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GREECE / SYRIAN REFUGEES
STORY: GREECE / SYRIAN REFUGEES
TRT: 7.44
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / KURDISH / NATS
DATELINE: 12-14 APRIL 2013, LESVOS, ATHENS, GREECE
12-14 APRIL 2013, LESVOS, GREECE
1. Wide shot, City view from sea
2. Wide shot, speed boat at sea
3. Wide shot, Syrian refugees sitting at bay
4. Wide shot, Syrian refugees sitting at bay
5. Wide shot, Syrian refugees sitting at bay
6. Wide shot, boat parked at bay
7. Wide shot, boat parked at bay
8. Wide shot, water hitting the shore
9. Med shot, Mohammed and mother walking hand in hand
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohammed, Syrian refugee:
"One big boat came to us and hung the boat and took us to the border, the sea border between Turkey and Greece, and left us there. After that, one Turkish boat, it had a Turkish flag hung us and took us to Turkey."
11. Med shot, Mohammed and mother sitting
12. Med shot, Mohammed’s mother’s feet in sea
13. Wide shot, Mohammed’s mothers playing with sea water
14. Wide shot, Coastal guard boat from bay
15. Wide shot, Coastal guard boat leaving bay
16. Med shot, Sea monitors
17. Wide shot, Guard at boat wheel
18. Wide shot, Costal Guard at bay near wrecked boast and UNHCR staff
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonios Sofiadelis Greek Coast Guard officer:
“Usually these kinds of boats can take only up to ten persons. But usually when people traveling, refugees are trying to come here, the boats are overloaded, overcrowded with thirty, sometimes fifty persons on board. So it goes very close to the surface of the sea. They can not be noticed by the patrol boats and this is a big danger for them.”
20. Med shot, parts of boat laying around by bay
21. Med shot, parts of boat laying around by bay
22. Wide shot, the sea side view
23. Wide shot, life jackets floating in water
24. Wide shot, people carrying away dead body (Still image)
25. Wide shot, dead man face down in water (still image)
12-14 APRIL 2013, ATHENS, GREECE
26. Med shot, Ahmet crying
27. Med shot, Hussan looking down
28. Med shot, Ahmet and Hussan holding up picture of dead brother, Omar.
29. Wide shot, Hussan brings out bag
30. Close up, Hussan face
31. Wide shot, Hussan holding up shoes
32. Med shot, Ahmet with hand on face
33. Wide shot, taking and laying kids clothes out
34. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hussan, Syria Refugee:
"When we recall the memory of our brother, I always think about the moment he died. Did he die before his children or they died in front of his eyes? How much did he suffer?”
35. Wide shot, pigeons on windowsill.
36. Wide shot, view of building from outside
37. Wide shot, chairs outside with cat sleeping on chair
38. Wide shot, Leila making the bed
39. Wide shot, Leila’s children through mirror
40. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
“Leaving my country, my family, my house was like death for me. I lived under a huge pressure, which was difficult for me. The question was that should I loose my children there, should we be homeless, depending on others? So I decided to emigrate which is better than loosing my children. When we came here, we didn't expect such difficulties, but we have to see that no chance for job, or a residency permit here."
41. Med shot, one of Leila’s children holding dolls
42. Med shot, Leila cleaning TV
43. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
"I already lost part of my family home and here my sons got imprisoned. Very hard, I couldn't handle all these. What should I do now? I can't do anything!"
44. Wide shot, Leila and children on the floor looking through pictures
45. Wide shot, Leila and daughter looking through pictures
46. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
"I'm wondering if I ever see my family again or I will stay abroad forever. I'm happy to even think about the moment when my situation gets better and peace comes to my country, so I'm able to meet my family."
47. Med shot, Dr. Maarouf in mirror of motorbike driving off
48. Med shot, City drive through with Dr Maarouf
49. Wide shot, city buildings
50. Med shot, City drive through with Dr Maarouf
51. Med shot, Bike in-between cities
52. Wide shot, Dr Maarouf entering dark apartment
53. Wide shot, Dr Maarouf entering dark apartment with children
54. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Doctor Maarouf Alobeid, Athens resident from Syria:
"There are families who are afraid to go out from their houses. I do not know how they manage to survive. The conditions are very dramatic. They are trapped in Greece, they can't go back, they can't move forward to other countries. They have no money, they don't receive any help from the government either. They receive little help from friends, from NGOs, but their needs are great."
55. Wide shot, Dr Marouf talking to Nour and children
56. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nour, Syrian Kurdish refugee:
"When we arrived here, the Greek police told us that they'll send us back. Then my sick son was on the ground in pain, I asked of my God, how can they send us back? I thought if something happens to us, I loose everything."
57. Med shot, children play fighting
58. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nour, Syrian Kurdish refugee:
"My children should be in school to get education, they should live in their own home where they get good food and have a nice place to sleep."
59. Wide shot, Tareq walking through streets
60. Wide shot, Tareq coming around bakery window store and looking into bakery window
61. Wide shot, Tareq walking up street
62. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq, Syrian refugee:
"When we got into an inflatable boat, we suffered, because nobody knew how to navigate it. The distance to cross was only 20 meters, but it was deep in the middle (of the river). We circled around many times until we reached the other side. After two minutes the second boat also arrived. The Greek police appeared on the riverbank and started to shout at us, we didn't understand them, but they started to shout in English: back, back! They gun pointed us. Only five Syrians stayed there, the rest ran away into different directions. At this point I lost hope, I closed my eyes, thinking we will die here."
