The night when “hell” burned down
Two months after the fire that destroyed Moria camp, the overcrowded refugee facility on the island of Lesvos, an asylum seeker who lived there, remembers the events of that night and what happened in the days that followed.
“Mom, what are Albanians?”
Marios and Mirela came to Greece 24 years ago, and their children were born here. They cultivate garlic − a local product which has helped the region of Platykampos, Larissa, gain international attention. But they are still waiting for Greek citizenship.
The questionable safety in ‘safe zones’
Theoretically, “24-hour care and emergency protection” is provided to the unaccompanied minors in the safe zones of the refugee camps. But the cases that Solomon brings to light show that reality is often far from what is expected in theory.
The logbook of Moria
A logbook was found in the ashes of Europe’s most notorious refugee camp. Written by the workers that were there to protect the unaccompanied minors, but often felt incapable of doing so, its pages reveal the horrific reality that they endured. The logbook of Moria’s safe zone is an indisputable document of Europe’s failure to protect the most vulnerable group of asylum seekers that sought safety within its borders.
Current population of asylum seekers in RICs in Greek islands
8,922
Lesvos
Cap: 12,280
2,856
Chios
Cap: 1,352
3,975
Samos
Cap: 947
738
Leros
Cap: 1,116
1,084
Kos
Cap: 1,506
68
Other islands
Cap: 81
Labeled “immigrants”, two-thirds of Moria’s population actually have a refugee profile
The Greek government and major media outlets are presenting the victims of the fire at Moria camp as “immigrants”. However, according to our analysis, the majority will most likely be granted international protection.
“We are better off here, that place is like a prison”
The Greek government has been trying to relocate victims of the Moria fire to a new temporary shelter. Asylum seekers are reluctant to go there.
“The time-bomb exploded” at Greece’s largest refugee camp
Massive fires burned through Moria – repeated warnings had been made, and ignored, for years.
Name: Unknown – Cause of death: Drowning
“I can’t, I’ve had a difficult time processing all this.” Since 2012, the registrar of Lesvos has been mainly registering the bodies of unidentified refugees.
How the Aegean islands became a warehouse of souls
It was four years ago, March 2016, when the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration to curb refugee flows was signed.
Europe’s largest refugee camp under coronavirus risk
The longer people are being left to live in such dire conditions, the higher the risk of a coronavirus outbreak that would be impossible to be contained.
Fire in Moria camp
On March 16, 2020 a fire began in a container in the area of the Reception and Identification Center (RIC) of Moria. A 6-year-old child was found dead in the ashes.
The tandoor of Moria
Afghan wood-fired ovens are an example of people’s attempt to resist a regime of detention which imposes misery as normality.
/ Last in Line
A Publication about young male migrants and refugees
More than 75,000 asylum seekers arrived in Greece in 2019 alone, either by crossing the northern border with Turkey via the Evros River or by crossing the Aegean from Turkey on boats, hoping to land on one of the Greek islands.
About 40% of the asylum seekers are men.
“Mom, what are Albanians?”
Marios and Mirela came to Greece 24 years ago, and their children were born here. They cultivate garlic − a local product which has helped the region of Platykampos, Larissa, gain international attention. But they are still waiting for Greek citizenship.
“The time-bomb exploded” at Greece’s largest refugee camp
Massive fires burned through Moria – repeated warnings had been made, and ignored, for years.
“I didn’t know I had to tell my story somewhere”
Keita is from the Ivory Coast and has been living in Athens since 2010. As a minor, he decided to leave his family and pursue his dream to play football. But things didn’t quite work out as he expected.
Deportations: The eternal denial of the Greek government
With mounting evidence and growing allegations of illegal deportation operations along the Greek-Turkish border, the Greek government maintains “ignorance”.
“In Turkey there were 40 of us in a small, covered truck”
We met Raz in the afternoon of Sunday, January 21, 2020 at the We Need Books in Kipseli, Athens. He had gone to arrange Greek lessons, which he intended to start. “I am forced to. For my papers, for the language test. So as to bring my wife here,” he told me in fluent Greek.
/ THE VISUALS
We collect data information and create visual stories that give you a whole new perspective of a topic.
Refugee camps in Greece
In addition to the overcrowded Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) in the five Aegean islands, there are currently 27 more hosting structures for asylum seekers in the mainland of Greece.
