Lesvos: World Refugee Day 2022

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency on Lesvos celebrated World Refugee Day 2022 on 20 June with local communities, sports clubs, humanitarian organizations operating on the island and the refugee communities themselves. Focusing on the right of every human being to seek safety, the events were dedicated to the more than 100 million people around the world who have now been forced to flee their homes.

With the central message “Sports unite us all, even if we do not speak the same language”, in collaboration with the local female basketball team “Theseus Panagioudas” and AMKE Iliaktida, sports activities were organized on the day at Theseus’ basketball court. Local teams and unaccompanied girls from the structures of Iliaktida, had a great time playing together and received awards for their participation in the event, as well as for their school performance.

For the younger ages, a remote activity was organized that brought refugees in contact with children living in the reception structures of Lesvos and Chios in collaboration with PRAKSIS and METADRASI. The children watched an animated film, where current issues such as friendship, solidarity, the right to access safety, equality and behavior without prejudice were touched upon, followed by a discussion.

On the same day, METADRASI, with the support of UNHCR, held an event to exchange experiences on the cultural elements of the countries of origin of the students attending the Adult Education Program. Participants shared information about their countries’ cultural attractions, local delicacies, but also traditional dances from Somalia, Syria, Sierra Leone, Yemen, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Afghanistan and Sao Tome and Principe. Everyone was very eager to learn more, but also to get to know the traditional music of each country, as well as tasted the local desserts of Lesvos.

Earlier, the Center for Gender Rights and Equality, Diotima and Caritas Greece, with the support UNHCR, organized an event for the empowerment of women at the Diotima Center “Women Info Point” in Mytilene,. The event included discussions, cooking activities, and a concert by RAD Music International, where participants danced to the band’s rhythms, sang well-known songs from their own countries and wrote songs themselves.

The events ended in the best way on June 21 with a music event in the central square of Mytilene by Siniparxi in collaboration with RAD Music International, in the framework of Refugee Week Greece. The participants shared messages with the public about the right to safety and the solidarity that Lesvos has shown to the refugees over the years. UNHCR colleagues were there to share information about World Refugee Day and to celebrate the day with the large crowd that attended the event.

As part of the World Refugee Day campaign, refugees, locals, and members of the UNHCR from the Offices of Lesvos, Kos and Leros, sent their messages by recording a short video dedicated to accessing the universal human right to seek safety.

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