Shoufu - شوفو - Stories from Chios

Mohammad and Ahmad are both 19 years old and are childhood friends. They consider each other as family. When Ahmad lost his family in Iraq and contacted Mohammad, Mohammad knew that he had to fly in from Germany, where he has settled in safety to support Ahmad, stuck in the bowels of Souda camp on Chios. People are quick to have misperceptions about young men arriving in Greece: 1. Myth: most of the arrivals are young men. Fact: according to MSF, 48% of the arrivals last year were women and children. 2. Myth: they are just economic migrants. Fact: young men are usually the strongest to make the journey first. Most of them have families back home. But sadly, Ahmad is now all alone in this world. Watch this touching video, a true story of friendship, courage, resilience and love. They are just like you and me.

Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Help us smash some myths about the "crisis", will you? Please share! Thank you Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for this video.

Older Syrian Refugee Dies Waiting for Family Reunification

The oldest woman who stepped into our Athena Centre for Women on Chios was 79. Another older lady was 65 years old. She is now safely reunited with her son in Austria. But Fatima in this story was not that lucky. Because she is only 62, she wasn't considered "vulnerable" (over 65 years old). She waited in Greece, like the 66,000+ currently stranded, hoping for relocation. Till date, European countries have carried out only 8% of promised refugee relocations. Fatima never got to see her daughter for the last time because of the flawed process and failed promises. We are very sorry.

Athena Centre for Women: an Outside Perspective

The Athena Centre for Women on Chios is normally staffed by AFS volunteers recruited by our Volunteer Coordinator in Zürich, but once in a while, volunteers who arrive independently onto the island offer their skills and expertise that we gladly welcome. Jen was one of them. We asked her to contribute to our blog about the situation on Chios through her eyes.

Timeline Photos

On 9th April 2017, thousands will take part in the Zürich Marathon. The route is visually stunning that stretches along Lake Zürich. We were very touched when people got in contact offering to raise funds for and awareness of our work through their marathon efforts. Even if you aren't a pro athlete, there is also a team run and a city run. We can all make a difference. Every little helps. AfS is a fiercely independent organisation that relies solely on private donations. We will also be able to issue a receipt for your donations to qualify for tax exemption. If you wish to #RunforWomen, please drop us a private message on our page. Tag a friend you know! We will be cheering for you at the finishing line - with a beer ;) More information about the event: http://www.zurichmarathon.ch (Photo credit: blangua.com)

Don’t put your pussy hats back into the wardrobe.

"There must be a collective emphasis on the communities that are so often left behind or treated as an afterthought in our daily lives, because liberty is a human right that MUST BE applied EQUALLY without favour." Over 10,000 people showed up in Zürich today in solidarity with women's rights. It was an amazing atmosphere. No amount of rain can ever stop a movement. Everyone walked, everyone danced and everyone sang. The traffic stopped. Then we all went home. Our founder, Gabrielle's favourite question has always been: "what's next?" She's asked it again today. Read the blog post on her thoughts. #WomensMarchZurich #MakeItSafe #FightLikeAGirl

Womens March at Bürkliplatz, Zürich now. #WomensMarchZurich "ich will Respekt" Join us!

What is a little bit of rain?

The rain can never stop a movement. "We resist, auch wenn es pisst"

