it has to be made faster.
