A letter from cross-diaspora delegation member, Farah Erzouki, with updates on who the group is working with in Athens, including reflections on the trip so far...
Dear Friends,
I’m sitting at a coffee shop in Athens, Greece processing an intense yet transformative first week of the War Resisters League diaspora delegation. These past few days alone have been an incredible experience. I know I will be returning home with clarity and a sense of direction moving forward not only in the context of relief work, but also for building long-term solidarity and collaboration with diaspora communities in Athens and beyond.
Our first week in Athens involved meeting many different organizations, leaders and community members. Witnessing the ways that communities have been able to organize, survive and thrive has been incredible. From autonomous, cross-cultural living squats throughout the city to refugee-led organizations providing services to their own communities, being physically present in Athens is giving us a glimpse of what the circumstances on the ground are, as well as where gaps may be.
Last week, we joined Syrian and Iraqi refugee families at Athens asylum office demanding: “We want family reunification!” and resettlement in Germany, (pictured above). We’ve also begun a variety of projects, from providing direct interpretation services at community centers like Khora, at an asylum workshop for Afghan women, to assisting with capacity-building at refugee-led Jafra. We plan to contribute to groups wanting to hire refugees themselves to do translations for other refugees, and supported an Afghan family by offsetting the funeral costs of their mother. Check out Khora's asylum workshop flyers, and ECHO Refugee Library's free multi-lingual mobile library:
Being on the ground has opened our eyes to just how immense the needs continue to be. Women and children are especially vulnerable, with a lack of access across the board to items such as women’s hygiene products, diapers and more.
As an Iraqi-American daughter of immigrants living in diaspora, having the opportunity to connect with other diaspora communities along with my own has been invaluable. These communities, while having specific experiences and sociopolitical contexts, face many of the same forms of oppression. Building solidarity with one another expands our collective potential and possibility to affect change. As we work alongside one another, the prospect of justice and freedom becomes all the more tangible.
With love from Athens, 
Farah Erzouki & WRL's cross-diaspora delegation!
