Panel Discussion
Demarginalizing the Margin; The Basement of the Unwanted
Nowadays discrimination and exclusion have shaken the whole democratic foundation. When Roma people are living in the margin, mentally ill people are mistreated, the rights of transgender people are not recognized and refugees still struggle to become socially accepted, we cannot call ourselves civilized human beings. This situation served as an incentive for the organization of a panel discussion during the session where people from different backgrounds could share their stories.
An Interview with Dr. Voutira
Gender vs Sex
by Anastasia Ntracha and Nikos Koukovinos
by Athina Firtinidou and Natasha Antalaki
The moderator of this panel discussion Dr. Effie Voutira, is highly interested in topics concerning marginalization.
Anna Apergi is a symbol for Greece’s LGBT community, being a transgender woman fighting for equality in rights and work opportunities for the entire LGBT community. After briefly expressing her thoughts, she was asked some questions from the delegates.
Q: On which of the discussion’s topics have you worked upon? A: I am mainly working upon the needs and problems of refugees and immigrants, but I found extremely interesting the discussion about LGBT rights which are highly neglected by the conservative Greek society. Q: What is your opinion about the violation of the LGBT human rights? A: Since we live in a democratic society, all different opinions should be respected and personal inclinations should not result in inequality. Q: What do you think is the main problem, mentally ill people have to face? A: I find unjust the fact that the neighborhood for example, based on their own presumptions upon the mental condition and behavior of someone can by a single call to the authorities, redefine his future. Q: How do you see the future of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece? A: According to the charter of the fundamental human rights, all human beings should be treated with dignity and refugees are not an exception. Basic provisions and legal coverage are a necessity for their survival. A special thanks to Dr. Voutira for her time and inspiring words which can help participants of the session form a more spherical perspective of the session’s theme.
A Chance in a New Life by Panagiotis Chatzistratis and Nikos Avramidis After two and a half hours of interesting discussion, it was time for Mr. Zülküf Murat Bora to take the floor and unfold his unique story. Mr. Bora is a Kurdish political refugee who left Turkey at the age of 18. Mr. Bora described to us the feeling of being a refugee; the sense of un-belongingness, fear and injustice that always haunts him. He started with a clarification: A refugee is not an immigrant. An immigrant decides to leave his country, while a refugee is forced to. Moreover, Mr. Bora talked about the inhumane situations refugees face when they wait until they are granted asylum, a procedure that can even take months, depriving the human rights of the refugees. Young refugees are seeking a better quality life with a brighter future. Being deprived of basic human rights, including but not limited to living under intolerable conditions, facing racism and continually being stereotyped, refugees are radically set within the margin. For him, open borders should not only stand for free trade of goods, but also for free movement. The purpose of the EU is not to punish and stand as an obstacle towards the wellbeing of the people, but take on the responsibility and help the people.
Q: When you personally decided to redefine your sex, how did people close to you react? A: Fortunately, my family and my close friends were completely fine with the process. However, there are many examples of people who even had to move to another city to be able to live without judgment after their decision. Q: Sometimes, society tends to hide away transgender people. Do you think that media promotion would help demarginalization? A: Of course, as long as the promotion is done in a proper way. It is important that people from the community are not perceived as a joke in a false way. Q: Do you think that transgender people should have the opportunity to start a family? Or would a child raised under the circumstances be exposed to an abnormal family life? A: Of course they should! The word normal only has the meaning you decide to give. The socially accepted norms are something us, people, decide.
“The word normal only has the meaning you decide to give.” Anna Apergi
Mental Inclusion
Roma: A Path to Inclusion
by Kostina Prifti and Einar Stefánsson
by Anastasia Ntracha and Nikos Koukovinos
How does mental illness socially affect people? And what about the opposite – what impact does social exclusion have to people’s mental state? We approached Ms Aphroditi Milovianou, a community psychologist, to hear her thoughts on the topic.
Romani population all around the world struggle to establish their basic human rights and the situation in Greece is not an exception. Katerina Bebe, a well educated Roma woman, who is appointed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as a social mediator in the region of Dendropotamos, shared her inspirational story; a story concerning her effort towards demarginalization. She was the founder of the first female organization defending the educational rights of Roma communities, to safeguard a better future for her children. The means to achieve social inclusion range from private linguistic and scientific courses to training seminars lectured by specialized social workers. The activities of the organization are self subsidized and aim at bridging the gap between the Roma community and the lοcal municipalities. Ms Bebe aspires to collaborate with other similar oriented organizations across Europe, and further identify the needs and the strain of those people lιving in the margin. During this journey she hopes for the support of NGOs and European Parliament committees so as to ensure a greater impact of her actions. Returning home every night, seeing her nurse daughter, a devoted human rights advocate, in the multicultural lοcal school provides her with enough strength to continue paving the way towards demarginalization for more than 350 Romani.
Firstly, she said that undoubtedly, social exclusion, being a forced action, has a negative psychological effect on people. Next, mentally ill people carry a double stigma contributing to their social exclusion; they are excluded from society because of their illness, and hence they further exclude themselves because of society’s hostility towards them. As an example of how mental difficulties may cause marginalisation, she mentioned the current difficult situation in the labour market, where young people are exposed to social exclusion due to difficulties causing mental illness. Predictable as it may sound, Ms Milovianou put emphasis on educating people from an early age in order to prevent exclusion, and interfering as early as possible once a mental illness occurs, because of the vicious circle of the abovementioned double stigma. Also, as we often cannot perceive their way of thinking, listening carefully to people with mental problems and treating them respectfully is of crucial importance.
“Since we live in a democratic society, all different opinions should be respected and personal inclinations should not result in inequality.”Dr. Voutira
by Kalliopi Terzidou and Iker Bengoetxea de Tena Closing remarks were made yesterday at the panel discussion by Dimos Papadimitriou, a law student at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Asked upon the way that EYP and the young people that consist it can help to de-marginalize the margin, Dimos, as a member of EYP himself, didn’t hesitate to answer. ‘’EYP makes you gain experiences, travel and broaden your horizons. Getting to talk about young people and the margin, Dimos noted that dialogue and resolutions agreed upon by consensus in EYP can also apply in real life so as to eliminate the margin. Youngsters haven’t shaped their minds yet, they are hungry for new experiences, eager to listen to different points of view and open to alternative ways of thinking. Our society is turning a new page to an era that tends to be open to groups of people that are not afraid to put their democratic rights into practice and teach society a very important lesson; that we don’t just need to imagine a world of people, sharing life in peace.