Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens
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0:08 - 0:10I am here tonight
-
0:10 - 0:15because I gave a promise
to a 12-year-old boy from Afghanistan. -
0:16 - 0:17His name is Hamid,
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0:18 - 0:19and this is his photo.
-
0:20 - 0:25Hamid left by himself
from Kandahar in Afghanistan. -
0:26 - 0:30He left behind
his five brothers, his parents -
0:30 - 0:33and the terror imposed by the Taliban.
-
0:35 - 0:41Hamid was thought to have
the best potential amongst his siblings. -
0:41 - 0:44He was the best student.
-
0:44 - 0:49What he wanted was a chance
to have a normal life. -
0:50 - 0:55He wanted to stop struggling to survive
every single day of his life. -
0:56 - 1:00He wanted to stop being afraid.
-
1:01 - 1:03These were his words to me:
-
1:05 - 1:07"I've walked all the way to Turkey,
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1:08 - 1:13through the mountains, the valleys
and the deserts of three countries. -
1:14 - 1:17After four months, I reached the coast.
-
1:18 - 1:22I had never seen so much water before.
-
1:23 - 1:26The small boat to Greece
was full of people. -
1:27 - 1:31Women and babies were crying.
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1:32 - 1:34Thank God, we arrived alive.
-
1:35 - 1:38But we were arrested by the police.
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1:39 - 1:41I ended up in prison.
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1:42 - 1:46It is difficult when I think
how many days I was there. -
1:47 - 1:49What did I do wrong?"
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1:50 - 1:53Hamid was detained with another 14 minors
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1:53 - 1:58in Amygdaleza, a detention centre
for refugees in Greece. -
1:59 - 2:05After being released, he spent five months
living homeless in Pedion tou Areos, -
2:05 - 2:09one of the largest public parks
in the centre of Athens. -
2:10 - 2:12"I was alone again.
-
2:13 - 2:16Every night men would come near me.
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2:17 - 2:19They would drink beer and do drugs.
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2:20 - 2:23One night, an old man came
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2:23 - 2:26and offered me 20 euros
to go home with him. -
2:27 - 2:30I started running to get away.
-
2:31 - 2:34I was afraid of the police
because I had no papers. -
2:35 - 2:38I did not know what to do
or where to go. -
2:39 - 2:42I didn't speak any English nor Greek,
-
2:42 - 2:44so I couldn't ask for help.
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2:45 - 2:50Someone led me to a centre
for homeless people in Omonoia Square. -
2:50 - 2:54I started sleeping
in one of the corners of the square. -
2:56 - 2:59On Christmas Day I met Amadou,
-
3:00 - 3:03who brought me
to The Home Project shelter. -
3:03 - 3:06Everything has change since then,
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3:07 - 3:09and I can now tell you my story.
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3:11 - 3:16Hamid was one of the fortunate
lone refugee children. -
3:16 - 3:19You see, he ended up in one
of our shelters. -
3:20 - 3:24Sadly, this is not the case
for the majority of the kids. -
3:26 - 3:31Hamid is one of thousands of children
travelling all alone -
3:31 - 3:35amidst the biggest demographic change
since the Second World War. -
3:36 - 3:41They are what we call in official terms
unaccompanied minors. -
3:42 - 3:45The reasons they travel alone vary.
-
3:46 - 3:49Many have lost their parents
during the journey. -
3:50 - 3:56Others are sent away to escape war,
poverty or persecution. -
3:57 - 4:01They are all in search of a better future.
-
4:01 - 4:07Travelling alone and unprotected,
they are exposed to all sort of dangers, -
4:08 - 4:14from child abuse to organ trafficking
to sexual exploitation. -
4:15 - 4:16As we speak,
-
4:16 - 4:21children in the centre of Athens,
right next to us, -
4:21 - 4:25are selling themselves for sex
in order to survive. -
4:26 - 4:31What awaits refugee children
on the other side of their epic journeys -
4:31 - 4:33are closed borders in Greece,
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4:33 - 4:35where there is a chronic lack
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4:35 - 4:39of social welfare facilities and services
to accommodate them -
4:39 - 4:44and provide for them the necessary
safety and protection framework. -
4:45 - 4:49More than 1.5 million people
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4:49 - 4:53have reached Greece
since the beginning of 2015. -
4:54 - 5:01More than 9,000 lives have been lost
while crossing the Mediterranean. -
5:01 - 5:08Many were children,
and many of them were travelling alone. -
5:09 - 5:12The term migrant or refugee crisis
-
5:12 - 5:17cannot begin to explain
the complexity of this phenomenon. -
5:18 - 5:2240% of refugee arrivals are children.
