Arcadia Australia

The refugees in Greece, caught now for nearly two years in the impasse of a closed border, have had to reimagine, yet again, their future in Europe. In March 2016, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia closed their borders with Greece effectively trapping tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of refugees in Greece.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, the European Union and other international aid organizations are all active in Greece. The Greek Coast Guard has worked tirelessly in the waters between Greece and Turkey as this award-winning New York Times documentary shows. Greeks themselves have been remarkably supportive and even welcoming of the refugees. But that's not enough. In Athens, the financial crisis that began in 2009 is still visible in the shuttered stores and closed buildings in many of the city's downtown neighborhoods. But now, some of these unused buildings are coming to life again.

About 300 refugees, all families, live in the 5th highschool squat in Athens. Soon after the borders closed, a group of Greek activists working with Casto, a Syrian who has been in Greece for 20 years, took over this school building, which had been left vacant by the municipality, cleaned it up, outfitted a kitchen in the basement and repurposed the classrooms as "apartments" for the residents. There is a sort of unspoken and even unacknowledged agreement with the municipality which has not cut off the electricity and water: were these families not housed here in the 5th school squat, they would be on the streets of Athens.

Groups of dedicated volunteers visit the 5th regularly with learning tools, craft supplies and play equipment and, when this happens, the schoolyard sounds like any other schoolyard and the children of the squat are allowed to be children, at least for a little while. Other volunteers work to supply clothing and bedding. In addition to these, the small team of volunteers that I work with gathers donations to make a weekly food drop at the 5th. With the help of a local wholesaler, we deliver about 400€ worth of food to the 5th each week: yogurt, milk, tahini, honey, rice, sugar, tea, lentils, chickpeas, olives, dates, etc. Social media for social good, it is platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook that help all of this to happen.

It is impossible for anyone of us to truly understand the sacrifices and sufferings of the illegal journey that the refugees have taken nor the hope that continues to drive them to search for what the rest of take for granted. Each time I help make a delivery, I am struck again by the grace and humility of the residents of the 5th school squat. And I find myself thanking them as I leave to return to my comfortable life.

* all photos taken by JSanders