Our history
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt . We socially distanced, stayed in the safety of our homes and protected ourselves. Not everyone had this privilege. On the European borders, camps like Moria on Lesvos were overcrowded - over 20 thousand people on-the-move exposed to the virus, trapped in inhumane conditions, and only few seemed to ‘care’.
We started this initiative because we wanted to send a message of solidarity to those trapped in ‘Moria’ camp, at first, by making and collecting home-made masks. People from all across the continent contributed, from highschool students in Germany, firefighters in Barcelona and grandmothers in Italy . However, it became clear to us that, while our work was a nice gesture, gestures were not enough, that human rights were broken on a daily basis and that the failure of our politics was unacceptable.
In 2021, we began working in the field on Lesvos and stepped in to rescue the community center, today known as Paréa Lesvos. We are are creating creating one community in solidarity of visitors and partner organizations. Despite our humanitarian work in the field, we continue to call out the human rights abuses on the European external borders that have become the ‘new normal’.
