Wohnschiffprojekt Altona e.V.

The two Welcome Islands house people on the move who urgently need accommodation and have no right to state shelters, or who cannot survive in the latter due to their vulnerability or to maintain family unity:

Since 2022, we decided to focus on the support of refugee women/mothers and their children.  We support women in the asylum process without accommodation and with protection status (especially women who have been deported back to Greece from other EU countries).  We support women who are survivors of physical and/or mental violence and, in general, severely traumatized women who urgently need a safe space to feel safe, to recover and to stand on their feet, which in Greece is only really possible in the urban centers of Athens and Thessaloniki because that is where appropriate social, medical, psychological and, above all, specialized services are centralised, as well as the proximity to schools, language classes, vocational training opportunities and jobs.  It is crucial for us that our project can offer an environment where human dignity, freedom and equality are respected and specifically the right to life and personal integrity, the right to family unity and the wellbeing of the child.   We create together an environment where solidarity can grow and we often have welcomed new residents who, despite their own precarious situations, show solidarity with others.  The two apartments are intended to provide autonomous accommodation for women and/or mothers with children, regardless of their religion or nationality and in respect and solidarity with each other. It is particularly important to us to support the life plans of the residents and to strengthen them on their path to independence at a pace that is reasonable for them. Our 13 years of experience in solidarity hosing have shown that the phase of recharging their batteries and until they are able to stand on their own feet varies greatly. Every woman strives for independence and makes plans for the future once having access to her fundamental rights and feeling safe and at home, and we are happy to be a part of this journey.

Sharifa* (32) is a single Afghan mother with her 10-year-old son who arrived in Greece in January 2023 accompanied by her underage brother. She initially sought shelter in a camp outside of Athens and was sent from there for initial asylum registration. After submitting her application, her brother was taken to a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Athens. She and her son were assigned to a remote camp in central Greece. When she refused to be transferred far away from her brother, she was informed that she would no longer be entitled to any state benefits (accommodation, social welfare). Homeless and without any money, she was then forced by circumstances to seek exploitative work in the orange harvest for a mere pittance. She thought at least she would have a roof to sleep under with her young son even if having to live in a barrack on the Greek countryside.

“I didn’t know we’d be homeless and without help. I have the responsibility of my younger brother and I only asked to live in a camp not so far from him. The first days we were in shock. We found shelter for a few days in an overcrowded flat in Athens, but I had to pay daily fees for a corner to sleep. Soon our little money was finishing and I got scared to face hunger and homelessness. I had no other choice. People told me I could work in the fields and live there with my son. I was the only Afghan woman there. The work was hard, the environment bad. At least we slept under a roof and we had something to eat, I thought. But I felt desperate and unsafe. I wanted my child to have a normal life and go to school.” There was no way to appeal against the withdrawal of the state benefits such as housing and the monthly allowance in form of a Cash-Card for asylum seekers.

Sharifa* had to survive by herself while stressed to prepare herself for the asylum interview. That’s when she gave us a call. To make it short, from the orange fields she moved with her child to the Welcome Island – one of our solidarity flats in Athens. She said, it was the first time in her life that she had her own home and her son enrolled to school. We referred her to legal and psychological support. She was granted international protection status and obtained sole custody in Greece. Today she is a working single mom and her child is learning Greek at school. “I feel human. Life isn’t easy in Greece for anyone, but we move on step by step. We have a life now. We can think of a future.”

*The resident's name cited in this text has been changed to protect safety and privacy.