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5:23 - 5:26Of those, we don't know exactly how many,
-
5:26 - 5:28and this is part of the problem,
-
5:28 - 5:34are thousands of children
who travel and arrive in Europe all alone. -
5:35 - 5:37According to official estimates,
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5:37 - 5:40100,000 unaccompanied minors
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5:40 - 5:44sought asylum
in the European Union in 2015. -
5:45 - 5:5013% of them are children
younger than the age of 14. -
5:51 - 5:56Hamid is one of the 6,512
-
5:56 - 6:00officially registered
unaccompanied minors in Greece. -
6:01 - 6:06This is a four-times larger number
than the corresponding period a year ago. -
6:07 - 6:08And note this:
-
6:09 - 6:11after the EU-Turkey agreement,
-
6:11 - 6:14despite the general decrease
in the number of arrivals, -
6:14 - 6:19the number of lone refugee children
is constantly increasing. -
6:20 - 6:21What has happened is
-
6:21 - 6:26that with the closure of the borders
these children are now trapped in Greece, -
6:26 - 6:30and all the relevant shelters
are in full capacity. -
6:30 - 6:35As a result, today,
more than 1,000 children -
6:35 - 6:40are homeless and in urgent need
of protection and support. -
6:41 - 6:43They are spread all over the country,
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6:43 - 6:49living in the streets, in camps,
in detention centres, in police stations. -
6:50 - 6:51They are suffering
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6:51 - 6:57from all sorts of physical, emotional,
psychological and sexual violence. -
6:58 - 7:04These children are
the victims of a cycle of violence. -
7:04 - 7:06They start off fleeing from violence,
-
7:06 - 7:11but then they experience it again
once they reach European borders. -
7:12 - 7:16They often suffer
from the injured hero syndrome. -
7:16 - 7:20You see, they arrived in what they thought
would be their promised land, -
7:20 - 7:23where they thought
all their troubles would be over, -
7:23 - 7:29only to experience more violence,
more insecurity and more abuse. -
7:30 - 7:34The children that arrive at our shelters
are often more traumatized -
7:34 - 7:39by what they have experienced
after their arrival in Greece, in Europe, -
7:40 - 7:45than what they have endured
during their perilous journeys or at home. -
7:47 - 7:50Now I know, I have bombarded you
-
7:50 - 7:54with a lot of numbers
and a lot of heavy information. -
7:54 - 8:00So, lets pause for a few seconds
and ask ourselves: -
8:00 - 8:04What is a child refugee?
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8:06 - 8:10It's a child in urgent need of a refuge.
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8:11 - 8:16It's a child in urgent need of a home.
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8:16 - 8:18At The Home Project,
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8:18 - 8:20we don't work with migrants,
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8:20 - 8:23we don't work with refugees;
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8:23 - 8:25we work with children.
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8:25 - 8:31Children that have been marginalized
to the point of invisibility. -
8:32 - 8:39HOME stands for Help, Overcome,
Motivate, Empower, -
8:39 - 8:42which is what we do
with everyone that we work with. -
8:43 - 8:48Our mission is
to support, protect, educate -
8:48 - 8:51and provide social integration services
-
8:51 - 8:57to children that travel and arrive
in Greece, in Europe, all alone. -
8:58 - 9:02We are currently supporting
the operation of five shelters. -
9:03 - 9:04Four of them are for boys
-
9:04 - 9:08and one of them is for girls
and underage mothers with their babies. -
9:09 - 9:13We also have another
five shelters in the making -
9:13 - 9:17that will provide support
to a total of 200 children -
9:17 - 9:21and will lead to the creation
of more than 110 jobs. -
9:22 - 9:25We are grateful to our founding sponsor,
-
9:25 - 9:26the Libra Group,
-
9:26 - 9:29that has enabled us,
in less than four months, -
9:29 - 9:35to move from inception to set-up,
and from set-up to operations, -
9:36 - 9:38proving by our actions
-
9:38 - 9:44that solutions do exist,
solutions are possible. -
9:45 - 9:49The Home Project shelter model
is based on three pillars. -
9:49 - 9:52First of all, through
our partners on the ground, -
9:52 - 9:55we provide a holistic network
of services for the children -
9:55 - 9:57covering their basic needs,
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9:57 - 10:01such as food, shelter, of course,
material provision, -
10:01 - 10:03medical and pharmaceutical support,
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10:04 - 10:05but also anything
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10:05 - 10:11that has to do with legal,
psychological and social support. -
10:11 - 10:15All of our children obtain
immediate access to education -
10:15 - 10:17and attend school in Greece.
-
10:18 - 10:21The second element is that we create jobs.
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10:21 - 10:26We create jobs for Greeks,
but also for refugees. -
10:27 - 10:31In order to integrate into any society,
people need a home, -
10:31 - 10:34but they also need a job.
-
10:34 - 10:3950% of our shelter staff
comes from the refugee community, -
10:39 - 10:43providing role models
for the children in our shelters. -
10:44 - 10:48The third element is that we add value
to the local economy. -
10:49 - 10:53We all know what Greece has suffered
after nine years of financial crisis, -
10:53 - 10:58so we find unused, unrented buildings
all over the country, -
10:58 - 10:59we renovate them,
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11:00 - 11:02turn them into shelters,
-
11:02 - 11:03and pay the rent,
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11:03 - 11:07and the property tax - the infamous ENFIA,
for the Greeks in the room - -
11:07 - 11:09to the owners.
