Fillipiada, is a small town in central Greece. In 2016 a refugee camp was opened on the outskirts of the town in an abandoned army base.  The camp has a capacity of 300 people, with around 40% being under the age of 16. Refugees are a mixture of Syrian, Afghan and Iranian families. Refugee Support Greece. (2016).

There are a number of different non government organisations running programs in the camp; Oxfam, the UNHCR, Mercy Corps, Ovidados and Refugee Support Greece.

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Two rooms in a dilapidated building form a makeshift school.  Informal lessons teach some maths and history. The school is run by refugees. Many children do not attend because they or their parents don’t want them to. Psarras, AL. (2016). I have been told by Refugee Support Greece that volunteers provide some language classes and that integration with the local schools is ‘patchy’. Refugee Support GR. (2017).

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In September, 2016, programs introduced to integrate students into local schools were met with opposition and ant-sentiment. The local Parent’s association threatened to protest in school grounds if refugee children were allowed to take part in classes.  The Local Mayor added to the Xenophobia by encouraging residents to take the law into their own hands.

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However, not all parents in Filippiada share these negative views. Their only concern is that refugee children be vaccinated before attending local schools. The updated mode would see students initially attending school in the afternoons before being integrated into mainstream classes. Lessons would be conducted in a number of languages dependent on country of origin. Greek and languages of nations accepting refugees for settlement would also be taught.  The program is to include vaccinations for all incoming students. Kitsantonis, N. (2016)

 

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