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.

Moria Refugee Camp: Lesvos, Greece - 9:00pm Day 3

|| 9:00pm 09/19/16 || Beginning of Moria Riots || Location - Moria Refugee Camp, Lesvos, Greece ||

Migrants and police look on as one of the largest camps in Lesvos burns to the ground. The violence began early this morning with small incidents of rock throwing and trash burning, but quickly worsened as the day went on. According to several South African refugees, the massive blaze was started due to a conflict between a group of Afghans and the police. The animosity amongst neighboring ethnicities was also said to be a factor. You can't put these men who's countries hate each other in the same camps. It just doesn't work," said Moria resident Mike Abdule. The destruction displaced thousands of migrants who can now be found sleeping on the side of the road, the beach, or in what's left of their charred campsite.

Migrants and police look on as one of the largest camps in Lesvos burns to the ground. The violence began early this morning with small incidents of rock throwing and trash burning, but quickly worsened as the day went on. According to several South African refugees, the massive blaze was started due to a conflict between a group of Afghans and the police. The animosity amongst neighboring ethnicities was also said to be a factor. You can't put these men who's countries hate each other in the same camps. It just doesn't work," said Moria resident Mike Abdule. The destruction displaced thousands of migrants who can now be found sleeping on the side of the road, the beach, or in what's left of their charred campsite.

A portrait amoung the chaos

A Nigerian migrant shows me a video of Afghans allegedly throwing rocks at police. "This is how it started," he explained. 

A young refugee looks on as one of the largest camps in Lesvos burns to the ground. The violence began early this morning with small incidents of rock throwing and trash burning, but quickly worsened as the day went on. According to several South African refugees, the massive blaze was started due to a conflict between a group of Afghans and the police. The animosity amongst neighboring ethnicities was also said to be a factor. You can't put these men who's countries hate each other in the same camps. It just doesn't work," said Moria resident Mike Abdule. The destruction displaced thousands of migrants who can now be found sleeping on the side of the road, the beach, or in what's left of their charred campsite.

Smoldering trash spills out of a dumpster during a riot at the Moria Refugee Camp

A fire truck pulls into the camp as the blaze continues to rip through rows of tents. Due to fighting amongst police and migrants, the fire trucks could not make it into the camp until the flames had spread out of control. "They just sat out there. They just let it burn," one Nigerian migrant explained. 

Greek Police pull Moria residents off of a volunteers car. The residents punched and kicked the hood, windows, and doors. After the car attempted to drive away, residents blocked the path, and attempted to pull one of the volunteers out of the passenger window. This animosity stems from the belief that volunteers have created a rivalry between villagers and migrants. "They pit them against us," one villager said. "They come in and steal our food, our chickens, our dogs. What do you expect?!" The villagers did not always feel this way however. Until a recent string of vandalizations, the migrant-villager relationship was strong. This new found resentment was established over the last three months as the camps continue to be overcrowded. 

Migrants look on as one of the largest camps in Lesvos burns to the ground. The violence began early this morning with small incidents of rock throwing and trash burning, but quickly worsened as the day went on. According to several South African refugees, the massive blaze was started due to a conflict between a group of Afghans and the police. The animosity amongst neighboring ethnicities was also said to be a factor. You can't put these men who's countries hate each other in the same camps. It just doesn't work," said Moria resident Mike Abdule. The destruction displaced thousands of migrants who can now be found sleeping on the side of the road, the beach, or in what's left of their charred campsite.

Moria Refugee Camp: Lesvos, Greece - 2:00pm Day 3

|| 2:00pm 09/19/16 || Beginning of Moria Riots || Location - Moria Refugee Camp, Lesvos, Greece || 
 

Riot police react as a crowd of Turkish and Syrian refugees begin to throw rocks outside the entrance to a camp in Moria, Lesvos. The riot began earlier this morning with refugees flipping dumpsters, lighting trash on fire, and taunting police. After months of decreasing arrivals, Lesvos has seen a fresh influx of migrants due to lax policies, a significant price drop for the voyage to European soil, and unlikely nature of actually being sent back if caught mid-trip. In the past 48 hours, 93 refugees have arrived on the shores of Lesvos, placing the total number of trapped individuals at 5,264, according to police.

mikeschwarzthekidRiot police react as a crowd of Turkish and Syrian refugees begin to throw rocks outside the entrance to a camp in Moria, Lesvos. The riot began earlier this morning with refugees flipping dumpsters, lighting trash on fire, and taunting police. After months of decreasing arrivals, Lesvos has seen a fresh influx of migrants due to lax policies, a significant price drop for the voyage to European soil, and unlikely nature of actually being sent back if caught mid-trip. In the past 48 hours, 93 refugees have arrived on the shores of Lesvos, placing the total number of trapped individuals at 5,264, according to police.

mikeschwarzthekidRiot police react as a crowd of Turkish and Syrian refugees begin to throw rocks outside the entrance to a camp in Moria, Lesvos. The riot began earlier this morning with refugees flipping dumpsters, lighting trash on fire, and taunting police. After months of decreasing arrivals, Lesvos has seen a fresh influx of migrants due to lax policies, a significant price drop for the voyage to European soil, and unlikely nature of actually being sent back if caught mid-trip. In the past 48 hours, 93 refugees have arrived on the shores of Lesvos, placing the total number of trapped individuals at 5,264, according to police.

mikeschwarzthekidRiot police react as a crowd of Turkish and Syrian refugees begin to throw rocks outside the entrance to a camp in Moria, Lesvos. The riot began earlier this morning with refugees flipping dumpsters, lighting trash on fire, and taunting police. After months of decreasing arrivals, Lesvos has seen a fresh influx of migrants due to lax policies, a significant price drop for the voyage to European soil, and unlikely nature of actually being sent back if caught mid-trip. In the past 48 hours, 93 refugees have arrived on the shores of Lesvos, placing the total number of trapped individuals at 5,264, according to police.