A visual representation of Australia’s devastating fires
Fires in Australia are estimated to have burned 107,000 square kilometers, nearly the size of mainland Greece (132,049). 28 people died and more than a billion animals killed in wildfires that have been burning the country since autumn 2019.
The curse of the “rich” countries
The term resource curse refers to that situation in which countries with an abundance of natural resources, such as fossil fuels and certain minerals, appear to have lower economic growth, less democracy and lower index scores on peacefulness.
/ THE VISUALS
We collect data information and create visual stories that give you a whole new perspective of a topic.
Refugee camps in Greece
In addition to the overcrowded Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) in the five Aegean islands, there are currently 27 more hosting structures for asylum seekers in the mainland of Greece.
A visual representation of Australia’s devastating fires
Fires in Australia are estimated to have burned 107,000 square kilometers, nearly the size of mainland Greece (132,049). 28 people died and more than a billion animals killed in wildfires that have been burning the country since autumn 2019.
The curse of the “rich” countries
The term resource curse refers to that situation in which countries with an abundance of natural resources, such as fossil fuels and certain minerals, appear to have lower economic growth, less democracy and lower index scores on peacefulness.
The most expensive and cheapest countries to live in
The cost of living in Greece remains relatively high compared to the income of the population. According to the European Job Mobility Portal, Greece is ranked 31st in the world’s general price levels.
One month after the Moria fire, press coverage on refugees remains restricted
Press restrictions began soon after Moria camp was set up. And they have not ceased − asylum seekers in the new camp are reporting on the deplorable conditions themselves.
The grey areas on the list of the greek media outlets’ payments for COVID-19 awareness campaign
Athens Voice received more money than LIFO. The Athenian newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton only got as much as a local paper. There were 239 websites that received money although they were unregistered news outlets. The publication of the list revealed inconsistencies in the payments the media received for the coronavirus public awareness campaign “We Stay Home”.
The thorn in our side: racially-motivated violence in Greece
Attacks on refugees, attacks on the LGBTQI community, police officers as aggressors. This year, the findings of an annual report by the Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) are, once again, concerning.
“We are kind of speechless today” – Lime quits Athens, downsizes Thessaloniki’s operation
After pausing its operations in Greece amid COVID-19, Lime announced to employees it is shutting down its services in Athens.
The truth about the voucher program which was terminated by the government
After intense protests and reports which uncovered the program’s links to distance learning providers, the government ended the program. Even now, however, the whole truth has not been revealed.
Something’s up with Lime
The multinational company Lime, worth €2 billion, suspended its operation in Greece due to COVID-19. A months-long investigation, however, reveals that the problems began long before the pandemic.
Thousands of agricultural workers in Manolada are “staying home” – in shacks
The strawberry season has already begun, and at least 7,000 harvesters from Bangladesh are currently in Manolada. While agricultural production has decreased due to COVID-19, difficult living and working conditions raise further concerns.
How the Aegean islands became a warehouse of souls
It was four years ago, March 2016, when the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration to curb refugee flows was signed.
The tandoor of Moria
Afghan wood-fired ovens are an example of people’s attempt to resist a regime of detention which imposes misery as normality.
Whether it’s patients suffering from mental illness in the 1990s or the current refugee crisis – the same social stigmas apply
Two stories from two different time periods, seemingly unrelated to each other, point to the timelessness of deep-rooted fears towards ‘the other’ which generate scapegoats and reflect people’s worst reactions and behaviors.
“Moria 2.0” turns once more to mud
A short rain in Lesbos turned everything into mud in some parts of the “Moria 2.0”, the new camp in Lesbos, for one more time. What will winter look like for its thousands of residents?
First rain in “Moria 2.0”
Almost a month after it was set up, this is how life was like in “Moria 2.0” on October 8th, after the first day of rain.
Europe’s largest refugee camp under coronavirus risk
The longer people are being left to live in such dire conditions, the higher the risk of a coronavirus outbreak that would be impossible to be contained.
The grey areas on the list of the greek media outlets’ payments for COVID-19 awareness campaign
Athens Voice received more money than LIFO. The Athenian newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton only got as much as a local paper. There were 239 websites that received money although they were unregistered news outlets. The publication of the list revealed inconsistencies in the payments the media received for the coronavirus public awareness campaign “We Stay Home”.
