BRIDGES - We decide, we plan, we move all together
The 12th Vocational School students-community held its 2nd community meeting and with the facilitation of ANTIGONE and USB organizations co-decided to design a series of events. Their goal? Develop hobbies and interests of the participants, connect to each other, create a cohesive and solidarity society with a common expression space for all.
The youngsters chose to create three groups: football, self-defense and photography. Each team will be trained in the subject they are interested in through workshops, training sessions, competitions and educational visits. All groups are mixed, consisting of Roma students, locals and refugees from various countries such as Congo, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc.
Paschalis and Lefteris are two Roma students from the Dendropotamos area who love football.
"I want to succeed and get high with football. I believe that by joining groups I can meet a lot of different people so I will get a lot of acquaintances, friends and become more social. " Paschalis believes the football team will bring them closer to the refugees, become a family that travels to training centers and city stadiums.
Lefteris also chose football for his love of the sport. “You make a lot of acquaintances with other kids and you learn a lot of new things. Football is a team sport and it can bring us closer to other people, it's a great way to get to know them and understand them better”, he says.
Nader Ali and Abdoulaye from New Guinea love football and have played professionally in Thessaloniki teams. Now, as school students also participate in other football teams in the city. They say that football and their school helped them to come closer to Greek teenagers. "I have friends, we all play together and I feel good. The first time I came to school I was the only African so I was something different for everybody. But I'm glad there is no racism, but cooperation and teamwork, "Abdoulaye told us.
Anna is the one who breaks the stereotype that girls only want to deal with ballet and consciously chooses self-defense and football. “Football is my favorite sport. My classmates accept me when I go to play soccer, but if I go to a more professional team they won't accept me because I have to go to a women's club. I am glad that I am welcome here where we make mixed teams. These teams will bring us closer to each other, we may get to like some people we used to dislike, we may find a way of communicating with those who don't speak Greek well. We are often separated due to the language, she told us.
The students also chose to set up a photography team to learn the basics of photography, how to properly use the camera and take pictures, while exploring internal concerns and expanding their knowledge through photography. The activities organized by the photography team include city walks, museums, monuments and streets. Through this creative process, the teams can learn about the city’s history, experience the culture, exchange views and deliver messages through their photos.
Tarik is from Morocco and is very happy to be given the opportunity to participate in groups with other people, because he has not been able to participate in extracurricular activities until now. He is thinking of joining all the teams to make the most of his free time. "I like football and self-defence, but I am very much looking forward for the photography group to start. I love that something is different at school and we will all do it together. I don't feel that I have trouble at school, I learn Greek and expect to do many things with my classmates".
Although Anna Maria doesn’t want to be signed up to any team yet, she wants to follow all the activities, to decide later. She believes that the groups will bond the people between them and everybody will stop making friends based on their nationality. She believes that students do not have significant differences between them, except for the difficulty in the language that prevents them from communicating. She hopes common activities will be a very good opportunity to bring them all together.
George, unanimously called the "president", is a young person with interests and concerns, who wants to see change in his school community and make creative use every opportunity. "I will be in all three teams because they are really great and I am interested. It is great for teenagers who are not financially fluent to have teachers and pay for lessons, but also for those who do not have the time to go to activities that take place only at specific times and days. Here we have the opportunity to arrange the schedule together, to hold meetings and participate in groups. It will also help in relationships, which are good anyway. There aren’t many students with racist ideas. Language is something that sometimes makes it difficult for us to communicate and hang out together”, he told us.
The teams are ready and the children are looking forward to organize their activities. In the BRIDGES project we build bridges of communication and overturn prejudice, stigmatization and racism.