Jasmine School Refugee Housing: Athens, Greece - Day 11

|| 09/27/16 ||  Location - Jasmine School, Victoria - Athens, Greece || Read the full story here ||

City Plaza and Jasmine School Refugee Housing - Athens, Greece - Day 10

|| 09/26/16 ||  Location - City Plaza and Jasmine School, Victoria - Athens, Greece || Read the full story here ||

Alush Alowi, 4, of Syria, stands in the doorway of a condemned school in Athens, Greece where he and his family have been squatting for the past 2 months. The school houses over 400 refugees that are trapped in Greece after the majority of European countries closed their borders. The massive squat is run by the refugees for the refugees. This style of living is a viable alternative to the overcrowded/underfunded camps, and restores some of the basic human rights these individuals lost after leaving their home countries. This independence is directly correlated with an absence of racial tensions, and violent outbreaks. While condemned buildings are not the solution, these spaces temporarily give migrants a safe place to call home until they are approved for asylum. 

The Good Life - Series 12 - Greece: Day 7, 8, and 9

|| 09/23-24/16 || Location - Athens and Lesvos, Greece || Lycabettus Hill || 
|| Shot with - Nikitas Stoned || 

*After some unexpected computer/camera problems that could not be fixed on the island, I decided to head back to Athens before Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia. Not to worry. I'll be heading down to the City Plaza Hotel (an abandoned hotel being used as refugee housing) tomorrow to begin shooting with some migrant families living there. In the meantime, here are some shots from my last day in Lesvos/first day back in Athens.*

The summit of Lycabettus Hill. It is the highest point in Athens, sitting at around 900ft above sea level.

An abandoned theater just below the summit of Lycabettus Hill.

Migrants wait outside as the lobby is cleaned in the City Plaza Hotel. The once abandoned structure is now being reutilized to assist struggling refugees unable to leave Athens. In order to stay, you must work in some capacity. This could mean cleaning, office work, laundry service, or babysitting. "Here, if you want to stay, you must contribute," the receptionist commented. 

Clothes hang to dry on blaconies of the City Plaza Hotel. The once abandoned structure is now being reutilized to assist struggling refugees unable to leave Athens. In order to stay, you must work in some capacity. This could mean cleaning, office work, laundry service, or babysitting. "Here, if you want to stay, you must contribute," the receptionist commented. 

The summit of Lycabettus Hill. It is the highest point in Athens, sitting at around 900ft above sea level.

Coastal hotel, turkish archetecture, afternoon adventure 

This is Nikitas Stoned. He is a 19-year-old, 354 lb, 6ft 3in Russian who's family immigrated to Lesvos before he was born. Nikitas and I met while I edited photos in the cafe next door to where he works. He is currently still in high school, and aspires to be a professional security guard. He currently works at some of the local clubs on the island. "Sometimes I have to beat people up. Mostly Albanians. They all carry knives, and cause trouble. I'm not sure why," he explained. "Most of the time I just punch them once. Twice might kill them." Nikitas also helps at the local car rental office in downtown Mytiline. You can most likely catch him walking his 3-month old pug around the port on a sunny afternoon.

Coastal hotel, turkish archetecture, afternoon adventure

This is Nikitas Stoned. He is a 19-year-old, 354 lb, 6ft 3in Russian who's family immigrated to Lesvos before he was born. Nikitas and I met while I edited photos in the cafe next door to where he works. He is currently still in high school, and aspires to be a professional security guard. He currently works at some of the local clubs on the island. "Sometimes I have to beat people up. Mostly Albanians. They all carry knives, and cause trouble. I'm not sure why," he explained. "Most of the time I just punch them once. Twice might kill them." Nikitas also helps at the local car rental office in downtown Mytiline. You can most likely catch him walking his 3-month old pug around the port on a sunny afternoon.

The Good Life - Series 10 - Athens, Greece: Day 1

|| 09/17/16 || Location - Athens, Greece || Neighborhoods: Thission, Monastiraki, and Plaka || 
|| Shot with - stray cats and incredible architecture ||