Balkan Beats 19 by Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Beats

April | May

Balkan Beats

April | May

Act React NGO Activities

BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production(webradio, videos, documentaries). Main goals of the organization • To promote the values of non formal learing,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth. • To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity. • To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe. • To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies. • The break down of prejudices and stereotypes between Balkan countries.

Property of Balkan Beats The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source. This magazine is distributed free of charge. UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO 9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 www.usbngo.gr

Cover photo: ©Jack Cowles 2

Food Uniting People TDF19 #withRefugees

USB News

P18

YEAC, a school for modern activism

Voic

Pas

P40

Crete, mountains and silence: the other side of the island

P58

The story of Abdulazez Dukhan

Legion Sport

P76

Thessaloniki Yoga Festival

Mix Fix

P90

March for Aleppo: the pit stop in Thessaloniki

Scien

Contents

ce to the Volunteer

Iva Veneva about her one-year experience at the United Societies of Balkan

Good Practices

P12

A School for rural Ghana: a story of taking action

Travel

Events

st Events

Documentary, mirror of our LIVES

Balkanizater

Gluttony Wonderland. Music, people & delicacies at the Street Food Festival

P30

AIGAI, The royal Capital of Macedonia

Social & Political Social & Political

P44

P64

The dreamland through young eyes

P50

Greek feminists: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our movements are gaining steamâ&#x20AC;?

News around the world

Anti-racism in Thessaloniki. A march for migrants and refugees

nce and Technology

P26

P16

Four French girls & one project. The refugees life: dreams and stories in a new idea

Everyone gets a voice with Podcasting

P68

All you need to know about French elections

P84

P54

Through the mirrors of Vasilis Tearstain

P72

Can Portuguese Political Situation be a Hope?

Food First Jupiter pictures!

P86

A Number of Things to Get Right and Wrong about Coffee and Turkey

Food uniting People TDF19 #withRefugees

g e

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Share emotions and experiences around the table was the idea that joins UNHCR and 19th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival to organize the event “Food uniting People #WithRefugees”. Lots of people, rom lots of places and with lots of history joined to eat what refugees cooked. By Pedro Amaro Santos On the 10th of March the chefs cooked in front of the Cinema Museum. The documentaries were about different kinds of food, traditions and cultures. But also about the rights to have access to food and a decent workspace to prepare our meals. The organizators of the festival worked with UNHCR in a partnership in this case to broach the food issue. According to Élise Jalladeau food is about sharing: sharing emotions, sharing a table, sharing differences, sharing things that we have in common and also transmitting and communicating. That is why food is the best ambassador for cinema and for tolerance. UNHCR came to the event for this idea of “food uniting people” and inviting some refugees to prepare their traditional dishes to share with everyone by the Port of Thessaloniki. Both the organizations believe that food is a way to find connections. According to Liene Veide (UNHCR), the most important thing is to look to similarities. We all live on the same planet, we all are human beings so we all have exactly the

same rights. We all have rights to a house, to a home, to education and to have access to food, to proper food. On the event we could see a lot of people from different nationalities, eating the same food. The environment was exciting and joyful. In that moment it just mattered if “I like it or I don’t like it. It is sweet or it is salty”. The nationality didn’t matter only the taste. Actually, during the event this was the only topic that people talked about. No one asked about the nationality or the journey behind. People just wanted to eat and talk about the incredible food. It was a special and tasty way to show that we all have many things in common. The differences between people are not important, looking at the food we could see more things uniting us than making difference and a gap between us. UNHCR believes that this kind of events are very significant to spread that no matter where we come from and how we actually live together, but how we can integration and how can we 5

Photo: ©Alexandre Vale

ACT REACT | NGO ACTIVITIES

Food uniting People be part of integration. Liene Veide says that our ethnical background doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter. All of us, we love to sit together with our family members, with our relatives, with our friends around a table and have good food. No one can take away our traditions and our culture. After the journey that people made from their countries fleeing war or political persecution, the culture and the traditions stays in themselves. This was what they brought to Thessaloniki and Greece. The topic of the event was also to work with the integration process and the communities. UNHCR defends that the integration process â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not related only with the ones who arrive to a different country but also with the host country and the host communityâ&#x20AC;?. It is important to look individual at every single human being and every single story behind it. If understood, communities can work in relocations and integrations. So the unification process will be faster and all the refugees will have chance to sit around a table with their families in a safe space and not somewhere in the camps or someone being on the way while waiting and they will be able to sit down in a new place. This can do the difference in the integration process. The homes were taken from these people. With the homes, the living rooms, the dining tables and the kitchens have been destroyed. Also their family has been destroyed. When nothing else

left they had no choice. It was not because they wanted, it was because the had to do it. Now, they need the opportunity to have a new home and have a meal in a dignified way and in a comfortable place. Talking about Greece, Liene Veide considers that greek people are very welcoming and very open to host the refugees here. By the way, the message also needs to go to the other countries in Europe. The integration process takes time. If you have to come from Afghanistan, for example, imagine yourself being sixteen years old and having to do the whole journey on your own. Then, when you arrive to the country it takes time to recover. If it is actually possible to recover fully. They try to start a new and optimistic life but the memories stay with them. This is why it is so important that everyone who is receiving refugees to be cooperating and to be patience. The event was a big success. As the UNHCR and the organizer of the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival agrees. The rainy afternoon of the 19th March in the city was not just about food. Was about sharing and mixing cultures from different places. We saw people from different places together, sharing something and following the idea of Thessaloniki as a historic place of mixed cultures. 7

Photo: Â©Iva Veneva

Voice to Volunteer

ACT REACT | VOICE TO VOLUNTEER

Photo: ©Iva Veneva

ACT REACT | VOICE TO VOLUNTEER

Iva Veneva about her one-year experience at the United Societies of Balkan By Vera Frommelt

Iva Veneva was in her late twenties, had a wellpaid prestigious job and had already made herself a name in the NGO volunteering area in Bulgaria. Meaning volunteering was nothing new for Iva when she decided to leave everything behind her for a year and moved from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Thessaloniki, Greece, in January 2016. Her reasoning behind this change of life was, how she explained, the exhaustion of her daily routine, of meeting the same hardships on and on. There was no light in the tunnel left for her. She needed a change, and what better way was there as to do EVS in Thessaloniki as it has always been her dream to live by the sea as well as she had already been an ambitious volunteer in the past. It was something new - a new experience, a new country, new people. However, the hardest part for her was to leave her three-year-old niece behind for a year and therefore not being able to see her progress for a whole year. Then she finally was here in Thessaloniki. When I asked her if there was anything that she had already expected by coming here, her response was that everything was unexpected for her, the good and the bad. Not thinking that it was possible for her to meet somebody to whom she feels like she was friends with from her childhood on, she made exactly one of those friends here and they were able to experience some unforgettable moments together. She also fleetingly mentions that she met a special someone during her EVS. On the other hand she also had to deal with some conflicts she wouldn’t have had expected. She explained it like this that it was a hard task to live with the people as well as to work with them as you start being a little family and every family has its conflicts. Or like at school when she spent a lot of time with her classmates and that also brings up conflicts, intrigues and pack-

ages of disappointments as well as stress from time to time (...as far as it is possible to have stress in Greece). Nevertheless, could she visit two of her favorite countries in the world; Portugal and Spain what she is especially thankful for. With those chances to travel she was given the opportunity to make unique unforgettable memories for example by meeting one of the youth leaders of the world in Molina. What Iva brought back home with her when her Project finished in January this year, is the Greek “halara” lifestyle, her newly earned confidence in speaking English as well as she continues to study Greek. After her EVS Iva had a one-week vacation to the Netherlands and then started to work as a salesperson in an international company for dental implants. Also, she continues with volunteering work in a program of the Association of Bulgarian Leaders and Entrepreneurs, called ABLE Mentor. They help talented high school students in Bulgaria to realise their potential and motivate them to apply to their dream projects. This year and her new profession make her feel fulfilled and happy to be back home and able to add value to projects which really matter for her country. But she will always miss the amazing view on her way back home from Kastra or in the summer the “Freddo Cappuccino” in her hand walking around the city, the free dance and Greek language classes everywhere around Thessaloniki as well as some people she met on the AIDE project and their personalities. She misses writing in our Magazine, looking for interesting topics and all her EVS friends…But her belief is that people unjoin to meet again. 11

A School for rural Ghana:

ACT REACT | GOOD PRACTICES

a story of taking action By Ruggero Maffione

To Take Action. To take action always appears to be difficult. This is true when we think about the big social, economical, political and humanitarian issues that our time faces us with. Our effort as individuals always seems too small in front of these world size problems and this often demotivates us to take action. That’s why individuals or small groups of people that try to fight back this feeling and try to change something for the better are few and these few have to be praised and have our admiration. Penny Stergiopoulou: “I never thought it this way. Obviously there are a lot of people congratulating with us, but I really wanted to do this and it is not weird for me, is not something special, is totally normal. Everybody could do it!” Lida Liou: “I think we will realize it when we will see the project completed”. Penny and Lida are two girls freshly graduated in architecture and they live in Thessaloniki. The project they are talking about is the one

they presented during an International Competition for projects to build a class for school in Abetenim village in the rural Ghana. L: “We won an honorable mention and then they asked us to go on with the project. We really liked this idea and we decided to do that”. In the communities of rural Ghana most of the time the rate of illiteracy reaches the 100%. Most of these communities are agricultural and most of the population live below the poverty line and is composed in big part of young people below 25. The struggle to reach the few schools that exists is as great as the distance that separate these villages from them. P: “I liked the idea and the suggestion. I’m interested in education, I wanted to offer to this culture and this civilization. I also wanted to learn more! Through the research we did for the project, the materials their culture, about the climate that are completely different from ours. It was an amazing experience”. 13

Photo: ©A Handmade School for Rural Ghana

Photo: ©AFCREW

ACT REACT | GOOD PRACTICES

The project they came up with takes in consideration everything: the climate, the environment, the local architecture and economy and the future development of the community. The process used to build this Class uses recycled material to reproduce architectural motives that recalls the local culture and traditional architecture.

themselves fundraiser and try to reach as many people as possible, to find sponsorships. To do that they also organised a fundraising party in the Bensousan Han in Thessaloniki and it was AMAZING. The great amount of people that responded to their enthusiasm and energy is the proof of the strength and willpower they are putting in realising this project.

