You can see by our big smiles in the photos that the people we met and the forRefugees partner projects we visited have been nothing short of inspiring. We moved from project to project feeling increasingly impressed by endless energy and commitment from those working tirelessly on the ground to make an immediate difference. The positive impact each has on refugee communities in Greece is remarkable.
But behind these smiles lies a much darker reality for tens of thousands of people living as refugees in Greece. The smiles are real, but they coexist with a profound sense of urgency and heartbreak. Can you imagine being so unwanted in the world that no one cares where you are, how you’re living, or the pain you’ve endured? All that matters is that you’re out of sight; out of their country, their street, their workplace. What you’ve been through, the help you need, your hopes and dreams for the future – none of it is considered relevant. You are reduced to a dehumanised statistic, just a number. And no one wants these “numbers” in their country.
This is the reality for many people who live as refugees here. They are treated as an inconvenience rather than as people who’ve survived unimaginable hardship. And it makes you wonder – do we even know why we’ve become so quick to turn our backs on them? Isn’t compassion a basic human trait? Aren’t empathy and kindness values we’re taught from childhood? Aren’t they part of the European values we pride ourselves on? Religious teachings, international law, and human rights all emphasize the importance of helping those in need. So why is it so difficult for us to practice these principles when it comes to refugees?
This is a protracted human crisis and we understand that people’s attention and resources are being drawn to the next big disaster. It’s not that people don’t want to help, but in a world with so many overlapping crises – floods, famines, wars – it’s hard to know where to direct limited resources. The focus naturally shifts to the latest emergency and the people stuck here are forgotten.
But we can’t afford to forget. Every time a bomb drops, every time violence forces people to flee their homes, every time a flood or famine comes, more refugees are created. They flee to Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and so many more places. And now many more will come from Lebanon as it faces its own siege. Greece, already bearing the brunt of this influx, will continue to be a destination for those with nowhere else to go. Once they arrive, there’s no clear path forward. Where will they go from here when the rest of Europe is an unwelcoming fortress?
Many of the refugees we meet come with stories of great hardship, but also of incredible resilience. They have left behind everything in search of safety and hope. The least we can do is ensure that the support systems here in Greece remain humanitarian and that the responsibility for humanity is shared across nations.
The world gives us plenty of crises to react to, but we must remember that refugees are not a temporary problem. They are a permanent part of our global reality as long as conflicts, persecution, and disasters persist. If we stop funding the programmes in Greece today we are not just turning our backs on refugees who are already here, we are turning our backs on all the people who will come in the future. People just like us, with families, dreams, and hopes for a better life.
We must keep helping. We must keep donating. Because without continued support, the situation will only worsen. And, while the photos we share show the smiles and the successes, we must not forget the struggles that those smiles are masking.