The scenario of simple proportional representation: the Greek Parliament under different conditions of representation
Using simple proportional representation to explore what the composition of the current and previous Parliament would resemble and taking a hypothetical look at the past, in search of the last autonomous prime minister.
The Greek vote and the political circumstances that influenced it – A timeline covering the past four decades
Historical data reveals how the Greek vote has changed since the political transition after the dictatorship, from the first parliamentary elections in 1974 to the most recent national elections in 2015.
Real gold or Fool’s gold? Golden Visas in Europe
The lucrative trade of passports and residence permits in Europe, the money under the table and various reactions.
The feng shui of money: Greece’s Golden Visa program
The facts about the Golden Visa program – the illegal and legal practices of the foreign and Greek companies involved and the impact on the real estate market.
How the Aegean islands became a warehouse of souls
It was four years ago, March 2016, when the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration to curb refugee flows was signed.
The tandoor of Moria
Afghan wood-fired ovens are an example of people’s attempt to resist a regime of detention which imposes misery as normality.
Whether it’s patients suffering from mental illness in the 1990s or the current refugee crisis – the same social stigmas apply
Two stories from two different time periods, seemingly unrelated to each other, point to the timelessness of deep-rooted fears towards ‘the other’ which generate scapegoats and reflect people’s worst reactions and behaviors.
“Moria 2.0” turns once more to mud
A short rain in Lesbos turned everything into mud in some parts of the “Moria 2.0”, the new camp in Lesbos, for one more time. What will winter look like for its thousands of residents?
First rain in “Moria 2.0”
Almost a month after it was set up, this is how life was like in “Moria 2.0” on October 8th, after the first day of rain.
The grey areas on the list of the greek media outlets’ payments for COVID-19 awareness campaign
Athens Voice received more money than LIFO. The Athenian newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton only got as much as a local paper. There were 239 websites that received money although they were unregistered news outlets. The publication of the list revealed inconsistencies in the payments the media received for the coronavirus public awareness campaign “We Stay Home”.
The scenario of simple proportional representation: the Greek Parliament under different conditions of representation
Using simple proportional representation to explore what the composition of the current and previous Parliament would resemble and taking a hypothetical look at the past, in search of the last autonomous prime minister.
The Greek vote and the political circumstances that influenced it – A timeline covering the past four decades
Historical data reveals how the Greek vote has changed since the political transition after the dictatorship, from the first parliamentary elections in 1974 to the most recent national elections in 2015.
Real gold or Fool’s gold? Golden Visas in Europe
The lucrative trade of passports and residence permits in Europe, the money under the table and various reactions.
The feng shui of money: Greece’s Golden Visa program
The facts about the Golden Visa program – the illegal and legal practices of the foreign and Greek companies involved and the impact on the real estate market.
The night when “hell” burned down
Two months after the fire that destroyed Moria camp, the overcrowded refugee facility on the island of Lesvos, an asylum seeker who lived there, remembers the events of that night and what happened in the days that followed.
Bringing a refugee story to its true protagonists
When BFJE fellow Stavros Malichudis published his investigation into young unaccompanied male asylum seekers and refugees in Greece, he took it to the kind of people featured in the story to test their reaction.
The past, the present, and the future depicted in a drawing by young Saad from Syria
“Which government, which country, which policy, what person has the right to deprive Saad of his dreams?”
Testimonies of refugees and migrants in a time of pandemic
The digital narratives were created under the project “Narrating COVID-19: Testimonies from Refugees and Migrants in a Time of Pandemic”, which was implemented by the MSc “Global Health – Disaster Medicine” of School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), in order to highlight the humanitarian role of new technologies, which has been used as a tool of self-expression to capture the psychosocial effects of Covid-19 in vulnerable populations.
Racism, Coronavirus and Police Brutality
Some thought -and numbers- about the deep-rooted racism of American society.
The police are policing themselves
Five points on how the US system protects the authorities.
The original team will not play in the Global Goals World Cup
Hestia FC is the first football club in Greece consisting of players who are refugees and immigrants.
When Mao censored Antonioni
China by Michelangelo Antonioni was different from what the Maoist regime had hoped to present to the West in the 1970s.
Sex work can be a choice
Despite objections, some people believe they have the right to get paid for having sex. Sex workers share their stories.