L: “The locals didn’t know this technique”.

P: “For me the most difficult part is the promotion. It’s difficult to reach the right ears. We spend a lot of time to explain and inform the others about our project and it was really difficult”.

P: “Yes, we used also local techniques of building and local materials, but the bottle brick one is new for them and one of our goals for this project is to teach them construction methods that they can re-apply to other buildings”. The simplicity of the technique to build bricks with plastic bottles will allow the locals to apply it to improve their condition of living in the future. But to achieve all this goals funds are needed. That’s why the girls, with the support of the NKA Foundation, first gathered a group of 40 volunteers ready to help them, then started a fundraising campaign on indiegogo to try to make this project come true for the future of this small village of 1000 people. L: “We also needed the help of a lot of people with different experiences”. P: “Yes we wanted to combine different experiences and skills. We have to work as a team and it is very difficult, because we are 40 people”. The minimum goal of their campaign on indiegogo is $11.800 and to achieve it, and hopefully surpass it, they had to improvise

L: “We had no experience with that”. This two nice and friendly greek girls like many others, decided to make the difference with their own strength and determination, they decided to take action. They developed a vision, turned it into a project, involved different people and are still fighting to make it a reality. They decided to become part of that few people that will make the difference in the life of many. As I said these people should have our admiration. Penny and Lida are two normal girls who face their everyday life as we all do but they took action to change something in our world. So Go to www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/a-handmade-school-for-rural-ghana and donate! Make this project a reality! Help the Abetemin community to build a better future and grant these people their right to education. 15

Photo: Â©Carmen Russo

ACT REACT | GOOD PRACTICES

Four French girls & one project. The refugees life: dreams and stories in a new idea By Carmen Russo

There are places, situations, people who change you, and day after day you let grow within yourself the desire to do something. A project that arises from everyday life, a project that is born when you do not expect it but it comes real. Chloé Le Bret, Jeanne Bigot, Pauline and Jean Coiffard, four girls bounded not only by the same nation, France, but also by the same desire to contribute creatively and kindly to one of the most hot topics of our time. “The idea was born when, thanks to the European Volunteer Service (EVS) that I did in Greece, in Serres, I started working daily with the refugees,” says Pauline Coiffard, - creator and promoter of the documentary video on conditions of refugee lives from the Middle East and that seeking refuge in places where war cannot reach them. This is not always the case. If it is not bombs and cannons, it could be forgetting and be forgot. “We want to tell their story in a documentary, but not in the common way. We want to tell who these people are, what passions they have, what they do on a daily basis and their dreams. “ With this aspiration, Pauline together with her sister Jean Coiffard, film maker with a degree in economics studies, Jeanne Bigot, Gender Studies and Arabic World and Consultant and Chloé Le Bret, student in Politic Science, decided to visit Asprovalta, a city in the east of Thessaloniki where for several months a group of refugees was hosted in the Hotel called “Un bel posto”, from the Italian A nice place.

“When at first I knew I was supposed to work with the refugees,” confesses Pauline Coiffard, “I was afraid. But not of them, I was afraid to hear their stories, to know their past. I thought it would be a hard job. Already from the second day, however, I realized how happy, complete and resilient these people were, despite having a very hard past.” “At first I wanted to meet them only to understand what lie lies behind what media tells us about – how they call them -refugees or immigrants,” says Jeanne Bigot. “I wanted to make them human, I wanted to know the individuals who make up these great numbers that we always hear about”. A family of refugees becomes a family of friends, with whom you try to speak in all possible languages, with which to exchange information, advice and that, at the end of the day, they invite you to dinner. “This experience is completely human, even more than I had thought - continues Bigot - The goal of this Documentary - Interviews is spreading the message that these people could just be ourselves.” Or someone from your family, your friends, your neighbors. Just those who put their clothes to dry on the balcony, who cook a cake and send you a piece in a packet, those who celebrate a birthday together, gossiping and telling secrets, those who put the music too high and bickering at the door next. Just like our neighbors, etymologically speaking. 17

Photo: Â©Alexandre Vale

ACT REACT | USB NEWS

EAC

a school for modern activism By Ruggero Maffione

Photo: ©Alexandre Vale 20

The concept of activism is as broad as the many ways and many issues that should require for the citizens to step in the international and national political field. But, in opposition to what you would normally think, in our highly scholarized society, in which a growing number of individuals posess the tools not only to access information but also to act in many different ways, activism is slowly fading.

cause and involve as many interested as possible.

The things we used to call ‘new communication technologies’, are now part of our everyday life and allow every and each one of us to reach, with our thoughts, ideas and interests, an audience that grows constantly and potentially spreads all around the world. Each one of us nowadays can just reach into his pocket, take a picture, a video, or simply write something and share it istantly with millions of people. Journalists and newspapers often use this to share news live or give visibility to certain pieces of information. In the same way those instruments can become a huge asset for active citizens to sensibilize people to their

To tackle this situation was the objective of the ten days Youth Exchange, organized by United Societies of Balkans, that had as title YEAC: Young Europeans and Active Citizenship.

On the other hand, as new political institutions are born as a result of the historical necessities that globalization is facing us with, citizens are growing more and more detached from a political debate and decisional process that is happening in ‘rooms’ so far from them that often they barely know how they work.

During this exchange 55 people from 9 countries gathered in the wonderful Filippion Hotel, surrounded by the Thessaloniki forest, to share their knowledge and experiences about the European Union and learn more about how to develop activities and campaigns as tools, for active citizens, to sensibilize the public opinion and the institutions over topics of public interest.

Photo: ÂŠAlexandre Vale

ACT REACT | USB NEWS

In the first days each one of the 9 groups organised activities and simluations to anylise different aspects about their experiences as activists with the european union and gathered opinions and feedback from the others to reach a more collective vision about the relationship between the european union and organizations and groups socially active. Then to have a better understanding of how the european institutions work, a small simulation of the european parliament was carried on during which each participant was acting as a representative of the countries and institutions that take part in the decisional process. During the second part of the exchange volunteers from USB hosted different workshops to share with the partecipants tips and trick on how to organise and promote activities to raise awareness about social issues. Each workshop challenged the participants, divided in groups, to manage each phase of the organisation process: from the brainstorming and idea pitching, passing through the production of the necessary materials

and the actual enactment of the activity ending to the follow up. Choosing between various topics each group had then to perform their activities in different parts of the city center trying to involve the citizens of Thessaloniki and raise their awarenes on the chosen topic. The opportunity that this youth exchange gave to his participants was priceless. It gave us the possibility not only to confront ourselves with experiences from other countries regarding activism, but also to achieve a deeper understanding of the decisional process in the european institution and to learn about all the ways in which the european union supports active citizenships programs. It also gave us the chance to create new connections and bonds that go beyond this project; friendships that are the bricks to build Europe of people that we all wish to see, in which each citizen takes action to make Europe better.

Docum mirror o our LIV By Ebru Å&#x17E;ener

mentary, of VES

Photo: Â©Thessaloniki International Film Festival

EVENTS | PAST & FUTURE

Photo: ÂŠThessaloniki International Film Festival 24

Thessaloniki International Film Festival was followed by the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. The 19th International Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, one of the Balkansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; most comprehensive documentary events, dates from March 3 to 12. This time, instead of just enjoying it as an audience, I joined the festival team and became both, the audience and a part of festival family.

Photo: ©Thessaloniki International Film Festival

EVENTS | PAST & FUTURE

A valuable art critic, writer and painter John Berger, who died shortly before the festival, was honored. Within the scope of the festival, 213 documentary films were screened. The main topics of the 64 works from Greece included in the broad program of activity are politics, human rights, refugees, food, art, human stories… During the festival the Ukrainian born Russian director Vitaly Mansky was honored with a retrospective of his works. Director Paul Dugdale with his documentary “The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé !: A Trip Across Latin America” brought us once again to the warm and enthusiastic music lovers of Latin America. Producing a documentary film is a struggle in itself, but after finishing the film, it is a second struggle to meet the audience and deal with the sale. For this reason, the festival fulfills an important function by bringing the documentary filmmaker to the audience. Being in a project you love, enjoying, doing it voluntarily gives you a better understanding of the importance of the work done.

