Miguel Ángel Navarro Lashayas
Psychologist
Ph.D. in Contemporary International Migrations. Expert in mental health for ethnic minorities, political violence and natural catastrophes. Member of the board of directors of the Human Rights section of the Spanish Neuropsychiatry Association.
Ismael Noah
Yazidi Iraqi. Economics and Management Graduate
Painting instead of harming, positive thinking and finding home through family; those are the three messages that Ismael Noah shared with us after having spent five months in a refugee camp.
Katina Saoulli
I am You Executive Manager
Katina believes that being a resident does not identify you, but it forms part of your personal history. As the executive manager, Katina overseas all of I am You projects in Greece and ensures that all targets are met.
Talal Rankusi
Chef and former resident at Ritsona Refugee Camp
Back in Damasco, Talal cooked for up to 6000 people at one of the biggest restaurants in the world, Bawabet al Dimasq. Home for him is his family and he considers family everyone who cares enough to go for a tea.
Carolynn Rockafellow
Founder of Café Rits and Retired Investment Banker
Caroline arrived at Ritsona refugee camp three days after it was set and decided to help by founding a food project that has brought the community together.
Sausan
Mother and Former resident in Ritsona Refugee Camp
Syrian refugee. Home for her is stepping out of the door and seeing people that look alike her; a feeling of belongingness.
Salim Noah
Health Care inspector and former resident at Ritsona Refugee Camp
Back in Iraq, Salim was involved in sanitary prevention programs and volunteered at internally displaced people camps. He now lives with most of his family in Nantes, France and is currently looking for a job. Some months ago, he started painting and selling his art through the internet. He is also carrying out a documentary on his journey and his experiences as a Yazidi refugee in Europe.
Muhammad Bashar
Syrian, 33. Potter and Resident at Ritsona Camp
After leaving Aleppo, crossing the Kurdistan Irak and being held in a Turkish prison for 15 days, Muhammad and his family managed to arrive in Greece. Soon after his wife gave birth at the camp, he decided to start sowing to provide his family and feel somehow useful.
Helen
University Professor and Lighthouse Relief Volunteer
An International Relations Professor and wife to a Palestinian. She feels gardening establishes a connection between the European and Arabic cultures and makes a place become more of a Home. During her Stay at the camp, she also helped to organize the women and child safety spaces.
Isobel Russel
Traveler and independent volunteer
Isobel came to Ritsona to start a gardening project with the children. At the time, she had been traveling for about a year and a half and thinks of Home as any kind of connection to the world or the people in it. During her stay in the camp, she was helping at Café Rits.
Nidal
Former Syrian soldier and resident at Ritsona Refugee Camp
Nidal and his family left Damascus to find a safer life for them and their children. Home for him differs from homeland; he wishes to go back to Syria if everything calms down eventually, but finds Home anywhere with minimum health and security services. He got a matching tattoo with a soldier friend of him but now regrets it because more extremist Islamist now condemns getting one and can be dangerous having one.
Sahir Saido
IT student and former resident in Ritsona Refugee Camp
Iraki and Yazidi, Sahir and another 17 family relatives and neighbors left Iraq prior to the Yazidi Genocide on August 13th, 2014. Home for him is having his beloved ones around, independently of where they end up living at.