Christmas is postponed
I ran away from my parents in 2010. I was 17 years old. After forty eight hours of uncertainty, I returned home. They forgave me. Two years earlier, 2008 was the year that made me feel doubt and rage. It was near Christmas time, I was 15 years old and really angry. There was a very serious reason that made me and many other children of my age feel this way.
Vegan Christmas
We met Elisavet on Friday at noon, in downtown Athens at the vegan mini market/café that she’s owned with her partner Fotis since 2012.
I came to Greece for love
“My coming to Greece was not because of an economic or political situation. It was a decision of love”
One month after the Moria fire, press coverage on refugees remains restricted
Press restrictions began soon after Moria camp was set up. And they have not ceased − asylum seekers in the new camp are reporting on the deplorable conditions themselves.
Bringing a refugee story to its true protagonists
When BFJE fellow Stavros Malichudis published his investigation into young unaccompanied male asylum seekers and refugees in Greece, he took it to the kind of people featured in the story to test their reaction.
First rain in “Moria 2.0”
Almost a month after it was set up, this is how life was like in “Moria 2.0” on October 8th, after the first day of rain.
Solomon launches Membership Model on Kickstarter
We’re thrilled to announce that Solomon is the very first Journalism project in Greece launching via Kickstarter.
Snapshots from the days after the fire that burned Moria refugee camp
On September 9, massive fires destroyed Greece’s largest refugee camp leaving thousands of asylum seekers without shelter.
Labeled “immigrants”, two-thirds of Moria’s population actually have a refugee profile
The Greek government and major media outlets are presenting the victims of the fire at Moria camp as “immigrants”. However, according to our analysis, the majority will most likely be granted international protection.
WHY WE
NEED YOU
The media in Greece have lost their credibility and they are solely responsible for this. However, time has run out, and so have excuses. Media and journalism should communicate with other disciplines in search of common ways to include their communities.
We should make an effort to be more receptive and above all to include the very people we are (supposedly) writing about. Each side needs the other. And it shouldn’t be so difficult anymore, for us to question our ”expertise”. This can make things a lot more exciting.
At Solomon we are not interested in trying to be the ”experts” nor do we want to be vaguely ”objective”. We are interested in seeking and presenting the facts, and being able to share them, completely and transparently, with the people who care about realities. And, of course, doing so without serving any special interests or outside influences.
But we do not want our independence to be the reason why we are forced to work in a state of insecurity and exhaust all of our resources to be able to literally remain upright. On the contrary, we want our independence to be the reason why people view us as a trustworthy news source, and will support us in maintaining our dedication.
Iliana Papangeli, Project Manager
Choose the monthly plan of your Membership or get a discount with an annual plan
Advanced plan
most popularYou help us make our independent journalism stronger and remunerate fairly our contributors.
Save 12€ with your annual membership.
* The plan of your Membership is irrelevant to the news and stories that are provided to you. Access to information should be given to anyone, anytime in any way possible. Even if you’re not a Member, you still have access to our content.
WHY
WE
NEED
YOU
The media in Greece have lost their credibility and they are solely responsible for this. However, time has run out, and so have excuses. Media and journalism should communicate with other disciplines in search of common ways to include their communities.
We should make an effort to be more receptive and above all to include the very people we are (supposedly) writing about. Each side needs the other. And it shouldn’t be so difficult anymore, for us to question our ”expertise”. This can make things a lot more exciting.
At Solomon we are not interested in trying to be the ”experts” nor do we want to be vaguely ”objective”. We are interested in seeking and presenting the facts, and being able to share them, completely and transparently, with the people who care about realities. And, of course, doing so without serving any special interests or outside influences.
But we do not want our independence to be the reason why we are forced to work in a state of insecurity and exhaust all of our resources to be able to literally remain upright. On the contrary, we want our independence to be the reason why people view us as a trustworthy news source, and will support us in maintaining our dedication.
Iliana Papangeli, Project Manager
Choose the monthly plan of your Membership or get a discount with an annual plan
* The plan of your Membership is irrelevant to the news and stories that are provided to you. Access to information should be given to anyone, anytime in any way possible. Even if you’re not a Member, you still have access to our content.
Advanced plan
most popularYou help us make our independent journalism stronger and remunerate fairly our contributors.
Save 12€ with your annual membership.