During these ten days I had the opportunity to meet other volunteers at the Audience Award I worked, and I had a chance to understand their motivations. It was a big group which common spot was movies... It was, indeed, a full ten days with plenty of documentary. But not only this: in the context of Food vs Food activity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and organizers of the festival came together to launch a stand for the refugees. Local dishes cooked by eight Iraqi and Syrian refugees were shared with the audience and immigrants to show solidarity.

At the end of the 10-days festival, it was the Danish-made “Dream Empire” documentary, which won the Golden Alexander Award. Film directed by David Borenstein focuses on China’s real estate market, the Yana character’s struggle in the sector. The documentary from Angelos Rallis entitled “Shingal-Where are you”, which reflects the life of Yezidis, who was persecuted by the ISİD organization, was honored by an international jury. The festival was not just an act of film screenings. Various exhibitions and events were held. 25

Photo: ÂŠValentina Orlando

Gluttony Wonderland

EVENTS | PAST & FUTURE

Music, people & delicacies at the Street Food Festival By Ruggero Maffione

If food has the power to bring people together, the Street Food Festival has proven to be able to bring together people, music and the city. As Homer Simpson would say drooling: “mhmmmmmm… food...”. This has been my first reaction as soon as the inviting perfumes of different kind of delicacies that were being prepared hit my nose and I’m sure it would have been also yours. Coming from the seaside you got soon welcomed by the first stands cooking all kind of delicious cuisine from all around the world. Yes, because we are not talking only about souvlakis but also about delicacies coming from the mexican, american, japanese, african, obviously greek and many other countries’ street food tradition. The music, at first on the background, got louder and louder as we approached the central court of the building in which you immediately got caught in the spirit of the festival. People all around walking between the stands or sitting at the tables or on the stairs enjoying the music, the company and, above all, the food. Despite some rain drops, the whole festival was a success and people kept gathering till the end to have a taste of what the stands had to offer. From casadilla to profiterol, from donuts to strawberry burgers, all you needed to do was take a walk and approach one of the stands to satisfy any wish your tastebuds might have. And the stands were indeed the real main attraction. For this Festival some of the best street food shops of the city decided to open, better to say to take out in the street, their kitchens and laboratories for people to enjoy their cuisine fresh out of the oven. So, walking around, you could not only let yourself be tempted by the smell but you could also admire the chefs mixing the ingredients, working the doughs, and taming the flames to make the magic happen and serve you the most delicious dishes from the street food tradition. And right at the side of the gorgeous meal, from the console, the music by the Djs from Black Radio Berlin and UpnLoud filled the space with good vibes with a selection of soul music. The Soul Food Project, together with this two partners and the shops that participated, has been able to create an experience of community life gathering all people in the streets to share something that everyone loves: EAT! This first edition, in conclusion, was a success for the organizers and an amazing opportunity for the participants and showed the potential to become a point of reference for street food lovers from all around the world. So, to more editions to come! 28

Photos: Â©Valentina Orlando

EVENTS | PAST & FUTURE

Photo: ÂŠaigai.gr

TRAVEL | BALKANIZATER

AIGAI The Royal Capital of Macedonia By Marién Cuesta García

Photo: ÂŠGr1909/Vergina Location

Location:

â&#x20AC;˘Vergina

The Archeological site of Aigai was located in Vergina. Vergina is 8 kms from the southeast of Veroia. There is a frequent public transport connection between Vergina and Veroia. It is frequently and regularly connected to Thessaloniki by road and rail.

It is necessary to talk about the great archeological site of Aigai. A place full of magic, a relevant and transcendental place for the Ancient History of Macedonia. You can find incredible archeological materials, precious objects and amazing architectural characteristics of the Macedonia Region. The ancient city was located on the north slopes of the Pireian mountains. It was identified as Aigai, the capital of the kingdom of Lower Macedonia. Archeological evidences prove that this site was continuously inhabited from the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). In the Early Iron Age (11th-8th 32

centuries BC) it became an important center, rich and densely inhabited. The city reached its highest point of prosperity in the Archaic period (7th-6th centuries BC) and Classical period (5th-4th centuries), when it was the most important urban center of the area, the seat of the Macedonian kings and the place where all the traditional sanctuaries were established. The Palace of Philip II is also in the archeological place. With a total area of 12,500 square meters.

TRAVEL | BALKANIZATER

The palace at Aigai is the largest and one of the most important buildings in Greece. Philip II completed its construction in 336 BC. It is the only preserved palace from Classical Greece, with luxurious materials and wonderful mosaics. One of the most popular place is the tomb of Philip II. It is quite different from other tombs or funerary places in Greece. Besides the important political actions and the territorial expansion of the Macedonian empire at that time, the most important change was the new philosophical concepts. The opening that symbolized this new ethic, the Hellenistic Philosophy with several points of view such as Platonism, Peripateticism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Pyrrhonism, Stoicism etc. Special attention to the influence of the Peripateticism because Aristotle was the teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle was the father of the Peripateticism too. Paripateticism advocated examination of the world to understand the ultimate foundation of things. The goal of life was the happiness which originates from virtuous actions, which consisted of keeping the balance between two extremes: too much and too little. That mentality was so strong because the new concepts of Aristotle combined with the oriental and the Asiatic philosophy that Alexander the Great learned in his military campaigns. This great diversity and openness together with the cosmopolitan personality of Alexander and his sensitivity to understand his own culture and other cultures were what led him to be a successful man. Alexander does not only mean a part of the history of Greece in which those Macedonians conquered all of Greece, most of Asia and the Middle East. It represents another way of seeing things, love, kindness, equality, understanding, happiness and virtue.

He shaped his own personality based on human rights because of his open thinking, happiness, and love combined with the all the military experience that he learned with his father Philip II. He started a new period in the ancient history. These changes led to and openness in the appreciation in certain important aspects in the concepts of soul and solidarity. I propose you visit this magical place where many years and years of this feeling were buried. Do not look at archaeological sites as simple places with ancient stones. I suggest you look at the history of this great Macedonian culture and imagine your own story.

Multicenter Museum of Aigai The Royal Tombs Museum and the surrounding space are easily accessible to people with disabilities. It is a multiform and multifunctional. Starting from the expression ‘‘excavations brought to light’’, the museum is given the idea that death and oblivion are equivalent to ‘‘shadow and the absence of colour’’, while life and memory are equivalent to ‘‘light and colour’’. Modern constructions enveloped in tones of grey are lost in the dimness; thus a world of shadows was created, where the ancient objects, shining and warm, and where apart from the monuments the only color is royal purple, an allusion to the blood of the royal deceased who haunt the place like the heroes of an ancient tragedy. Inside this functional museum there are so many showcases installed. The area is broken up into multiple spaces, creating an element of surprise that accompanies visitor’s steps, igniting their interest. The darkness that reigns over the space arouses awe and turns voices to whispers, suggesting the atmosphere in the land of dead. 33

Photo: ©aigai.gr

Photo: ©aigai.gr Photo: ©aigai.gr

TRAVEL | BALKANIZATER

The tomb of Philip II The tomb of Philip II is a great architectural work which has little to do with other tombs that we see in any other parts of Greece in the ancient times.

Photo: ÂŠaigai.gr

Half columns and pilasters supported a feature Doric architrave and frieze with triglyphs and metopes, but above it there is a pediment, but an unusually tall Ionic frieze crowned by Ionic Doric cornice molding and psefdosimi, the mixing of styles, which generally characterizes the Macedonian architecture. A new architectural concept that wants the scene facade, more or less autonomous and independent from the building itself, a concept that will become very popular in Hellenistic and Roman times, finds here and in other Macedonian tombs follow one of the earliest wordings. The tomb built of limestone entire outside of the two doors and perithyra is marble. The tomb had two rooms, the main chamber and the unusually deep vestibule, in each of which there was a marble tray. In the chamber housing was the golden urn containing the bones of the dead king, while in the antechamber another golden urn contained the bones of his wife. 35

Photo: ÂŠaigai.gr

TRAVEL | BALKANIZATER

The tomb of Persephone Built with great attention from large porous stone cornerstones the cist tomb with dimensions 3CH4,5 m. It is one of the greatest monuments of its kind to have been found, but despite the size of the monument has front and standard input and still operate as underground housing, wherein the burial was over. The monument belonged to a young woman who should have died in childbirth about 25 and was buried here along with her baby. The bones of a man who were inside the fallen earth, by the way, and the position found, seem to be associated with subsequent grave robbing, which is not unusual in the necropolis of Aigai. The proximity of the tomb with that of Philip II shows that the woman should have been one of the seven wives of the king, probably Nicesipolis from Feres, mother of Thessaloniki. 37

The tomb of Alexander IV

Relics and precious objects

As shown by the pottery found in enagismo of about thirty years after the burial of Philip constructed next to the tomb of King another smaller to accept the bones of another member of the royal family, a young teenager 13-15 years.

As shown by the pottery found in enagismo of You can see some other things like king’s weapons, the utensils employed is his funeral ceremony, precious bronze household utensils employed for his last bath. The showcase with the remains of the funerary pyre that were found thrown on the vault of the tomb, irrefutable evidence of the deceased’s identity.