Timeline Photos

Scroll below for German. “Give us what belongs to us in peace, and if you don't give it to us in peace, we will take it by force.” - Emma Goldman We received from Chios earlier today, this photo of the Chios team, who are all decked out in a t-shirt with our Athena Centre for Women logo and the words "Fight Like A Girl". Love it! Because we are really all pumped up and raring to go this Saturday at the Women's March Zürich. Say hi if you see us! We are friendly and won't bite, unless we like you a lot! :) Or drop us a private message if you want to march with us. We will be marching for our #MakeItSafe campaign, which is the voices of all refugee women we are working with in Greece. Girls and women who are extra vulnerable because of their gender, while fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries but trapped by the EU-Turkey deal - in unsafe and undignified camps of Greece. #WomensMarchZurich #WomensMarch. Details of the march here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1219873374715397/ Join us the next evening at Kennedy's Pub for a fundraiser of our Athena Centre for Women on Chios! More details of the pub quiz can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/372150343148779/ We can all make a difference! Team AFS auf Deutsch Heute Morgen erhielten wir aus Chios dieses Foto von unseren dortigen Teamkolleginnen. Sie sind alle eingedeckt mit einem T-shirt welches das Logo des Athena Centre for Women und den Schriftzug „Fight Like A Girl“ trägt. Es ist klasse! Wir alle freuen uns und sind bereit für den Women’s March in Zürch an diesem Samstag. Sag doch hallo wenn du uns siehst! Wir sind alle freundlich und beissen nicht, ausser wenn wir dich sehr mögen! J Oder schick uns einfach eine private Nachricht falls du mit uns laufen willst. Wir werden für unsere #MakeItSafe Kampagne marschieren. Die Kampagne gibt all den Flüchtlingsfrauen mit denen wir in Chios arbeiten eine Stimme. Mädchen und Frauen die vor Verfolgung und Unterdrückung aus ihrem Heimatland fliehen und sich wegen des Abkommens zwischen der EU und der Türkei in unsicheren und unwürdigen Flüchtlingscamps in Griechenland widerfinden sind speziell schutzbedürftig aufgrund ihres Geschlechts. #WomensMarchZurich #WomensMarch Details zum Women’s March findest du hier: http://www.facebook.com/events/1219873374715397/ Komm mit uns am Sonntag ins Kennedy‘s Pub für eine Spendenaktion für unser Athena Centre for Women in Chios! Mehr Details über den Event im Kennedy’s Pub findest du unter: http://www.facebook.com/events/372150343148779/ Wir alle können einen Unterschied machen! dein AfS Team

ASYLUM CHANGES in Hungary: Update in English, Farsi, Arabic, French!

IMPORTANT, please share (Translation available in Arabic/Farsi/French in the link): From our friends at Are You Syrious?: "All asylum seekers entering Hungary legally through the Transit Zone WILL BE detained in a container camp at the Hungarian border with Serbia. This includes families, unaccompanied minors above the age of 14, single women and men. Detention WILL last for the whole duration of the asylum procedure. In practice, the asylum procedure in Hungary lasts 4 to 9 months." Article 9 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that no one may be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or imprisonment. It is thus unconceivable that this is being allowed to happen, in a EU Member State in 2017 Europe, a continent that prides itself as the beacon for Human Rights.

Malala Yousafzai receives offer to study at UK university

“Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons." Other news sources have confirmed that it is Oxford University. Congratulations Malala Yousafzai!

Timeline Photos

UPDATE: Full report from our friends at Are You Syrious? https://medium.com/@AreYouSyrious/ays-daily-news-digest-13-03-17-red-cross-shamelessly-prompts-raids-on-refugee-run-squats-in-c20a7dc42ec2#.maagwifdc Beautiful. Athens now: 1500-2000 in protest over the eviction of two squats today. Early this morning, two squats in Exarchia, Athens were evicted by the police. About 130 refugees were evacuated - women and children included, and being denied legal access. We strongly disagree with this act by the State for the following reasons: 1. Squats of empty buildings around Athens have been the collective political response to the undignified conditions of camps on the islands and mainland, despite millions of Euros have been reportedly pumped into. 2. Squats have been quick to answer our calls for help back in the summer of 2016, and housed many families from Chios when they were sent on to the mainland with nothing but a ferry ticket. These included the pregnant, the handicapped and children as young as 3 months old, and were were told that they had TEN days to report to the Greek Asylum Office in Athens but no accommodation was available for them. 3. Squats have been the alternative to the broken system, providing protection when there is inaction and incompetence of the responsible INGOS and authorities/EU in upholding their commitments to those seeking international protection. 4. The squats have restored in our refugee friends the "power of choice" and dignity based on self organisation, process of horizontal decision making and skills sharing. We stand in solidarity with those evicted, and will continue to voice our protest against any seemingly oppressive/suffocating response by any parties responsible for the welfare and dignity of those seeking international protection, contravening their human rights. (Photo Credit: Savvas Karmaniolas, Twitter) In solidarity, Team AFS