Joint UNHCR/ Hellenic Theatre-Drama & Education Network Press Release
Μονόλογοι σε καραντίνα
Flashes of the Lockdown
Money is not so important.
The Earth does not belong to me – I am only a guest.
I realise the value of school.
I enjoy spending time with my family after all.
Τhere is no fundamental difference between the poor
and the rich during a pandemic.
I like my poems
Ikram, 15 years old
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Greece, in partnership with the Hellenic Theatre/ Drama & Education Network are pleased to announce the launch of “The Quarantine Monologues”. In this new publication, a group of teenage refugees who live in Greece express, through texts and drawings, their thoughts and feelings during the coronavirus-induced temporary lockdown in Greece between April and May 2020.
The publication is the result of a series of creative writing online workshops coordinated by three authors with the participation of 24 boys and girls, aged 13 to 19. The teenagers, coming from Afghanistan, Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria, are living in different accommodation facilities across Greece either with their families or unaccompanied.
The young boys and girls who took part in the project write about their experiences during the lockdown and what impact the pandemic has on their expectations, aspirations and their daily struggles. Some of the teenagers who participated in this project are living in accommodation sites, where measures restricting the movement of their residents are still in place for reasons related to Covid-19.
The “Quarantine Monologues” action was implemented in the framework of the educational programme “It could be me- It could be you”, implemented by the Hellenic Theatre/ Drama & Education Network and the UNHCR Representation in Greece. Several actors in different cities supported this activity, while a team of interpreters, educators, psychologists and social workers facilitated the creative writing workshops.
The “Quarantine Monologues” publication is available for free in Greek and in English.
Collaborating partners in “The Quarantine Monologues” action:
ANKA – Development Agency of Karditsa S.A., ARSIS – Association for the Social Support of Youth, Koinoniko EKAV, Iliaktida AMKE, International Organization for Migration, PRAKSIS, Regional Development Company of Parnonas S.A. – Tripoli, Secondary Education Directorate of Karditsa.
See more about the “Quarantine Monologues” action here.
See more about the “It could be me – It could be you” programme here.
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