Rhodes

“The SnapShots From The Borders project was introduced to me by some representatives of the Municipality of Rhodes, when the proposal was being prepared to be submitted for funding to the EU,” says Evika Karamagioli.

“I have been working in the field of humanitarian technologies and disaster management for more than ten years, designing and implementing trainings and developing action-research projects. I have worked with migrant and refugee populations in the Greek islands for five years.” No one knows the world of borders and migration better than Evika, who collaborates with the Universities of Bern and Athens.

For such an experienced professional, what could have been the added value of participating in the SnapShots project, what were her expectations? “I expected exactly what the project achieved: to use media and communication strategies to strengthen dialogue about the integration of migrant and refugee populations. I was particularly interested in seeing how online petitions would work as a tool for bottom-up participation, and I’m pleased with how it worked.”

Making October 3 the European Day of Remembrance and Reception was, from the beginning, a goal of the project and the petition launched across Europe was a success. Together with other key moments, which in Evika’s vision are to be remembered: “As I was saying, I am very happy with the petition, but also the official visit to the Pope and the visits and exchanges with the other partners have been precious experiences for all of us”.

“Greece is at a geographical and social crossroads. This brings positive aspects, but also negative ones,” says Evika. “There has been a lot of support, on the island of Rhodes, a lot of optimism in the integration of refugees and migrants, a lot of social activism. At the same time, in recent years, there have been cases where things have not gone well: a lot of criticism about the lack of support and organization in public policies regarding refugees. Right now the refugee issue is very low on the political and media agenda because Covid is dominating the public discourse.”

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, is the easternmost of the major Aegean islands, and is located just 17.7 kilometers from the coast of Turkey. The population amounted, in 2011, to about 115,000 inhabitants, and the island’s history is eternal: a passageway between East and West from ancient times as well as today.

Today, as then, in Rhodes you meet the roads of the lives of many people on the road. And SnapShots, as Evika recounts, is yet another stage in this exchange.

“The networking and exchange of best practices and experiences has had a positive effect,” says Evika, “we should have used social media and technological tools like digital storytelling more for refugee self-telling, but we have done a great job on this path.”