Based at the Khora Community Centre in the Greek capital, we have been providing pro bono legal advice on refugees’ substantive asylum claims and assisting in applications for reunification with family members elsewhere in Europe. Our hope is to establish a long-term support project to help alleviate the immense pressures currently placed on the Greek legal and NGO communities. We are hugely grateful to all those who have taken part and donated. These are some of our volunteers’ accounts:

I volunteered in Athens during the first two weeks of the project, during which time I advised individuals and families, helped set up effective casework structures at Khora, delivered the first training to refugees working with us as interpreters, and began to develop links with relevant people already working in Athens, in particular the Greek Council for Refugees and the Refugee Info Bus. A number of individuals whom I advised told me this was the first time anyone had listened seriously to their problems or viewed them as human beings rather than numbers in the system. By giving a voice to refugees, while assisting in advancing their legal claims, the Athens Legal Support Project is helping to meet a desperate human need to which Europe continues to turn a blind eye.

It is my hope that this project and others like it can not only help the refugees involved, but also bring more attention to the appalling conditions for refugees on the Greek islands such as Lesvos, Chios and other ‘hotspots’ in the Aegean. These are people suffering on the fringe of Europe, who have been through more than enough trauma already.

I was at Khora during the first week of the pilot in April and then again in the middle of May. From the outset, we have seen many who need advice on the Greek asylum process, family reunification and relocation to other EU countries. A significant number of visitors are vulnerable with mental health difficulties and complex care needs that cannot be met on the islands to which they are normally restricted, leaving them with no choice but to seek medical assistance on the mainland. We are working closely with Greek lawyers to explore possibilities for future litigation that would challenge these controversial residence restrictions. The pilot’s positive impact shows that collective and co-ordinated action is an efficient way of tackling systemic deficiencies.

I volunteered in early May. After a steep learning curve in Greek asylum procedures, I spent my time advising clients while also giving a training session to the clinic’s longer-term volunteers. I met individuals and families from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. One family, with relatives in Germany with whom they wanted to reunite, came to the clinic late on Friday afternoon. Their asylum interview was scheduled for the following Monday but, despite having waited for this date for many months, they had never spoken to a lawyer and were living in extremely difficult circumstances in a camp outside Athens. They had three young children and the mother, who suffered severe mental health issues, was due to give birth imminently. With the invaluable assistance of a local interpreter, I was able to spend several hours at the clinic with the father on the Saturday, helping to give outline advice on his asylum claim and request for a Dublin III transfer, preparing a witness statement and advising on the documents he needed to demonstrate the family relationships and issues surrounding his wife’s health. The clinic is providing follow-up assistance in preparing documents to assist the family’s Dublin III claim.

The locals were very friendly and helpful. It was clear that the individuals working at the community centre were immensely compassionate. Everyone worked together well and brought a different skill set in order to make a positive contribution. The most striking aspect was visiting a refugee camp and meeting children who are currently residing at the camp, and being refused entry by the International Organization for Migration to enter the camp and provide information and assistance with interview preparation unless we obtained permission from the Ministry of Interior and the police.