GREECE / SYRIAN REFUGEE

Jihan is one of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who put their lives at risk attempting to enter Greece, the southern most border of the European Union. The steady flow of illegal arrivals has put huge pressure on Greece, a country still reeling from the global economic crisis. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:32
• Production Date: 28 June 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA; GREECE
• MAMS Id: 1136066

Description

STORY: GREECE / SYRIAN REFUGEE
TRT: 3.32
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 31 MAY 2014, LAVRIO CAMP, GREECE

Shotlist

1. Med shot, Jihan and her son Ahmad walking
2. Tilt up, from Ahmad to his mother Jihan
3. Wide shot, dog in alleyway
4. Med shot, Jihan and son walking
5. Med shot, Jihan’s younger son Mohamed sitting on bench
6. Med shot, Lavrio camp
7. Close up, Jihan with her phone
8. Wide shot, new arrivals on Samos island
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“My health is bad and it is hard for me to raise young children, I need help to go anywhere, my husband used to help me because he can see a little bit, I asked them here for a cane for the blind as the one I have is old, but they can’t even provide me with a cane to walk.”
10. Med shot, Jihan and her son Mohamed on bench
11. Med shot, Syrian kids
12. Wide shot, Jihan and her son
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“During those times I felt that I had taken my kids from the war to a place where they could also die, we didn’t know where we were going, we had no food or water with us, I had just one bottle of juice with me so I would let the kids take one sip every hour. “
14. Tilt up, Jihan preparing lunch
15. Close up, Jihan
16. Med shot, Jihan’s son trying to open bag of sweets
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“I am upset, because we are people coming here who need help and kindness if we wanted bad things we would have stayed in our country where there is war and conflict. We came here for a better life for us and our children and to find better people might understand our situation.”
18. Tilt up, Jihan sitting on bed Jihan preparing lunch
19. Close up, Jihan’s hands
20. Close up, Jihan’s face
21. Med shot, Jihan's sons on bed

Storyline

Ahmed leads his mother Jihan on her daily stroll in the camp. He has become his mother’s guide, for his father is no longer with them and Jihan is blind.

Jihan is one of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who put their lives at risk attempting to enter Greece, the southern most border of the European Union.

Here in Lavrio camp, many Syrian refugee families have also been forced to separate.

The steady flow of illegal arrivals has put huge pressure on Greece, a country still reeling from the global economic crisis.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“My health is bad and it is hard for me to raise young children, I need help to go anywhere, my husband used to help me because he can see a little bit, I asked them here for a cane for the blind as the one I have is old, but they can’t even provide me with a cane to walk.”

Jihan needs a cornea transplant. In Syria the war ended all health care. They had to leave. Like many here, they took an illegal boat to get to Greece, the gateway to Europe.

A dangerous journey Jihan cannot forget

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“During those times I felt that I had taken my kids from the war to a place where they could also die, we didn’t know where we were going, we had no food or water with us, I had just one bottle of juice with me so I would let the kids take one sip every hour. “

Greek coast guards find overcrowded rubber dinghies and fishing boats on an almost daily basis now.
Those that survive the journey, like Jihan, are shocked by their reception in Greece.

Detention, random arrests, xenophobia towards foreigners and lack of help from NGOs are just some of their complaints. Nearly all want to leave and travel north but find themselves stranded.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jihan, Syrian Refugee:
“I am upset, because we are people coming here who need help and kindness if we wanted bad things we would have stayed in our country where there is war and conflict. We came here for a better life for us and our children and to find better people might understand our situation.”

Stranded and vulnerable, Jihan's story is like that of so many refugees fleeing war only to find they are unwelcome in Europe.

As Jihan waits to be reunited with her husband, she must survive the daily challenges of bringing up two young boys who, in their father's absence, have become their mother's eyes