63. Wide shot, Greek flag flying over city
64. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq, Syrian refugee:
"In my opinion, if a person looses his dignity, it's better to die in his own country than abroad. What I have experienced here is far away from my imaginations about Europe."
65. Wide shot, Athens city
66. Wide shot, Athens city
67. Wide shot, Athens city and flags flying in air
Lesvos Island a popular holiday spot; but now something else an important entry point for refugees and migrants seeking a new life in the European Union.
Here hundreds of men, women and children have crossed the narrow sea from Turkey.
Many are Syrians, fleeing the hell of war in their country.
Mohammed and his mother have just set foot in Europe.
SOUNDBITE (English) Mohammed, Syrian refugee:
"One big boat came to us and hung the boat and took us to the border, the sea border between Turkey and Greece, and left us there. After that, one Turkish boat, it had a Turkish flag hung us and took us to Turkey."
Their second try was successful. They crossed the 12-mile sea corridor unnoticed.
The Coast Guard sets out from the port of Mytilene on Lesvos. Each day it patrols the maritime border between Greece and Turkey.
Now increasing numbers of refugees risk their lives in unseaworthy boats to reach Europe by water.
SOUNDBITE (English) Antonios Sofiadelis, Greek Coast Guard officer:
“Usually these kinds of boats can take only up to ten persons. But usually when people traveling, refugees are trying to come here, the boats are overloaded, overcrowded with thirty, sometimes fifty persons on board. So it goes very close to the surface of the sea. They can not be noticed by the patrol boats and this is a big danger for them.”
In just six months 28 refugees have drowned trying to reach Lesvos. In March a boat capsized. Seven Syrians died.
In Athens Ahmad and Hassan are in mourning. Their eldest brother, Omar, his wife and their three children died in the March shipwreck. The family suitcase, full of children’s clothes, and found in the sea that killed the family, is all the brothers have left of them.
Omar and his family were returning to Greece where the children were born.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hussan, Syria Refugee:
"When we recall the memory of our brother, I always think about the moment he died. Did he die before his children or they died in front of his eyes? How much did he suffer?”
Many Syrian refugees in Athens must live as squatters in derelict buildings. Their life is grim, their future uncertain. Often they have barely enough to live.
Leila is 40 and of Kurdish origin. She lives here with her six children. Her husband is missing in Syria.
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
“Leaving my country, my family, my house was like death for me. I lived with a lot pressure, which was difficult for me. The question was should I loose my children, should we be homeless and depending on others? So I decided to immigrate which is better than loosing my children. When we came here, we didn't expect such difficulties. There is no chance for job or a residency permit here."
Until recently they were living with 16 other people in a basement.
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
"I've lost part of my family home, and here my sons have been imprisoned. It's very hard, I can't handle all of this. What should I do now? I can't do anything!"
Their family photo albums are their most precious possessions, reminding them of happier days.
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Leila, Syrian Kurdish refugee mother of six:
“l wonder if I'm ever going to see my family again or if I will stay abroad forever. It makes me happy to think about the moment when my situation gets better. When there is peace in my country and I'm able to go back.”
Dr. Maarouf is a man with a mission, a man on a motor bike, a Syrian who has lived in Greece for 28 years. Now he rides through Athens to bring help to fellow Syrians, refugees in serious need.
This visit is to Nour, her cousin and their four children. They camp in an apartment without electricity, but that’s better than how Dr. Maarouf found them, huddled on the sidewalk in the rain. They had been kicked out of their last apartment.
SOUNDBITE (Greek) Dr. Maarouf Alobeid, Athens resident from Syria:
"There are families who are afraid to go out from their houses. I do not know how they manage to survive. The conditions are very dramatic. They are trapped in Greece, they can't go back, they can't move forward to other countries. They have no money; they don't receive any help from the government either. They receive little help from friends, from NGOs, but their needs are great."
The survival of these vulnerable people depends on other Syrians.
SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Nour, Syrian Kurdish refugee:
"When we arrived here, the Greek police told us that they'll send us back. My sick son was on the ground in pain. I asked of my God, how can they send us back? I thought if something happens to us, I'll loose everything. My children should be in school to get education, they should live in their own home where they get good food and have a nice place to sleep."
Tareq is young, educated and disappointed. In Syria he was a successful pastry cook but the war destroyed his hopes.
He paid 5,000 Euros to a smuggler to get him to the north of Europe. But last August he found himself on the shores of Greece, the victim of a scam. This was not the Promised Land.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq, Syrian refugee:
"When we got into an inflatable boat, we suffered, because nobody knew how to navigate it. The distance to cross was only 20 meters, but it was deep in the middle (of the river). We circled around many times until we reached the other side. After two minutes the second boat also arrived. The Greek police appeared on the riverbank and started to shout at us, we didn't understand them, but they started to shout in English: back, back! They pointed guns at us. Only five Syrians stayed there, the rest ran away into different directions. At this point I lost hope. I closed my eyes, thinking we will die here."
Greece faces an economic crisis and caring for refugees seems a challenge.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq, Syrian refugee:
"In my opinion, if a person looses his dignity, it's better to die in his own country than abroad. What I have experienced here is far from what I imagined about Europe."
Geography dictates that Greece is where most refugees step on European soil. The country has a responsibility to take in these desperate people, but the rest of Europe must also show solidarity with the refugees and the country taking them in.
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