Although the body was burned, nowhere they found traces of funerary pyre, which indicates that the young died and cremated elsewhere. His bones were transferred to Aigai, where they were buried in the royal tomb. These data lead to the identification of the dead young with Alexander D. the son of Alexander the Great and Roxane, a child-king being held captive in Amphipolis was murdered along with his mother by Cassander to make place in his ambition usurper. Apparently the killer himself, to entertain suspicions of Macedon brought, as mandated by custom, the last of Temenid and buried with honors in the city that was the cradle of his generation. His tomb to be bicameral and it is very similar to that of the glorious ancestors, although it is somewhat simpler facade. The pilasters are missing. The marble door flanked by two pilasters supporting the Doric architrave and the typical Doric frieze with deep blue triglyphs and metopes unadorned white. Above this, there is here, as in Philip’s tomb instead of a gable Ionic frieze that hides the arch. An Ionic cornice decorated with painted moldings and small elevations arranged at regular intervals that mimic Akrokeramo, creating the illusion roof, crowning friezes and completes the monumental facade 38

Also, you can see the gold chests and wreaths, the splendid symposium utensils and the precious gold and ivory banquet couches, stand as a trophy to memory his resurrected gold-trimmed armor. Worthy of an Achilles wore when he was proclaimed leader of all the Greeks, is made with the sheen of gold and ivory the shape of his absence. The exhibition of Alexander IV closes the exhibition tour with a series of grave stones and a picture of Manolis Andronikos, the man who brought the treasures to light.

Photo: ©alchetron.com

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Manolis Andronikos Manolis was born Oct. 23, 1919 in Bursa (Turkey) and he died Mar. 30, 1992 in Thessaloniki (Greece). Archaeologist who discovered ancient royal tombs in northern Greece belonging to the Macedonian King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great. He’s one of the most important archeologist because of the findings of Andronicos to confirm the disputed theory that Vergina, not Edessa farther north, was the ancient site of the Aigai, the capital of Macedonia in the fourth century BC.

Bibliography & Citation Maker 1. A. Kottaridi, Archeological Receipts Fund, Publications Department, Design & Layout: Zarifopoulos Minos. 2. A. Kottaridi, Archeological receipts fund, publications department design and layout: Zarifopoulos Minos Office Com. 3. Andronikos, Manolis, The Royal Graves at Vergina, Archeological Receipts Fund: Athens, 1980. 4. ”Athens Annals of Archeology”, vol. X (1977), I; Translation into English by J.Binder. 5. Andronikos, Manolis, Thessalonike Museum: A

new Guide to the Archeological Treasures, Ekdotike Athenon, S.A, : Athens, 1981 6. Andronikos, Manolis, Vergina: The Royal Tombs and the Ancient City, Ekdotike Athenon S.A.: Athens, 1984 7. Arna Elezovic, Manolis Andronikos: Greece’s National Archeologist. Clio’s purple and gold: journal of undergraduate studies in history. 8. N.G.L. Hammond, “The Royal Tombs at Vergina: Evolution and Identities.” The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 86 (1991): 69-82. 39

Crete, mountains and silence: the other side of the island Photo: ÂŠSilvia Bartolotti

By Silvia Bartolotti

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The island of Crete is well-known for its heavenly beaches and the nightlife of its several bars scattered in the Venetian-like lanes of Chania or on the top of a scenic vantage point. And this is all true. But what a lot of travelers loose during their trip in the biggest island of Greece are the atmosphere of peace and authenticity that it is still possible to live among the mountains of its inland. Forget about discotheques, cocktails on the beach or fancy restaurants and prepare yourself for a total immersion in nature, silence and healthy food.

middle of the way and sometimes not very keen on move to let you pass through. No problem, it will be very easy to forgive them once tasted its delicious cheese homemade by one of the several shepherds of the area. Otherwise in summer it would also be possible to meet a few tourists taking pictures of some glimpse of sea appearing between the mountains to remember that they are not in the Swiss Prealps, but just some kilometers far from some of the best beaches in the world.

Furthermore the food waited on here is fresh and genuine given that almost all the products are yielded in the countryside nearby and that often is the landlord himself who farmed the delicious tomatoes and cucumbers that garnish the Greek salad always served as a starter, how recommended not just by tradition but also from nutritionists like an elixir for digestion and wellbeing. The

cheese is also homemade, dressed with oregano and olive oil and crumbled over the other vegetables, very similar to feta but less salty and mixed with goat milk. The pork meat, rather prepared as souvlaki in skewers, is so tender and tasty that a glass of raki is the only way to forget it. The following limoncello is obviously prepared with local citruses and all the passion of its farmer.

Photo: ÂŠSilvia Bartolotti

One of the best ways to see it is going across the secondary route Kastelliou-Kefaliou that connects the two famous beaches of Balos, located in the north west of the island, and the lagoon of Elafonissi right in the south. The street coasts all the western part of the island from the Aegean Sea until the Libyan one, and in some points it becomes very narrow and twisty so it needs a careful drive, but on the other hand it offers one of the most spectacular views of Crete. Traveling during low season makes possible that the only meetings had would be goats and sheep free to graze in the

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its authenticity. In the taverna of Lefterisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rooms the fire is lit even at spring and sitting in front of it, waiting for the dinner, will be like entering in another dimension and going back to childhood staring at the walls full of old pictures and vintage ornaments.

Anyway the best part in Kambos is the night. The fresh air comes from the mountains giving the best temperature to fall asleep surrounded by a silence that is hard to find anywhere else. There is not Wi-Fi connection so the best way to spend the evening is watching the stars that look so

close and so many. The morning will arrive soon, starting with a Greek coffee on the veranda and to follow all the trekking paths around: river, birds, goats and nature. Nothing more than nature that is unbelievably enough.

Photo: ÂŠSilvia Bartolotti

Along the way there are some villages and one of the best to stop in is Kambos, since it gives the possibility to get easy parking, great view and some rooms for rent with traditional taverna. Actually the majority of these are big family houses turned into cheap and spartan hotels at the time that tourism reached Crete in the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. What at first sight could look old and shabby is in reality the strength of this magic place which is

Photo: ©SMathioudakis Charalampos

“There is no place like Greece in summer”

The dreamland t young eyes By Carmen Russo

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through 45

Joanna Nestoridi 24, student

Photo: ©Johanna Nestoridi

“As a kid, summer in Greece started in late May. The days were getting warmer and warmer and around 10 in the evening you could still read a book outside without needing artificial lighting. It was magical. We’d spent hours at the beach. Later on in my life, the climate started negating whatever enjoyment I drew from Greek summers. I still enjoyed the long days and the warm nights but the burning sun no longer appealed to me. Humidity and everything that came with the warmest of seasons (traffic, mosquitoes, clubs). I’ll admit that to a large extent I had been influenced by my previous summer stays abroad. I fell in love almost instantly with Centre and Northern Europe with its cool climate and easier daily rituals. Nowadays, I like to have the best of both worlds: spending time at the islands or some other dreamy destination in Greece where I can swim and enjoy the easy-going pace of holiday season and a visit abroad so I can catch my breath and explore the rest of the world”,

Summer in Greece. It translates in sea, beautiful landscape and great atmosphere. Thanks to its variety and thanks to the presence of different islands, Greece offers an uncountable type of holidays. You can relax, you can party every night and day, you can focus on the cultural sites or on the blue and crystalline sea. A dreamland, especially for foreigners. What is the point of view of the young people from Thessaloniki, since the moment they are already in a holiday land? Where do they prefer to go, how much do they spend and where do they suggest to go to an outlander?

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Panos Tsomakos 19, student

Photo: ©Panos Tsomakos

“I haven’t made an exact plan yet, but with my friends, we made a discussion about this summer. First of all, we are going to visit Chalkidiki (Kallikratia and Potidea). We go there every year, no matter our other plans. It’s kind of the start of our summer. After these days, we are almost sure that we’ll visit Samothrace on July. A place known for its natural beauty and its exotic vibes. Although I was born and raised in Greece, I’m not able to say that I know my country very well. So, I prefer stay here in the summer in order to explore as much as possible. Last summer I started with Chalkidiki, then I went to Skiathos, one of the most popular islands of Greece, located in the northwest Aegean Sea. Finally, I visited Kavala, another city of Macedonia, where you can find a lot of beauties and many option to spend your time”.

Suggested place to visit: The hottest destination is Chalkidiki. Secondly, cities as Serres, Drama and Kavala are worth visiting since they have their own style and a unique vibe. In other words, nothing to be jealous of Veria, an old city known also for its historical background. Don’t miss to try the traditional dessert “ravani”. Vergina, a small town close to Veria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where have been found some of the most important archaeological discoveries in Greece, such the tomb of Philip II. Amount of money needed: From 20 to 50 euros per day. 47

Agapi Alta 24, teacher

Photo: ©Agapi Alta

“I haven’t planned yet my next summer holidays. I would like to visit Samotraki. For the summer season I prefer to visit every year a different Greek island. For example last year I have been to Kefellonia and Zante”.

Suggested place to visit: For sure Chalkidiki. It is a small paradise, with many beaches, extraordinary landscapes and many choices in nightlife. Amount of money needed: The cost for the Greek islands is not very cheap but mostly depends of your destination. For sure 400 euros for a week.

