Art for Survival … of the body and mind
I arrived yesterday – and as is the ultra strange time paradox that is volunteering – already feel I have been here a couple of weeks.
I am always amazed at the grass roots networks which function by people working together to get things done. At midnight at Athens airport, I met with a young displaced guy from Syria named Salim living in Athens. With him he had a suitcase full of art canvasses and paints, for me to take to Chios. These were on behalf of a project run from America by a tireless lady – Kayra. She sends out the equipment for refugee artists (both trained and untrained) to paint canvasses. Then she sells them and sends the money back to displaced people to help with rent and living costs. This is her group Love Without Borders.
So yesterday, I met with one of these artists (I will call him Hamid as he doesnt want to be named), to drop off the canvasses, paints and rent.
Hamid, from Syria really does have the heart of an artist. He tells me how loves to paint, it helps him to express emotions and he feels great when painting and proud when he finishes a painting. He doesn’t however have much space to paint, as shares a small 1 room flat with 3 other people.
Hamid tells me how he was arrested on Chios and held in custody for 2 months, his crime.. he had an asylum rejection. He told me that the police were kind to him though, laughing and joking – helping the days pass. He speaks with very good English, learnt through interacting with volunteers over the past year.
After 2 rejections from the asylum process, he is waiting to see if he will be deported back to Turkey. During the appeal process he is not entitled to money or accommodation. I ask him why he has been rejected, he is from Syria, surely this means he is an eligible candidate to claim asylum. However, as he is a single male, he is bottom of the list, it is viewed that he could live anywhere, so the authorities deem it acceptable to refuse his application.
He wants to work and above all Hamid wants to help. He wants to help with the children in Vial, maybe painting, maybe teaching. He has the quiet, kind depth of a highly intelligent man with compassion and drive to succeed. Among many things, we talked about gender equality and the need for women to have equal status within Arab societies. He has so much to offer and yet all he do is wait and hope. I ask him what will happen if his appeal is rejected and he is sent to Turkey, he looked at me with large hazel eyes and told me, no .. he wont be going back to Turkey – he would die first, on the island of Chios.
Solidarity for refugees 