Letters from the Front - Aris Papadopoulos & Hamed Soltani, Lesvos, Greece
Towards Immortality - Hamed Soltani
Letters from the Front is a collaborative project between artivist Aris Papadopoulos and artist Hamed Soltani, which will empower refugees in Lesvos-Greece, to gather stories from the frontlines of the European humanitarian crisis that capture the essence of Europe as an open and shared public space, and transform them into compelling creative and artistic expressions that reveal Europe’s face of solidarity. The stories collected will be translated into drawings, poetry, photographs, videos and e-zines, converting European events into personable narratives. The project’s intended final result is for activists, artivists and artists to work in-sync with the refugee community towards breaking down barriers to integration through creative activities and direct actions aimed at reinstating and amplifying their voice, profiling their positive contribution towards containing the spread of COVID-19, as well as safeguarding their communities from extremists.
This project is also supported by the Culture of Solidarity Fund, European Cultural Foundation.
The ‘Letters From The Front’ project reflected on the many powerful testimonies, stories and insights contributed by the people of Moria 2.0. For several months people on the margins of our society collected evidence of widespread human rights violations that dehumanise them and criminalise their plight on a daily basis.
M.H. -a 17 y.o. Afghani girl living in Moria- said: ‘’Every day we are treated worse than stray animals. We are left to die in the cold and rain.’’
“Proud”
The work of a 17 year old refugee from Afghanistan
This image below was drawn by a 17 year old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in one of LATRA’s ‘European Values’ workshops.
“European values help protect the people who live in Europe. Everybody can have an opinion without being scared of punishment. European values make Europe more equal for its people. European values help keep the peace in Europe for its people”
The words of a 16 year old refugee from Afghanistan.
Gender Equality is a human right.
Created by a 17 year old Iraqi refugee.
This is the work of another young refugee living on Lesvos, produced during one of LATRA’s workshops
ZINES
Some examples of the artwork that will be used in the zines.