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Charalambos Mathioudakis

Photo: ©Mathioudakis Charalampos

alias Babis indefinite age, activist

“My vacation are already planned for me in the last 5 years. I worked - and so I will this year - in a children camp by the beach and forests in Metamorfosi, Chalkidiki. During the winter, I would love to visit places abroad. During the summer, there is no other place like Greece in Europe. Last summer, for example, after the Kalivas Camp with children, I spent some days relaxing at scenic Greek island of Ammouliani”

Suggested place to visit: Chalkidiki is a must destination. There are so many places and beaches, I can’t single out any one of them. In Greece there are also small islands nearby Thessaloniki like Ammouliani, Thasos and Limnos that absolutely will worth the travel. Amount of money needed: A week visit in Greece should cost around 200-250 euros. 49

Greek feminists:

Our movem gaining 50

Kamena Soutienâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s logo

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ments are g steam By Signe Demant Hansen

Kamena Soutien (www.kamenasoutien.com) The blog: On Kamena Soutien you can find all kinds of material in Greek about feminism. The texts vary from theoretical articles to interviews with interesting feminists. In addition, they share their posts on their Facebook page facebook. com/kamenasoutien where they also link to English articles on feminist issues. The name: Kamena Soutien means ‘burned bra’ in Greek. The name refers to the myth that during the 1970ies feminists burned their bras. But the name is also used as an acknowledgement of the feminists who came before. Intersectional feminism: The term was created by American civil rights advocate Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw back in 1989. Intersectional feminism understands how some women have overlapping identities such as race, class, sexual orientation and ethnicity. And this impact how they experience oppression and discrimination. A black woman is for instance both experiencing discrimination because of her race and gender.

What was your motivation to start the blog? “We started our blog in May of 2013. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of information online about feminism in Greek, at least not information that wasn’t extremely specific or very academically-oriented. We felt there was the need for a website that would explain the basic principles of intersectional feminism in a simple, straightforward way.” What is your aim with the blog? “Our explicit goal is to make basic information on intersectional feminism more widely known. We aim to do this by using simple language and by covering a breadth of basic concepts. We would love to create a hub of 101-type articles and explanations that anyone would understand, regardless of their academic background or level of knowledge around feminism.” What is your background? “The members of this group come from very different backgrounds and together we all cover a wide range of different experiences, ages, identities and knowledge. The people behind the blog have changed, left, returned and travelled many times. We were never a homogenous group and the multitude of our experiences gives us the ability to have many different opinions to all subjects, as each person brings a unique approach to the group.” 52

What is the “status” of feminism in Greece? “Greece deals with all the problems that stem from a system of white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, as do most - if not all - countries. And as it is in all western countries, the last 20-25 years there has been a fostering of the idea that feminism is no longer needed, seeing how women can vote and have access to employment. We find this to be an exceptionally undermining, pervasive idea, and one that has to be debunked over and over again. We have been happy and proud to see a rise in all sorts of movements in Greece - including feminist collectives, a sharp rise in feminist politics on- and offline, and a greater realization of feminism’s importance in all the different movements (anti-austerity, anarchist, anti-racist etc.) that have been gaining strength since the early 00s.” Where do you see feminism and gender equality going in Greece? “Well, globalization has made it so that we can’t speculate on this issue for a single geographic area. Instead, we tend to look at the situation of human rights globally. We are seeing a global uptick in the creation, formation and expression of social justice, and thus the web of power structures is fighting back: harsh, dehumanizing austerity, Trump and the rise of fascism, a new authoritarianism. Still, our movements are gaining steam, more people are fed up, more people are expressing themselves and tak-

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Our movements are gaining steam ing part in small or large scale fight-back. There are many fights being fought in Greece, but we’re positive that this new surge in public understanding will lead to intersectional victories.”

Kamena Soutien’s logo

Is there a feminist movement in Greece? “As we noted previously, there has been a newfound strength in all kinds of social justice movements in Greece for a few years now. The movement is -as it always was- multifaceted and contains many different voices, but it’s growing. The internet and the accessibility it brings makes it easier for people to connect and express themselves. Feminists create real, direct action in many ways, from marching and passing out flyers to forming collectives, groups, and also by being vocal in their own pre-existing structures.” How is it organised? “The many forms of the movement are undeniable. Most importantly, we have seen younger people being intimately involved in organizing marches, sit-ins or other direct actions. As we’ve mentioned before, we think that feminist interventions within existing political and social groups has been extensive and create opportunities for feminist politics to be heard in a wider setting.” 53

Work, education & the possibility to go back & make their own revolution: this is the solution for the Refugees crises

Through mirrors o Vasilis Te

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h the of earstain By Silvia Bartolotti, Valentina Orlando and Carmen Russo

I saw a shadow on the road, he was escaping to the border, I had no doubts to give him a lift There is a place in the center of Thessaloniki, close to the promenade, where you can go and enter in a fairytale. A hair salon that looks like as an enchanted castle: big mirrors, shining color on the walls and gothic sofas. Usually people go there to change their hairstyle and to have a gossip. Not in this case, when the quality of the conversation can reach a deeper level. It happens when you meet a hairstylist with an activist past. His name is Vasilis Tearstain, an eclectic figure in the panorama of the city of Thessaloniki, who got the Hair Salon from his mother, but that one day faced by chance another reality, where he took us with him through his narratives. And this is not a fairytale. The reality we are talking about is made on Idomeni and the actual situation of refugees in Greece. It was in 2013 when Vasilis had his first approach with an immigrant. Driving during the night, he saw a shadow on the road: it was a man coming from Bangladesh. Vasilis had no doubts on giving him a lift to the border. Three months later he met, in the same circumstances, other two men, this time from Afghanistan. He asked himself were they wanted to go. It has not been the last time, right? “One day I helped one guy that couldn’t walk and I took him to the border. After a while he called me because he was in danger, we drove three kilometers inside of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with two Greek police cars and when they opened the highlights, what I saw it was scary. In 56

front of us came 150 people that had been beaten in front of police. The population there knew that a Syrian in that period had minimum 1500 euros with himself. Not to be robbed, the Syrians found many ways to hide their money.” After this episode, Vasilis and his little group of people that were supporting him, decided to take some photos and send them to the NGOs and to other organizations, but there were no answers. As soon as they came back along the border they realized that the number of people increased. When did the NGOs arrive? “After August the NGOs came, finally. They came fighting for who was going to be in front, who was going to have a particular stand. It became Babel: everybody wanted to do his small revolution. They were talking to the refugees about anarchy, they would not listen to them, and they don’t know what anarchy is! They were talking to them about Communism; they don’t know anything about Communism. They were seeing people coming from Europe like hippies and the refugees were looking at me asking “what is this”? What they wanted was not to have a revolution, they wanted just safety and the possibility to come to Europe.” If we don’t have to bring a revolution for them, what could be a way to manage this situation? “The first suggestion that I can give it’s to make a camp to educate this people for the participation not just integration. We should give them the tool to rebuild their Countries, but not with our ideas. We

Photo: ©Asklepeion - small room project

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have to train them to go back with skills and education to rebuild their place. We made our revolution with the right time, they need their time otherwise if we force them, and this will be just an attack to their culture. We have also to be realist: they should respect our laws, because we made our revolution, we got our kind of freedom and if we accept now their Law, it will be a sort of violence for us. We should be careful with the Tolerance. If they want Islamic lows rule, they should go back in their Country, where actually you are forced to follow their rules. They need time for their revolution. It’s impossible to think that they will integrate in a society being blocked in one place for years without working or participating. In the past, we – Greek, Italians and the others - also emigrated in other countries without knowing a single world of the language spoken there But through the work, we integrate perfectly. This is the key: give them the possibility to work and they will integrate by their own, they don’t need any NGOs. Work is the key; otherwise we’ll crush because both we and they are conservative in our traditions.” So the solution is not to give them the money… “One refugee in Europe costs 15000 euro per year. That means creating three sources of clean water in Africa and maybe 50 people will work for that and maybe 100 people can live with dignity. So with the cost of one person here, up to 150 people can survive there. During the last 7 months I have been visiting all the people I’m still in good contact with, they are in central and north Europe and everybody

is disappointed because they understood the lies of Europe, they understood Europe is not heaven. After 3 to 6 months everybody is depressed, this is the reality.” Because they’re not working and they don’t feel the situation will change. How is the situation evolving in Europe about this issue? “In some months a lot of people will go to Portugal, almost 800 to 1000. Even if they don’t want because they want to go to Germany, or better Berlin. Although, Portugal will be the only place where they will be hosted directly in apartments and they will have immediately a job, like being a farmer. That is what António Luís Santos da Costa, the premier of Portugal, promised. They would feel better there than in Berlin, but they don’t know, because also it’s a game between some groups that want to control them.” What is your best memory during this time? “The day that everybody was sending me back pictures of them safe in the new place. When I was driving and helping them, they were shocked that I was not asking for money, so they asked me how could they thank me, and I said that I just wanted pictures and videos of them. The first day that I received message from Austria was an amazing feeling: at least one group was safe. Let’s not try to drive them with our duty, but with their ideas, their personality.

