Special CD pricks up Greek ears to refugee issues

ATHENS, Greece (UNHCR) - Thousands of young refugees in Greece have found a voice, thanks to a just-concluded awareness- and fund-raising campaign that brought together renowned musicians, the media and the financial world to raise more than 30,000 euros for refugee children's projects.

The campaign hit a high note when a special CD was released in February with Ta Nea newspaper's weekend magazine, Tahydromos. The CD combined the selfless work of a group of musicians who worked for free. Among them were Greek singer George Dalaras and French soprano Emma Shapplin, who had first collaborated in two concerts to celebrate UNHCR's 50th anniversary in 2001. They were backed by the Fons Musicalis Choir and the Kamerata Orchestra, and funded by OPAP, the Greek Football Lottery Organization.

The complimentary CD was widely distributed as part of Tahydromos, one of Greece's most widely read weekend journals. There was also an editorial and an eight-page article based on interviews conducted with refugees and their children at the Nausica reception centre in Athens.

Through the article, one began to understand the complexities of living in refuge, the struggles that come with experiencing an unstable life as a child, and the threat of never knowing what lies around the corner. Readers were reminded that refugees are real people with feelings and capabilities, whose goal, predetermined for them, is to live as accepted citizens within a society in which persecution is not the driving force.

The CD and accompanying article also successfully drew attention to a special bank account that UNHCR Athens opened with the National Bank of Greece in order to receive funds to benefit refugee children. The bank itself donated 6,000 euros to support the effort and allowed 2,000 posters to be placed in its branch offices around the country. By the time the campaign ended in July, over 30,000 euros had been raised.

Dalaras' participation lent a personal touch to the campaign because he is himself from a refugee family. His mother arrived in Greece in 1922 after fleeing Turkey with over 1 million Greeks. In his early years, the family lived in extreme poverty and had to live in huts. To survive, the singer had to do manual labour in his early teens and attend school only in the evening.

At a press conference earlier this year, Dalaras implored the Greek public to donate, saying that refugees "live with a pain, which as Euripides said is the greatest on earth: the loss of one's homeland. In this way, being children of refugees ourselves, we are doing nothing more today than remembering all of this with two songs."

Pantelis Kapsis, the director of Ta Nea newspaper, added, "Refugees and refugee youth are a reservoir of talent and creativity and can become valuable members of society, provided they survive. We all have the obligation to help refugees survive."

Alexander Myrat, the director of the Kamerata Orchestra, who offered his talent for the cause, accurately summarised the campaign's aspirations: "I wish there were more occasions like this, whereby music is not just a means of entertainment, but also the bearer of a humanistic and social message."

By Ketty Kehayioylou and Ariadne Papagapitou
UNHCR Greece