-
11:09 - 11:14So, what we do, is we create
a win-win situation for everyone: -
11:14 - 11:17for the Greeks, the refugees,
-
11:17 - 11:20but also for the most vulnerable,
for the children. -
11:21 - 11:23We create healing environments,
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11:24 - 11:26platforms of inclusion,
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11:26 - 11:31implementing a more organic,
bottom-up form of social integration -
11:31 - 11:33that will lead to community engagement.
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11:34 - 11:35That's the only way
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11:35 - 11:41we can fight xenophobia,
racism and violent local reactions. -
11:42 - 11:44Three elements are key in our work.
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11:45 - 11:48The first one is empathy.
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11:48 - 11:50We are in constant contact
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11:50 - 11:53with the children and the adults
that we work with, -
11:54 - 11:59but also with our partners on the ground,
at the front line of this refugee crisis. -
12:00 - 12:02We must be near them,
-
12:02 - 12:05in order to understand
their constantly evolving needs -
12:05 - 12:08and address them
in the most efficient manner. -
12:09 - 12:11The second element is the creation
-
12:11 - 12:15of a positive community of support
around these children, -
12:15 - 12:18which is what we are trying
to do here, tonight. -
12:19 - 12:23We forge and coordinate
effective partnerships -
12:23 - 12:25between all relevant stakeholders:
-
12:25 - 12:31NGOs, corporations, private owners,
media, public authorities, -
12:31 - 12:35national and international
organizations and foundations. -
12:35 - 12:38We act as a solutions platform,
-
12:38 - 12:39and a channel
-
12:39 - 12:44through which help can address
the most urgent needs of the children. -
12:44 - 12:51The third element is
efficiency and rapidity of operations. -
12:52 - 12:58Every minute, 12 refugee children
are being displaced in the world. -
12:58 - 13:02Every minute we spend
turning our backs on this problem -
13:02 - 13:06has a serious toll on human lives.
-
13:06 - 13:10We are dealing
with a very vulnerable population, -
13:10 - 13:14literally living on the edge.
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13:15 - 13:17Through The Home Project,
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13:17 - 13:19we not only provide a safe home,
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13:19 - 13:26we give a voice to the children,
we make them feel visible and validated. -
13:27 - 13:31We might have managed
to secure support for 200 children, -
13:31 - 13:36but there are still 1,000
that urgently need our help. -
13:38 - 13:39What would you do
-
13:39 - 13:43if you had to protect your child's life
-
13:43 - 13:47and bombs were falling
next to your house every single day, -
13:47 - 13:52or ISIS wanted to militarize
your ten-year-old son, -
13:52 - 13:57or the Taliban wanted to marry
your eight-year-old daughter? -
13:57 - 13:59What would you do?
-
14:00 - 14:04I am not here tonight to try to shock you,
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14:04 - 14:06or disturb you,
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14:06 - 14:08or make you feel sad.
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14:09 - 14:14I just want to ask you not to look away.
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14:15 - 14:17Not to look away
-
14:17 - 14:23and remain passive about the violence
that is taking place right next to us. -
14:24 - 14:28These children could be our children.
-
14:28 - 14:31These children are tomorrow's future.
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14:32 - 14:34By turning our backs to them,
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14:34 - 14:36it's like giving up on hope,
-
14:37 - 14:39giving up on love,
-
14:39 - 14:42giving up on a better world.
-
14:43 - 14:46In what kind of a world
do we want to live? -
14:47 - 14:52In what kind of a world
do we want our children to live in? -
14:53 - 14:56There is no more time to be lost.
-
14:56 - 15:00We really are on the edge.
-
15:01 - 15:05Supporting and empowering these children
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15:05 - 15:09is a daily resistance to violence.
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15:09 - 15:12That is the promise we gave to Hamid.
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15:13 - 15:16That is the promise we give every day
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15:16 - 15:21to Omar, Taha, Usman, Ali,
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15:21 - 15:24Amadou, Mamadou, Diyar,
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15:24 - 15:27and to all the children
living in our shelters. -
15:28 - 15:31You can now all do something
-
15:31 - 15:35to help these children be visible
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15:35 - 15:38and become what they are,
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15:38 - 15:40children ... again.
-
15:40 - 15:41Thank you.
-
15:41 - 15:43(Applause)
- Title:
- Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens
- Description:
-
In this powerful talk, Sofia Kouvelaki explains how her work supports thousands of displaced people who are currently living in overcrowded refugee camps near Athens and on the Greek islands, helping them to move from despair to hope, and from fear to security.
Sofia Kouvelaki is Executive Director at The HOME Project. A non-profit organization that provides support, protection, education and social integration services to unaccompanied minors.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 15:51
Robert Tucker approved English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Invisible children | Sofia Kouvelaki | TEDxAthens |