People remember what you do for them.” 57

My name is refugee, my camera is my eyes, my art is my mind

The story o Abdulazez Dukhan By Borja Blanco Babarro

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Photo: Â©Abdulaez Dukhan

of 59

Dignity. Can you make a definition for the word dignity? I found some, and maybe the following is one of the best: “Quality of the person who asserts himself as a person, behaves with responsibility, seriousness and respect for himself and others, and does not allow humiliation or degradation.”

Dignity is, etymologically, the quality of value associated to a person

Photo: ©Abdulaez Dukhan

“Your eyes is the way toward the truth, you can realize everything through it by photograph and by art I am trying to contact with your eyes. I am trying to tell you thousands words, thousands stories from the other world”. “The truth “ here I started my trip with photograph! here I started silently shouting to the whole world through it My name is refugee! My camera is my eyes and my art is my mind My goal is telling you the truth just, please, open your mind and look behind the events! I have love just, all my love to you. It couldn’t be a better description to introduce Abdulazez. With his speech and photos, he tries to bring us to the reality we just see in the social media; telling the story in the first person. One cold reality which seems “frozen” nowadays. But, who is Abdulazez and why are we are speaking about him? … Before I was a refugee, I was a citizen in my country. I lived there safe and happy. The war took my home and I had to leave. I left to find myself labeled.

Photo: ©Abdulaez Dukhan

People call me a refugee but they don’t know that I was a citizen before. They are citizens today but maybe they will be like me tomorrow. Refugees.

Abdulazez was born in Homs, Syria. A young boy with a long story. He left his house after the Civil War started. Already six years ago. “I left a lot of friends behind me. Since then half of them died and I don’t know anything about the other half.” In the beginning, his family and him stayed in the Syrian countryside, but the situation didn’t become better, so they decided to go to Turkey. But even there, the situation was still hard. “We were still just 5 km from Syria and there were some missiles coming from the Syrian side to this border village. The Turkish people thought this was because of us, and they were treating us so bad!”

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | SOCIAL & POLITCAL ISSUES Finally, Abdulazez’s family sold everything, and they headed to Europe.

Idomeni was his first Greek camp. This camp near to the border seemed one small step to continue to the final destination. But it wasn’t easy for him, for his family, neither for thousands people. The borders was closed for the people who searched a safety place. So, staying in tents, waiting the moment to continue the way was the posture. Reading books, speaking with the people, walking, doing nothing… just to kill the time. “After three days raining in Idomeni, our small tent was finished, water in everywhere! We had nothing. I was standing, looking, breathing and asking myself: ‘Would dying quickly be better than dying slowly?” But after the first one, 11 camps more came. Eko, 20 km south of Idomeni, was other of this camps. He started to work as a volunteer, and this offered him the possibility to improve his English, meet volunteers from different countries and use the time he had to help the people. He met some volunteers who liked his graphic works. With their feedback, again he got the motivation he had lost some time ago. They relied in his artistic ability and gave him one camera with which he could grow as an artist. With the camera in his hands, and the desire to change things, Abdulaez began his own project “Through Refugee Eyes” project to show the population how life looks from inside a refugee camp. How life seems from the eyes of a refugee.

Photo: ©Abdulaez Dukhan

Another new country. The second one in this live story. Greece: the door of Europe. Apparently the door of hope. Apparently, because the situation here is not the reality this people want to see. Here they find neo concentration camps, where people are losing their time waiting bureaucracy. The bureaucracy which will open the legal and the safe door in this trip. People are losing the perspective of life after live during so long in site.

“Open you mind. Try to get the truth before you judge about any one!” In November 2016, American elections took place, with Donald Trump as the winner and the new president. In the beginning of the year, Al-Jazeera decided to publish a letter written from Abdulazez, addressed to the president of United States. These are just some sentences we can find written there. “My name is Abdulazez Dukhan. I am 18 years old. I

Photo: ©Abdulaez Dukhan

Thanks to this powerful instrument, his motivation and self-learning he got to expose his photos around Europe; Germany, Canada, Spain, and many other countries. Many people send him comments about that, “That’s make me really fun”.

am one of the four million people who have fled Syria. We left behind our hearts and the people that we lost both buried somewhere along the road. (…) I left Syria with my family four years after the revolution started. Nobody wanted to leave. But what can we do against the tanks? What can we do when death is falling from the sky?”

After one year and a few months waiting in Greece, the bureaucracy decided for him. Next country: Belgium. I spoke with him the day before to leave. “For sure, It’s difficult to put one year on the luggage”. There was a new opportunity to start again. To start again from scratch. Borja Blanco (BB): About the trip, let’s call it trip, Idomeni, Chios, Thessaloniki, Athens… I’m sure you have a lot of stories to tell, maybe you can write a few books, right? Abdulazez Dukhan (AD): Yes - he laughs - Kind of. I can write some good stories, some bad. You know, it’s good and bad, at the same time. That’s the truth. We always have to forget the bad stuff and just remember the good things, to be able to keep on with our lives. BB: Today I read something like “You have to go throw the worst to get the best”.

AD: Yes. We passed a difficult thing. I really don’t care about the difficult thing. It doesn’t affect me too much. We can’t complain. Because if I do it, nothing will happen. Nothing will happen with complaining. So, I prefer to work. We cannot do anything with the things that have already happened. “Yes, the difficult situation is difficult.” “Yes, it’s like this” Nothing will happen, so let’s try to change something by ourselves.

BB: I have one question one friend ask me for you. People who take a few things from their homes and run to find something better, some safe place, going nowhere, let’s say. People like you. What are you afraid of? AD: Me? What I’m afraid of? Now, like in general, I’m not afraid of anything, because, you know, I lived during the war in Syria, I was living in refugee camps, we passed thing… So, now we don’t have many things to be afraid of. Yes: these are our lives nowadays. But the most important thing today is maybe catch the time. Don’t lose the time, because life is really so good, and now we can feel it! We have been through the most difficult things, so now

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | SOCIAL & POLITCAL ISSUES anything we find will be easier. BB: Have you lost the hope in some moment during the way? AD: Yes, sure! I lost the hope sometimes. Actually, like all of us, kind of depressed. I wasn’t always so happy. And in this moment it is better to work. Do things. BB: How the word “refugee” makes you feel?

BB: Do you feel it as something negative? AD: For sure no-one wants to be different. You will not like if someone tells you: “You are fat, you are fat!” Yes, I’m refugee, so what? It’s not good. It’s not bad. Yes, today we’re refugees, but maybe your grandparents were refugees. All the people could be refugee in the past or maybe will be in the future. That’s the point, but some people don’t want to understand. One day they will understand and probably this day will be too late for then.

AD: For this people who think they can make me feel bad. I don’t care. Because, in the other hand I’m doing sometimes more things than the people who live here - in Greece -, so I don’t care if they call me refugee, or whatever they want. I just take it and turn it to positive things.

This is just the story of one of thousands of Abdulazez, from many different countries with different backgrounds. This is one of the stories that could finally be told. But there are also too many persons who died. People as you. People with dignity and people with a lot of courage. Writing this, I just want to get one little thing. Make you think about yourself. Feeling sorry for this situation and doing nothing is a bad starting point. Feel angry!, and turn that rage into actions. Are you a person who behaves respectfully for yourself and for the others and does not allow humiliation or degradation? Are you a worthy person?

“My message to Europe, to the whole world, is that we are not terrorists. We didn’t come from nothing. We came forcibly. No one choose to leave his home. We just want to live! We have everything you have, mind, body and feelings!”

Antiracism Thessalo A march for migrants and refugees By Jack Cowles 64

oniki

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Photo: ÂŠTill Holland

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | SOCIAL & POLITCAL ISSUES

A small demonstration took place in the city of Thessaloniki on 21st March to create awareness of racism and the migrant issues around the world. The demonstration was created by British girl Marcie Winstanley small but had participants from countries all over Europe including England, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Finland and Greece who demonstrated within their rights about getting more of an effort with shelter and aid for refugees and migrants. “ I saw a post through a website that said there was going to be a march in Athens for anti racism day and I wanted to join but I was not in the country at the time so I decided to create my own march in Thessaloniki as I was increasingly feeling like the government is not doing enough to support the migrant workers and refugees and even people who are foreign.” - Marcie mentioned. Marcie also added “ It was more complicated to organise than I initially thought it would be but it was really worthwhile to do and I am glad I carried out this march. I went through a lot of stages of preparation with the police but I am glad I got official permission. The march was of low numbers but was successful and Marcie spoke well about her successes as she added “ I think the main point is that we actually did it. The point of solidarity is that it can be one person, two people or one hundred people but it doesn’t matter because we did it. It was great to have the support of the eight people who joined and I believe it was a great success. I guess that 67

All you ne to know a French el

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

need about elections

25%

22%

20%

Marine Le Pen Front National

Emmanuel Macron En marche!

François Fillon Les Républicains

She is Jean-Marie Le Pen’s daughter and the president of the Front National that is historically at the far right of the assembly, a bad image that she wants to abolish by claiming the out-dated vision of the left/right politics. Her speeches are whistleblowing the current government, pretending that she is an antisystem candidate, that’s why most of her popularity comes from youngsters and low salary workers. she got elected at the head of the Front National with 100% of the votes.

