For this return to our live video broadcasts we pass the mic over to our recent Latitude Adjustment Podcast Academy graduates. Our first graduating class of asylum seekers on Lesvos worked very hard over the course of five weeks to learn about the principles and mechanics of podcasting and to bring you their first episodes. Our panel focussed on their personal stories as well as the challenges we overcame together to bring you their podcasts episodes.
All of our students are also students of ReFocus Media Labs, and ReFocus co-founders Douglas and Sonia joined us and their students for a remote reunion.
Live 8: Life After Moria Refugee Camp
For this live edition of Latitude Adjustment Podcast we host another panel discussion with representatives from Lesvos Solidarity - Pikpa, Refocus Media Labs, and Are You Syrious?
On the evenings of September 8th and 9th Moria Camp on Lesvos, the largest refugee camp in Europe, was gutted by a series of fires and the majority of its 13,000 residents were instantly made homeless. Thankfully there have been no fatalities or serious injuries reported. In the days that followed camp residents attempted to walk the roughly 10 kilometers to the main town of Mytilini, hoping to demonstrate for movement to the Greek mainland and for humane living conditions. But over the next several days the roads were blocked off by police. Peaceful demonstrations were suppressed with teargas during the day while thousands of homeless former Moria residents were forced to sleep on the side of the highway at night.
In the past few days a new makeshift camp has been constructed right next to the sea to house some of those effected, but there are now reports of inhumane conditions, neglect, and heavy handed treatment by the authorities in and around this new camp. What's more, the media and NGOs have been largely barred from entry to the area which has a heavy police presence.
And all of this has taken place under the looming threat of COVID which, despite conditions all but engineered to guarantee an outbreak of multiple public health catastrophes, had been miraculously kept at bay until more than 30 cases were reported just before the fire. On Wednesday the EU released the details of a proposed "pact" between member states aimed at reforming its migration and asylum processes. The pact has already been met with criticism by groups like Save the Children, which suggest that the EU has not learned from its mistakes.
For more details on the pact you can check this post by Are You Syrious: https://bit.ly/2FNb16W
For more info on how you can take action check this link and follow hashtag #EuropeMustAct https://linktr.ee/europemustact
Live 3: Conditions for Asylum Seekers in Greece and The Balkans
Recording of our live panel discussion on the current status of asylum seekers in Greece and the Balkans. Recorded on July 10th, 2020.
Co-hosts Eric Maddox and Laila Mokhiber of Latitude Adjustment Podcast. Guests Milena Zajović from Are You Syrious?, Douglas Herman from ReFocus Media Labs, and Carmen Dupont from Lesvos Solidarity - Pikpa.
Be sure to catch our four-part podcast series including field reports from Moria Camp on Lesvos, and from the Greek mainland. Links to all of these organizations, and to other organizations that you can support, can be found in the posts for those episodes.