Inside a neoclassical building in Mytilene, Rouddy, wearing a colourful knitted cap symbolizing individual uniqueness, offers integration tips to a group of refugees. At the same time, miles away in central Athens, Afghan activists Hana and Karimeh empower refugee women to regain self-confidence.
Rouddy, Hana and Karimeh have sought refuge in Greece and, having gone through their personal struggle to integrate, they decided to establish their own humanitarian organizations to support other refugees and build communication bridges with local communities.
“RAD Music International”: Harmony in adversity
Throughout his arduous journey from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Greece in search of safety, Rouddy Kimpioka discovered solace in music.
“I love music very much. I have been singing and dancing since I was a child. I feel that music gives me strength. It’s my best friend for life”, he says.
When Rouddy arrived in Greece in June 2017, the difficult living conditions in Lesvos made him cry all day. A few months later, he became a volunteer and taught Computer Science, his field of studies, to other refugees. This filled him with joy, because he was useful to others.
Rouddy decided to combine his two passions that made him feel strong: music and volunteering. He, thus, founded the cultural centre “RAD Music International” in Lesvos. The name that he chose, connects the words that have defined him: Refugee, African, Dance and Music. He explains that his goal for “RAD Music International” is to help and unite people.
In the premises hosting the cultural centre, Rouddy, supported by volunteers, organizes music, dance and language courses for locals and refugees, educational and recreational activities for children, as well as employability and integration seminars for refugees.
Rouddy (1st from left) participating in an award ceremony for students attending classes at the ‘RAD Music International’ cultural centre in Mytilene, Lesvos. © UNHCR/Angelina Tsoukala
With support from volunteers, the ‘RAD Music International’ cultural centre offers music, dance and language courses for locals and refugees, educational and recreational activities for children, as well as employability and integration seminars for refugees. © UNHCR/Angelina Tsoukala
‘RAD Music International’ organized in December 2023 a visit to a Christmas fun park for over 100 refugee children and parents residing in the reception centre of Lesvos island. The event was held with the support of UNHCR and Stand by Me Lesvos. © UNHCR/Theodoros Alexellis
Refugee children enjoying recreational activities during the Christmas trip organized by ‘RAD Music International’. © RAD Music International
Concert by RAD Music international during an event for the empowerment of refugee women at the Diotima Centre “Women Info Point” in Mytilene organized for World Refugee Day 2022 by Diotima Centre and Caritas Greece, with the support of UNHCR. © UNHCR/Angelina Tsoukala
During one of these seminars, Rouddy stresses the importance of learning Greek in order to communicate with the local community. Molaye from Sierra Leone, who has been in Greece only for a month, appreciates the support and advice he receives. “The reception system is different in each country and we need this information”, Molaye admits.
Through “RAD Music International”, Rouddy strives to build bridges with the local community, so he regularly organizes music events in Mytilene, including with local artists.
“I have gone through a lot, experienced pain and tears, but I didn’t give up. Difficulties made me strong and a defender of human rights. This is my experience and I want to share it with other people”, he narrates.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has established a global partnership programme with refugee-led organizations (RLOs), which includes the provision of direct grant funding to RLOs and contribution to their capacity development. Greece is one of the countries that have participated in the programme since its beginning in 2021. Five organizations have been supported in Greece until now, including “RAD Music International” and Hana and Karimeh’s organization “Hidden Goddess”.
“We have acknowledged the fact that RLOs are doing really an amazing job, often voluntarily and with very limited resources and they really know better than everybody else what the real and the most pressing needs of refugee communities are. Refugees have an enormous amount of creativity, knowledge, skills and competences that we want to support and enhance”, Marco Notarbartolo di Sciara, from UNHCR’s office in Athens, explains.
“Hidden Goddess”: Empowering women from Athens to Geneva
It’s the 10th of December, Human Rights Day, and the last day of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”. Hana and Karimeh Ganji, sisters and co-founders of “Hidden Goddess” stand among a large audience of locals and refugees in central Athens. The event, hosted at a “Doctors without Borders” venue, focuses on the prevention and response to gender-based violence, a gross violation of human rights.
“We must stand united against discrimination, injustice and inequality. We must recognize that respecting human rights knows no gender, colour or language”, the two women underline to the attendees. Their powerful words resonate, leaving some women visibly moved.
Hana and Karimeh have experienced several forms of exclusion as Afghan women displaced in Iran, from where they were forced to leave searching for a future of safety and equality.
“I faced many difficulties as a mother of two children when I arrived in Greece. But I also felt that I was reborn. I had the opportunity to do things that I couldn’t do in the past: study, work, even choose the clothes that I would wear. Now I am free, nobody else decides for me”, says Karimeh, who is currently studying Psychology.
The two sisters founded the refugee-led organization “Hidden Goddess”, as they wanted to help other women from Iran and Afghanistan get to know their rights, find their hidden talents and stand confidently on their own feet.
Karimeh (left) and Hana Ganji (right) are welcoming attendants to an event organized in Athens by Hidden Goddess on 10 December 2023, Human Rights Day. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
At an event organized by Hidden Goddess in Athens as part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign in Athens, attendees discovered gender stereotyping expressions on the backs of their chairs. Hana and Karimeh called for these expressions to be challenged. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Fatemeh from Iran (left), member of Hidden Goddess, is reciting a text she wrote for the “16 Days of Activism” event, which is being translated in English by Κazem (right), a community member. © UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
A member of the Hidden Goddess organization is helping to serve traditional food, prepared by the women in the group, to the participants of the “16 Days of Activism” event. ©UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Hana and Karimeh seen with refugee women from Iran and Afghanistan during a community meeting of “Hidden Goddess”. ©UNHCR/Socrates Baltagiannis
Their logo is a drawing of a woman blooming out of a red lotus flower. Like the red lotus, which grows from muddy water, the “Hidden Goddess” women overcome adversities and hardship in their lives to bloom and reveal their spirit and ideas.
“Women have talents which are hidden because of the limitations we experience. Most women here from Iran and Afghanistan lack self-confidence, primarily because they don’t know the language. In addition, they may not know what they need and want, because in the past others were deciding for them. We come from the same situation, we understand each other, so we can help each other”, Hana explains.
During her pathway to empowerment, Hana recalls being helped by many, including the Greek Forum of Migrants and Diotima Centre. The latter is the organization where she currently works on gender issues. Now she wants to provide this helping hand to other newly arrived women “who need our understanding and sympathy”.
«Hidden Goddess» offers Greek and English courses, job counselling and mentorship with persons from the same community for information exchange. Storytelling is a tool in all these actions.
Fatemeh from Iran describes how «Hidden Goddess» has helped her stand again on her own feet. “When I arrived in Greece in 2019, I wasn’t going anywhere, I didn’t have a job, my English wasn’t good. The girls supported me and helped me even to find a job. I regained self-confidence”, she says.
Hana and Karimeh’s dream is to make their organization international so as to support as many women as possible “to become goddesses of themselves”, as they say. Every day they get a little closer to their dream.
A day after the Human Rights Day event, Karimeh traveled to Geneva to present the work of “Hidden Goddess” at the Global Refugee Forum, the world’s largest gathering on refugees, organized every four years by UNHCR. Karimeh was one of the more than 300 refugees who participated in the Forum’s discussions, proving that solutions for refugees are best identified with the active involvement of refugee communities themselves.
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