Former banker and businessman at Rothschild & Cie, he became economy minister under François Hollande’s socialist government. His first goal is to get work for everyone, no matter how. In the last months he doesn’t stop getting higher and higher in surveys, using his charismatic speaker skills.

Former prime minister under Sarkozy’s government, the president who spent most of his time in a court. François Fillon is the candidate for richer peoples. He always extol the values of honesty and transparency, but shortly after his candidacy, a french newspaper revealed his wife activities. She earned around one million euro doing a fictional job. Since then, he’s getting lower and lower in surveys. His party is thinking about exchange him with another candidate.

Propositions: • Referendum to get out of the E.U and the restoration of a national currency • Establishment of the national priority (Jobs and social accommodations for French peoples in priority) • Strengthening the police forces • Referendum on the death sentence • Restoring border control 70

Propositions: • More weekly work time, especially for youngsters • Going to retire adjusted according to professions • More financial help to workers and less to unemployed

Propositions: • Removal of the tax on rich peoples • Raising the legal weely work time to 39 hours • Giving financial help to immigrants 2 years after their arrival • Save 100 billions euro on public expenditures

17%

Benoit Hamon Parti socialiste Former minister of social and solidary economy, then minister of education. He surprised everyone by winning the primary against the former prime minister Manuel Valls. He defends the poorest and has the most coherent career of all his opponent, that’s why he won the primary.

11,5%

Jean-Luc Melenchon Les Républicains Jean-Luc Mélenchon is an independant far left politician who doesn’t agree with the socialists. He militates for the sixth republic and wants to fire all corrupted politician. He has some controversial points of view and share them on his very active youtube channel. The wind of democratic revolution storms in his mind.

Propositions: Propositions: • To set up a 750e universal income for every french citizen • To tax every robots that substitute a human job • To reach 50% of ecological energy production • Establishment of a solidary visa for refugees • Legalize the sell of marijuana

• To randomly choose peoples who will decides laws • To give permission to the people to fire a politician • Protection of common goods (air, water, alimentation, health, energy and currency) • Interdiction to collect what nature can’t regenerate

All you need to know about French elections

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Can Portuguese Politcal Situation be a Hope? By Pedro Amaro Santos

SOCIAL & POLITICAL | NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Europe trough strange politic times. Instability in democratic governments gave space to the threat from far-right populism based on social and economic issues. By the way, seems that the situation in Portugal can bring some hope to new configurations. The government of the left center party - Socialist Party - for the very first time is supported by two far-left parties in the parliament. At the first moment, no one believed in the chances of this configuration. Now, the economic and social indicators say that, it is the moment of Portugal grows. The word “Geringonça” — which in English can be translated as a “contraption” — was coined by a conservative critic to ridicule the government support by the left parties. The meaning of the word is so hard to explain as is hard to believe that this can work. Opponents seemed really sure about the failure of the mechanism, but apparently António Costa, the Prime Minister, showed contradictory goals: rolling back austerity to calm down his leftist backers and ruled the budgetary restraint demanded by eurozone partners and international lenders. This configuration of radical left parties supporting a government of left center is something new and has lots of interest to political scientists. Was expecting a political collapse in lots of issues between the far left parties and the center left in the government. But on the contrary that was expected, the process of political integration has evolved steadily. With the Socialists in the charge, the Prime Minister António Costa has persuaded the PCP and BE to set aside their more radical demands — such as leaving NATO, tearing up the eurozone rule book and demanding a renegotiation of the outsized national debt — in return for kicking the center-right out of power and a limited rollback of the previous government’s austerity measures. Some analysts and the public opinion describe the situations as a kind of “oasis of stability in troubled Europe”, surprising who feared that the support of far left become a problem for

the eurozone. So far the government managed to juggle competing demands: raising pensions, reversed public sector salary cuts, halted planned privatizations and is phasing out austerity era taxes, while — just about — avoiding the punishment of Brussels. The numbers are clear about the situation. Portugal’s 2016 budget deficit was 2.1 percent of gross domestic product, the lowest since democracy was restored in 1974. Unemployment, which topped 17 percent in 2013, decreased to 10.2 percent. Consumer confidence is at the highest level in 17 years, showing that Portugal’s economy growing faster than any other in the European Union. Exports and investments are recovering. Meanwhile, booming tourism, the national soccer team’s Euro 2016 victory and former Prime Minister António Guterres’ ascension to secretary-general of the United Nations have combined to lift the gloom clouding the national mood since the eurozone crisis hit in 2009. Portugal’s situation is maybe impossible to replicate. There are historic and social facts creating conditions to this political stability. In the moment Portuguese are not afraid of right or left radical ideas. This aversion can be explained in part by the lasting legacy of dictator António Oliveira Salazar, whose regime lasted for over four decades until toppled by a 1974 revolution. Portugal has also not experienced a recent influx of migrants. Its immigrant communities, mainly from Brazil, Portuguese-speaking Africa and Eastern European countries such as Ukraine and Romania, are comparatively well integrated. The country is a light to Europe. The Portuguese, which 22.3 percent of current population currently lives abroad (in 2015), after decades of emigration people feel times changing. Portuguese people feel that now is the moment and they want to be a good reference as country. Can Portu gal’s example, give new hope to Europe? 75

Photo: ÂŠThessaloniki Yoga Festival

Thes Yoga

LEGION | SPORTS

ssaloniki a Festival By Virginie Blei

Photo: ÂŠThessaloniki Yoga Festival

LEGION | SPORTS

Thessaloniki Yoga Festival Thessaloniki Yoga Festival is a non profit event that first took place in September 2012. It offers yoga and Kirtan to all. Doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter if beginner or master. Local and foreign teachers and musicians teached or gave some yoga impressions. Yoga for everybody! On sunday, 2nd April took place the 6th Yoga Festival. More than many Yogis came to this event to do exercises for body, soul and spirit. The harmony, energy and mental power was amazing in the hall! More than many people joined this event. The Thessaloniki Concert Hall was full with Yogis. More than 100 people who practice the sun greeting - fusion of power, harmony, love, peace and healing! Uncredible! There were different seminars where people could feel, practice or learn different kinds of yoga. There was something for everybody. Finally there was a mantra concert. It was so many energy and positive power. Everybody sang the mantras and felt the beats of the instruments from the band. 79

Everyone gets a voice with Podcasting By Kasper Jepsen

LEGION | SCIENCE & TECH

The podcasting craze is spreading around the world and you should be a part of it. Here are 5 recommendations for podcasts that presents unheard voices, breaks down stereotypes and gives you the chills. We are bombarded with visual impressions all day, and most of the entertainment we consume has a visual side to it. But during the recent years Podcasting, a technology that enables us to download radio broadcasts to our phones and computers for free, has seen a boom. The hype began in 2014 when true crime series “Serial” had over 77 million downloads in the first months of its publication. Now every hipster with a microphone and an internet connection is working on a podcast project. Fly fishing? There is a podcast for that. It’s called “Fish on the Brain”. The reason for this new trend? Sound is great entertainment for the modern individual that has access to much more content than she or he is able to consume. Where video and text requires full attention, listening frees your vision while you are driving, or your hands when performing manual labour such as dishwashing and cleaning.

But what is more interesting are the handful of podcast producers that are using the power of the voice to their advantage. Recorded voices, especially when wearing headphones, create an intimacy that is unlike any other media. It simply sounds like the person is talking directly to the listener. With great editing and storytelling these podcasts are able to create emotional connections with the voices they interview. Which, in many cases, are voices that are not usually heard in the entertainment media. And when the face is disconnected from the voice, we don’t have all the visual markers, we normally use to judge people with. It is that moment the podcast magic happens. Intrigued? Here are five podcasts that will connect you with unheard voices, to help you break down your stereotypes and give you the chills. Dishwashing will never be the same from now on.

The Silver Dollar Love + Radio Produced by Nick van der Kolk and Brendan Baker loveandradio.org/2014/02/the-silver-dollar Many arguments escalate because we are unable to understand our opponents point of view. In this podcast the black musician Darryl Davis asks white supremacists from the Ku Klux Klan, “Why do you hate me?” Hear how being genuinely interested in your enemy will pay off in the long run.

Prepared To love 2+2=5 : The Dialogue Project Podcast Produced by Karl James understandingdifference.blogspot.gr/2010/07/ prepared-to-love This is by far the most sympathetic person in the world who is interviewed on a subject that is a taboo for many, but a sexual desire for some. The description reads: “At the age of 42, Adrian decided it was about time he had penetrative sex. So he saved up some money and hired a male escort for just one night. What he got was an experience he’ll never forget.”

Help Wanted This American Life Produced by Luke Malone and Robyn Semien thirdcoastfestival.org/explore/feature/help-wanted Speaking of taboos. Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of paedophiles? It turns out lots of them desperately want help, but because it’s so hard to talk about their situation it’s almost impossible for them to find it. Reporter Luke Malone spent a year and a half talking to people in this situation, and he has this story about one of them. 82

LEGION | SCIENCE & TECH

Serial / This American Life Produced by Sarah Koenig, Julie Snyder & Dana Chivvisl serialpodcast.org No podcast recommendation without the hit series Serial. In season one, Sarah Koenig thoroughly investigates the murder of Hae Min Lee, supposedly committed by her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed. Koenig went through an exhausting amount of material including testimonies, police interrogations and interviews with everyone involved. We follow her in real time while she uncovers the case, including new tips received after the show was aired. A surprisingly exciting look into the American legal system, which in the end had consequences for the particular case investigated.your enemy will pay off in the long run.

Balkan Hotspot Radio Produced by the EVS’ers behind Balkan Beats spreaker.com/user/balkanhotspotradio From our own backyard we have Balkan Hotspot Radio. Benefiting from the many nationalities that work in the NGO United Societies of Balkans, diverse podcasts about everything from women’s rights to poetry around the world are available.

A quick how-to guide If you have never downloaded a podcast before do not worry. It’s super simple and you only need a dedicated podcast app for your smartphone. For iOS you can use the app called “Podcasts” (Download here) and on Android you can use Stitcher (Download here). When you have downloaded the app just search for the episode you would like to listen to. Or listen on your computer via the links in the article.

Photo: ÂŠTRoman Tkachenko and NASA

First Jupiter pictures! By Jonathan Scatena 84

LEGION | SCIENCE & TECH

NASA’s $1 billion Juno spacecraft, launched in August 2011, took five years to reach and settle into orbit around the gas giant, which is more than 750 million kilometres from Earth. So far, the probe has been recording mysterious auroras, weird cloud formations and both poles of the biggest planet on our solar system. The problem is, Jupiter has a strong radioactive belt that can mess with the spacecraft’s electronics. To avoid these kind of problems, Juno is orbiting using a wide arc, it spends more time in the outer space far away from Jupiter and gets really close to it twice a month. To admire more photos of Jupiter, you can go to missionjuno.swri.edu.

Geo-engineering, let’s play with fire That was not a secret for anybody, the Paris agreement for climate change held in 2015 is promised to a failure. The goal was to take responsibilities to limit the global warming effect to 2°C, but it’s not realistic. We, humans, have some solutions to preserve our planet, one of them is Geo-engineering, the act to manipulate our climate, hoping that it won’t make any important side-effects. A solution is proposed by Harvard students. To put calcite particles in the stratosphere. The calcite is the most stable form of calcium and is one of the most common minerals on earth. To put some particles of it in the stratosphere could reflect some of sun’s rays and cool down our Earth. For now, geo-engineering is only theories, manipulating our climate is the best way to make the global warming even worse. We should consider changing our climate as our last solution but if we do so, we have to make no mistakes… 85

A Number Things to G and Wrong Coffee and By Burhan Kรถse

r of Get Right g about d Turkey

LEGION | FOOD

Coffee is love, coffee is life, but more importantly, it is a beverage that originates from Ottoman territories of Arabia (particularly Yemen), becomes popularised in the capital of the empire, where it is introduced to the Europeans, thus it has grown like an epidemic. As with most of the cultural elements of Turkey, we have another very Turkish stance here: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not the inventors, nor the developers, but merely a channel between those two. Yet, we claim the ultimate ownership, and these never-ending claims of authenticity and ownership grow larger within former Ottoman territories and nations. However, there is one thing certain, and that is the relationship between Turks

and coffee is a minor symbolism for the imperial heritage of Turkey, and the society it has evolved after the Republic. Coffeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part in Turkish society has drastically changed, as the coffee habits of Turks, yet coffee â&#x20AC;&#x201C;in a way- distantly lingers through today as a tradition, and consequently, slowly grows in the society as it opens more to the West.

1. The concept of ‘café’ originates from Turkey, but it is European ‘Until the year 962 (sc. AH, that is 1554-55), in the High, God-Guarded city of Istanbul, as well as in Ottoman lands generally, coffee and coffeehouses did not exist. About that year, a fellow called Hâkem (Hakam) from Aleppo and a wag called Şems (Shams) from Damascus, came to the city: they each opened a large shop in the district called Tahtakale, and began to purvey coffee.’1 88

These are the very words jotted down around 1640s by an Ottoman Bosnian chronicler, Ibrahim Pecevi. The introduction of coffee, and coffeehouses changed the vibe of the city drastically. Coffeehouses started to be established everywhere, and coffee became a common trade commodity, which was later introduced to Europe through Italian merchants. Europeans didn’t take long to appropriate this culture, and first coffeehouses in Europe started to pop up in Venice, around 17th century. ²Then, first coffeehouse of

LEGION | FOOD

England was established in Oxford around 1650s. By 1680s, the number of coffee houses in England was exceeding 3000. ³Over the years, European form of coffeehouses i.e. ‘cafés,’ more ‘youthful,’ student-filled, conversation and political argument spheres were established. Later on, Turks appropriated the European ‘café’ culture. It was distinguished by coffeehouses. Coffeehouses would be exclusively male, murky spaces that would be linked to a lower-class vulgarity. However a ‘café’ would be a space that at least looks ‘appealing’, filled with slick people who walk, talk, wear, and behave like ‘Europeans.’ This distinction still remains today. Though ‘café’ is not the ‘intellectual’ place as it used to be (and more of a casual place,) it is still distinctively ‘Western’ space, compared to the traditional coffeehouses. Therefore, there are various stereotypical connotations of coffee, and coffee consumption developed later in Turkish society, especially after introduction and popularization of tea in 1920s, and decline of coffee. 2. Turkey Is One of the Least Coffee Drinking Countries It is hard to trace exactly when coffee drinking habits in Turkey started to change. Sooth to say, introduction of tea could be one of the leading factors why Turkey is not a ‘coffee nation’ anymore, since it is the country that consumes the most amount of tea per capita by far (6.87 kg of annual consumption, -2.53 kg more than the runner up, Morocco). ⁴That’s an awful lot of tea. However, the annual coffee consumption in Turkey per capita is around 0.5 kg per annum, which roughly translates to: one cup of Turkish coffee per week. ⁵For a vast part of the society, coffee is not a daily beverage, yet more of an occasional one. Despite the surge of ‘fast-coffee’ joints and coffeehouse chains, and increasing access to coffee since the millennium, as the millennial lifestyles suggest it, there hasn’t been a recorded remarkable increase in total coffee consumption, and Turkey still stands corrected as one of the least coffee drinking countries in the world. 3. Despite Being Native, Coffee Has Some Connotations Turkish word for breakfast ‘kahvalti’ is a conjoined word that is composed of two words: ‘kahve’ and ‘alti’, and it literally means ‘before the coffee.’

As it is evident in the word, breakfast would be the meal that people would consume, so as to drink their morning coffee. Nowadays you could be viewed as ‘Wannabe-European’ for drinking coffee in the morning, or having a habitual coffee consumption. Despite being introduced roughly a century ago, Turkish people view tea as more of a native beverage, which they usually link to sincerity and true sentiments. However, with the altering habits of coffee consumption, the perception of coffee has also changed. Nowadays, Turks have more of an ‘evening coffee’ habit, where they drink it on friendly and family gatherings. Individual consumption is somehow viewed a bit weirdly. Especially when it comes to espresso-based coffees, Turks can display an open distaste, arguing that it is not traditionally Turkish –thus people drink it in order to boast and parade their ‘superior’ tastes, or they are just simply Wannabe-Westerners. It is pretty much how it was described in that Libertines song ‘Time For Heroes’: ‘There are fewer more distressing sights than that Of an Englishman in a baseball cap.’⁶ We Turks are in general distrustful towards something of a foreign nature, especially if it is European. However, not so long ago, tea was foreign, too. It just takes time and a lot of hostility and judgement before people can get used to some things. Maybe there will be an espresso-insurgency one day, where coffee-lovers will finally have enough and take the power back, making Turkey a ‘coffee-country’ again. Until then, hopefully we will figure out what a chill-pill is. ¹ Bernard Lewis, Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire, University of Oklahoma Press (reprint, 1989), p. 132 Google Books ² Reich, Anna. “Coffee & Tea History in a Cup.” Herbarist 76 (2010): 8–15. ³ ”Coffee History – Learn all about the history of coffee and things you never know. Did you know section”. Koffeekorner.com. 2000-03-30. Retrieved 2011-05-29. ⁴ http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-10-tea-loving-countries-in-the-world.html ⁵ https://www.statsmonkey.com/hbar/18549-list-ofcountries-by-coffee-consumption.php ⁶ Barat, Carl, Pete Doherty, John Hassall, and Gary Powell. Time For Heroes. The Libertines. Rough Trade, 2007. MP3. 89

Photo: Valentina Orlando

March for Aleppo: th stop in The By Valentina Orlando

LEGION | MIXFIX

The Civil March for Aleppo arrived in the city on May 5th. The caravan has started in Berlin on December 26th and already gathered more than 3000 people from around the world. People coming from different background, countries and differ in age, united for one single reason: they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t simply watch the horrors of war in Syria, they had to take some action! They left their comfortable homes and everyday lives for time being to march together in solidarity and hope for peace towards Aleppo. We met them on their way from King Constantine statue to Alexander the Great statue

he pit essaloniki 91

Photo: Alexandre Vale

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Photo: Alexandre Vale

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Photo: Alexandre Vale

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Photo: Jack Cowles

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Photo: Valentina Orlando

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